The audiophile hobby is on the verge of its first major demographic change since its inception back in the early 1960s. That might not be a popular or uplifting topic with some of the OG audiophiles, but it is a fact nonetheless. The whole editorial goal of FutureAudiophile.com is to deliver a more sensible and more relatable outlook on an often-quirky hobby to a new, younger and much more diverse audience. Any audiophile will tell you that, sadly, there are close to zero women involved in our hobby. It isn’t because women don’t have passion for music, because they absolutely do. Some medical experts even argue that women retain their ability to hear better than men over time. With that said, if the audiophile hobby had more than a 99 to 1 male female split, I might fall over dead after looking at about a year’s worth of demographics from our sweepstakes results, as we as following the topic with tools like Google Analytics dating back decades now.
Younger audiophiles are the precious air that this hobby needs to breathe, survive and thrive.Let me tell you that, even with a major concerted effort to locate them and to speak to them in voices that are relatable to them, it isn’t easy to find young people to get involved in our hobby. Do younger people not dig music? Nope, as many Millennials and all of Generation Z are referred to as “Digital Natives,” which denotes that they’ve never really known a world without technology driving nearly every aspect of daily life. In this case, the technology that we speak of is the idea that all recorded music is available at all times at close to no cost. Generation X and Baby Boomer audiophiles collect (or at least used to collect) physical media with great enthusiasm and at significant cost. A trip to Tower Records, the Virgin Megastore or even Sam Goody’s at the mall, for these slightly more experienced audiophiles, is a fond memory that will likely never be a reality again. There’s lots of mainstream press about how younger audiophiles have enjoyed collecting vinyl (read more on that topic from Yahoo.com), and that this gives us a lot of hope for the hobby going forward, but try to pry a music-streaming smartphone out of their hands, and you might have a death fight on your hands.
We never want to shame any audiophiles at any level, but enthusiasts, especially our younger ones, need to be welcomed and embraced into the hobby without a lot of the often embarrassing snobbery of the hobby’s past.
Let’s End the “Preamp of the Month Club” Once and For All
There are a lot of traditions in the audiophile hobby that need to die off sooner than later for the greater good. The idea that, if you don’t have the latest and greatest new component, you can’t be the cool kid or get in the audiophile club is one which needs to simply end. This concept is epic bullshit, and needs to become part of our hobby’s history. Simply put: most audiophile systems perform fantastically. Another truth is that every audiophile system likely can be upgraded or improved in some way. Do we have the budget for that next upgrade? That depends on one’s own cash flow. Will you get enough value out of that next component upgrade? Again, that is a personal matter, which gets harder and harder as the price goes up. What is universal is that nobody should make you feel bad about the audiophile system that you have at any given moment. There are cool things about an under-$1,000 Chi-Fi-based setup, just as there is plenty to talk about when looking at a $100,000-plus system.
As ambassadors of music playback technology and representatives of the audiophile hobby, we would be well-served to engage with younger music lovers and show what the hobby has to offer them. This includes explaining to them that there is no real endgame for your system, other than what one personally implements. The real fun is the journey from a starter stereo system to one that is much more evolved. The audiophile establishment has been creating an endless upgrade loop, which caters to their advertisers more than it benefits the hobby or the hobbyists. If a lot more people were into high-performance audio, then the hobby would grow and thrive in the future. Getting the same people to churn or flip their audiophile gear makes AudiogoN.com a more and more popular site. Helping younger audiophiles feel good about their systems and to enjoy each step on the path to a truly fancy and evolved music playback system is even more essential to keep our most important consumers engaged both now and years and years into the future.
Try To Keep Finances in Mind When Talking to a Younger Audiophile
Most of us didn’t have a trust fund system to start with when we assembled our first stereo system, just as few of us had our parents buy us a new BMW M3 for our sixteenth birthday. Respectfully, I am not sure any of us would have appreciated what an M3 can do, if that is what you think a first car should perform like. The same goes for audio.
There are some longtime audiophiles who poo-poo Chi-Fi and other lower-priced stereo gear, because there are needed compromises to be made to get these products sold at such affordable price points. Chi-Fi gear is made by companies (in China, obviously) that often OEM, or make gear for other audiophile companies. Chi-Fi gear rarely comes with much consumer (or even dealer) support. Chi-Fi gear also rarely holds any retail resale value. And who cares? Less expensive audiophile gear is a way to allow newer (younger) music lovers to get started in our hobby with tubes, separate electronics, cutting-edge but still low-cost digital, and so much more. These products are exciting and inclusive, which is a very good thing.
The long-standing idea that a real audiophile system has to be expensive is a fallacy, and it keeps more and more people from getting involved in our hobby. Embracing what more entry-level audiophile components can do in the real world is like a master sommelier going shopping for a $20 bottle of wine. If they are good (and anyone making it to master sommelier level knows a lot about wine in order to pass that nearly impossible test), they will be able to find you value in a bottle of wine that well exceeds one’s expectation for taste at that very reasonable price point. The same thing can be done by experienced audiophiles, and don’t be shocked if there are some Chi-Fi components included in the system design. Nobody should ever make an issue about Chi-Fi because it isn’t fancy or “high-end” enough.
Jealousy and Keeping Up with the Jones Should Be Avoided at All Costs
Every audiophile’s budget is different. Everybody’s listening room is different. Everyone’s spouse or life partner tends to view the audiophile hobby differently. Thus, everybody’s journey is a pretty unique trip. If you have friends who are into the audiophile hobby, that is fantastic. Be sure to take the time to enjoy their audiophile system when the opportunity presents itself. Never get jealous, even if your friend’s system is way more expensive or is better-sounding and-and-and … Celebrate what is good about everybody’s system (including yours), as most modern audiophile systems today are really strong performers. Most audiophiles can find something to like sonically about most well-designed systems today, and that is just where we should be focusing.
There will always be room to improve, tweak and/or upgrade in any audiophile system, and that is always fair game for a conversation among those involved in the hobby. What we need to avoid is over-emphasizing the weaknesses of a system, and to stay positive about the path forward for any audiophile at any level of the hobby.
Some Final Thoughts on Insecurity in the Audiophile Hobby …
The whole idea that insecurity can (or should) inspire upgrades is below us as a group. There are far more luxury good consumers or enthusiasts of other things high-performance that could be introduced to our fine hobby if we keep the overall tone about what we do positive and the vibe inclusive.
When I was 23, I was lucky enough to sell a very big audiophile system that allowed me to buy a nearly-new 1993 Guard’s Red (with Cashmere interior) Porsche 911 – aka: the last generation of the air-cooled engines. Like a good audiophile, I took owning a nearly-new, bright red sports car to the same extremes that I did with my audiophile system at the time, and this meant that I was going to show my car in a series of Concours D’Elegance car show events hosted by the Porsche Club of America (PCA). If you think audiophiles are tweaky and extreme – wait until you meet these folks. The level of attention to detail shown at these events is beyond any level of extreme that we know playing with stereos. I found myself cleaning my windows with newspaper. I used Silly Putty to clean cup holders. The part of my seatbelt in the backseat of a Porsche 911 that you would only access if you were 300 pounds (thus fully extended) had been detailed. Grease under the front seats had been stripped and replaced with clean grease as clean grease is perfectly okay in the car show world, but dirty grease gets you dinged in your overall points score.
Audiophiles and car enthusiasts have a lot in common when it comes to taking a hobby to an extreme level. Where the audiophile hobby might steal a page from the PCA book is general inclusiveness. Back in the late 1990s, there weren’t that many people in their early 20s who owned a Porsche, let alone were willing to detail it at this extreme level. When I started poking around the club, the people who were already members were as welcoming as you could ever imagine. They showed a big interest in my car, which was fun. They didn’t stick their nose up at how “dirty” a pretty “new” car was. They knew that I would learn all about that the first time that I showed my car, and that these lessons would make me into a better competitor. And they were completely correct. Ultimately, I won the entire class in which I showed my car (that I used as a daily driver in Los Angeles), no small feat in that enthusiast world.
When we see someone who is younger and even remotely interested in music and technology, we’d be well-served to see if they would like to learn more. Perhaps play them your system with your favorite demo songs, as well as music that they request. Explain how an audiophile system works and is configured. What do the different components do? Why are they important? What should you (or could you) be listening for? What do good stereo systems cost? How do you get started with this hobby (yes, headphones are perfectly fine place to start)?
If we can make the audiophile hobby less quirky and just a little bit more welcoming, our chances of recruiting a whole new generation of music lovers into gear-heads will likely be higher. Young men and women today don’t know a world without unlimited access to music, but have they ever heard what a very high-performance music playback system sounds like? So many sadly can say that they haven’t. Our challenge is to introduce high-performance music playback to one young person at a time. Don’t worry, it only takes a few seconds of listening, and they are hooked. All they ever need is an introduction to how listening to music brings art into their lives. They don’t need much convincing to feel how listening to music is beneficial to overall well-being – especially relief from anxiety and depression, which is such a pressing matter for Generation Z.
The lifestyle benefits of having music in your life in a meaningful way is a message that will appeal to far more people worthy of building a hobby/business around over the next 25 to 50 years. This type of value proposition can be the start to one’s long and joyous journey in audio. We should all be looking for people who we can share our passion with, who will carry the audiophile hobby forward for decades to come.
How do you feel about “the Preamp of the Month Club” concept? Do you think the audiophile hobby needs to be more inclusive? Should veteran audiophiles reach out to young people to let them experience music as only a good stereo system can reproduce? Share with us your thoughts on the matter. We love to hear from you.
I’d say lately, it hasn’t been “preamp of the month”, but rather, “DAC of the month”. I think we can all agree that DACs of late are all “good”. There aren’t any “bad” ones anymore above $200. Yes, some will sound better and give you more of what you want, but generally if you can listen to music and it sounds “good”, then enjoy until the rest of your system one day gets good enough that the DAC becomes the bottleneck.
As for the lack of women, well, let’s face it: Men are gearheads while women just want to hear the music on something that doesn’t look hideous. Nothing wrong with either approach. But if a man obsesses over some specification of one item being about 5% “better” than another item, women are going to tune out.
I’m 66. My first “system” was an AM/FM radio. I discovered and loved the music of the 1960s and early 1970s on that thing, never thinking I needed “more” until about 1975, so I bought a Radio Shack “all in one” stereo and used it for another 6 years. Only in 1982 did I finally get into a Pioneer integrated receiver and some decent two-way speakers. I was happy again for many years. Later on, I felt I loved hearing music so much that it became important to me to move up yet again (and having a legit job allowed me to do so) to a Caver amp, preamp, tuner, a midgrade Technics turntable and a Pioneer cassette deck with Dolby B and C.
Being both a music lover and an audiophile is a lifetime journey. We all start somewhere. The main thing is to enjoy the ride.
If you approach music reproduction hardware as a journey rather than a transaction, it’s much easier. My simple, all-British 2-channel set up sounds amazing, is ample for the room size, and cost less than many speakers do. It projects an accurate sound, a well defined soundstage, and except for bass-intense metal or rap, rivals many systems costing exponentially more. When starting out, the fun is swapping out elements of the system over time.
It’s definitely the best time to enjoy music in the home BUT prices are rising. Chinese manufacturing has reduced the cost of native & western designed HiFi components. Careful online objective research (that may become a project in itself if you maintain a positive attitude) will reveal gems. HD music streaming, internet radio & used CDs can provide a low cost source of music. I would avoid vinyl, good turntables & new LPs are comparitively expensive, used vinyl is a crap shoot for both LP & sleeve quality & usually requires a record cleaner machine for best results. I hope this helps HiFi newcomers. Cheers!
Keeping music “alive” in one’s life opens up a wide and deep area to explore. . .
Starting with the author’s statement: “all recorded music is available at all times at close to no cost,” thus, the question is begged: if music is reduced to a low value commodity, is it possible to view the musician in any other way than a “cog in the machine”. . . ?
And if both are held in low regard, what does this say about those who listen to this near worthless form of expression and participate in perpetuating its “close to no cost” value?
It seems one way or another the listener has become little more than a cog in the machine, who has yet to recognize their own intrinsic value, let alone the value of music and those who compose music and play actual instruments.
Yes, China graduates more engineers in a year than the US does in about 10(!), in spite of the fact that China’s population is “only” 4x greater than the US.
As such, resources and financial security, by definition, means there is less to go around and one must live with less. (Granted, greed and disparity happen in every society, but the variables and calculus remain.)
And when we can purchase some items from China–e.g., DACs–that are, in fact, well-engineered and compete with US & Euro made products costing 4x more, the question becomes more generalized: are we perpetuating the mindset that “everything” (an exaggeration) can be had “at close to no cost”. . . ?
Maybe the tables are turning?
That is, for several decades, European and American creativity and engineering was considered “superior” to what Asia produced, but Asia could reproduce and manufacture on a larger scale these US and Euro designs, and in some cases make improvements (thank you Toyota and Honda).
Maybe the time is approaching for some of those talented engineers in China to have their work copied in the US and Europe (and possibly improved upon). . . ?
But I’ve strayed a wee bit from my point, which is: when people come to value music and those who create it, then they will purchase accordingly–and maybe become more discriminating in identifying what “feeds” them, what music nourishes their body-mind-soul.
Maybe refinement will follow with respect to playback mediums.
As a high school student in 1975 my first “real” system came from summer jobs and included the Yamaha CA-600 integrated amp, a Pioneer turntable/tonearm with a Shure cartridge, and a pair of Genesis Physics model II loudspeakers. This system fed me well, until I became more curious about what might make it better. . .
Ironically, 50 years later the price for a comparable system, inflation accounted for, would be far less!
As such, it appears the presupposition of our “failure as an industry” to nurture current & future generations may be in conflict with the learned values of these generations, with respect to music, musical artists, and the listeners’ own sense of self.
I don’t claim to have any answer or remedy-ready-solution.
But I would say we (collectively as a species) have more to learn, more to explore. . .
Maybe if we show a bit more love for those who make music, there will be benefits to witness.
Tonight, we head to Dazzle.
Requirements for attracting younger people to the audiophile hobby:
1. Affordable
2. Good sound
3. App controlled
4. Looks good
5. Not too big
Solution: WiiM Amp Pro, $300, streaming amplifier with room correction…with a pair of Klipsch RP 600Mll, $450… add stands and speaker cable, $150.
For less than a grand….simple, good looking, good sounding and using modern technology.
I think across all expensive technology Hobbies people are mellowing out
for ex people aren’t saying that the only pair of headphones you can get is an HD 660 which those are still good headphones that everyone should work towards but you can just you can get something less than that and still have like a such a huge improvement on airpods or beats that it’ll make you want to go further
Basically people are more of ready and willing to give that type of advice as opposed to just shooting people down and saying if you’re not spending $2,000 you’re wasting your money
The other hobby that I see this in is astrophotography. people are so stuck up about their telescopes and it’s like when you’re just starting you don’t need to worry about everything you need to just worry about like setting up a tripod and polar aligning like literally and you can do that with $800 $1,000 of stuff. Even less if you’re willing to just start with a DSLR (but having a telescope is fun and telescopes are fun, I didn’t start with the DSLR I started with a doublet refractor, but I think it would have been easier to start with just a camera and a tripod and a go to mount or something)
you don’t have the knowledge to even take advantage of what a better setup csn do. you can just get a garbage telescope that cost $400 and you can get some images where the center at least is good and then you’ll learn like oh this part isn’t clear because of this issue and then you get a new one that solves that problem and then you encounter new things that you can solve and that’s how you like grow and people are just dumb about being like you need to spend like $10,000 on a setup
PCs is the other one like graphics cards and stuff it’s like most things people are doing on their computers they don’t need like the hundred dollar graphics card it’s like you can just get a 500 graphics card and you’re going to be fine and just get good Ram
It’s just been exhausting over the years to see like every single question that gets posted online re “what should I start with” people are like “you need to be rich” it’s like shut up that’s not what they asked. give answers within the parameters of their ability not within the parameters of your preference
The need to feel connected, reassured, and validated is universal–and one form of its expression is through the question you suggested may contribute to feeling exhausted: “what should I start with?”
As consumers (and humans), we are subject to many influences that can contribute to our mindset & perceptions, including sense perception.
It can be difficult to genuinely honor and “live” according to one’s preferences.
This is made evident through the above question.
I mean, what would happen if the consumer purchased what they, in fact, liked. . . ?
And what if they liked something different from someone close to them?
I would hope it wouldn’t result in the tragedy seen in the movie, “The War of the Roses,” where the moral of the story was: cat lovers should never partner with dog lovers.
That said, if friendships can be had between tube and transistor aficionados, streamers and tape threaders, electrostat and horn “heads,” then there is hope yet for this world. . .
Awesomely said. People will always want recognition for the $ they spent. That includes separating themselves from the less fortunate gear lover. I’ve been involved in stereo gear since 1986 and it’s always been…
Thanks for your story here.
Thank you for your kind words.
MY first audiophile system was for my 14th birthday. NAD receiver, Nakimichi Music Bank CD changer, Polk tower speaker, Monster Cable. Look at what THAT started.
Old dudes bringing HiFi to the younger Audiophiles won’t work. They can’t relate. It will take a new generation of sellers. So it’s time to figure retirement out. We honor and respect our forefathers, and we are the new blood. 😉
Preamp or DAC of the month was started by the legacy audio magazines and will be perpetuated by online media. Otherwise there is a glut of content that is paid for by advertisers. There is much more interesting and thought provoking content, but the media gets paid by the brands that they review. So that won’t stop. We are in a spiral that is very interesting to study. China on one hand undercuts the whole industry on one end while simultaneously driving the million dollar speaker market with buyers. This causes the manufacturer to sell out for the Chinese buyer, alienating the regular premium buyer. Conspiracy anyone ? What a way to eviscerate the premium middle ground of a market and make the market reliant on them. There’s a lot to unpack here Jerry !!
There’s hitting the proverbial nail on the head, but you’ve managed to sink it below the surface with a nail punch. Then, you’ve filled the holes with wood putty, sanded the surface smooth, and reapplied the paint to perfection.
Personally, I wouldn’t mind watching the vast majority of these cost-no-object, hyper-inflated, boutique brands going belly up and never returning. The global financial crisis back 15 or so years ago did quite a few of them in, but there are still too many of them out there.
I mean, I’m not going to tell a budding audiophile that his recently acquired $3,000 NAD Masters Series integrated is crap and that he should look to spend easily $25,000 on a pair of impressive looking mega amps with 3-inch thick brushed aluminum faceplates so he can eek out arguably a whole 2% more performance.
It is NO SECRET how I feel about the 34x convicted felon, civil-ly convicted sexual abuser, nepbaby, tax cheat and GOLF CHEATER named Trump.
25% tariffs are TAXES. Even the most ardent Republican knows this but they’ve all drank the Kool-Aid as the Germans did with Hitler.
We haven’t had a recession in 17 years. They come naturally ever six to seven years.
Trumps Tariffs and threats have the S&P down 5% in 2025 with more coming. Inflation is back BIG TIME thus interest rates will not keep going down as Trump can’t control the Fed even though he moronically says that he can. He can’t control his 7-iron.
There will be ONE HELL of a recession coming.
But that’s not all bad news!!! (I sound crazy here but stick with me)
There are marketshare opportunities that come ONLY in recessions. FutureAudiophile.com will be looking for them. Audio manufacturers will too. The smart ones.
For every market transaction – there’s a winner and a loser. Let’s be winners? What do you say?
Weren’t there about a half-dozen bankruptcies in the mix, too?
Our future teacher, history, awaits. . .
Stumbled across this article, was a good read. My take, if there’s a hobby, there’s always going to be oneupmanship. But, anything can also be a passion. In my case, I was fortunate to have a soldier dad that brought back a full suite of Sansui and Akai gear back from Japan in the mid 1970s. As a preteen, all of the buttons, dials, switches and gauges were fascinating. I spent untold hours and weeks just figuring it all out. In the end, it led to being an AV geek in high school, a DJ in radio and a light/sound tech for local bands in college, and later in life, entering and winning in car audio competitions. Through all those decades, it was just the fascination with reproducing the music the best way I could with the gear that was at hand. Point is that the joy of playing with audio gear is making it work, using your brain and ears to present the artistic talents of performers, not about appeasing my ego. Now in my 60s, I just want to hear the dialog on my TV. 😄
I’m always one to read, listen, or watch. Everytime I hear the word….Audiophile. I have to chuckle. Unless you , yourself have built ….Every piece of your sound system. Your not an Audiophile, your an enthusiast!!!! Just because someone can walk in and spend 500k on a sound system. As opposed to the guy who can only spend 10k? That makes one and Audiophile, and the other is not? They’re both …audio enthusiasts!
Greg,
With all due respect, you summed up the issue perfectly here.
The idea that ANYBODY, let alone the next generation, “can’t be an audiophile” unless they build their own gear is both TOTAL SNOBBERY and TOTAL BULLSHIT.
QUESTION: Am I allowed to live in Pacific Palisades, California if I didn’t build every portion of my home? Yes.
QUESTION: Is a young person who is not actuarially at the end of their life expectancy expected to design his or her own headphone and have them made? A streamer with room correction? They can make that too? What from a Heathkit? You are lost, friend.
QUESTION: Without the guy who walks in an buys the $500,000 system (a rarity, no matter what you see at audiophile shows around the world) how does your local store keep the doors open? I guess when you can build better speakers than Bowers & Wilkins, Wilson etc… then who needs a store right?
It is this outlook that makes this hobby unappealing for the mainstream.
Perhaps it is better to be an “audio enthusiast” than an “audiophile” is THIS is the standard – which it is ABSOLUTELY NOT.
Some of the comments below mention the younger gear lover. Agreed. I also think it applies to any age. I’m 54 and been doing this for 40 years and unable to buy a $9k streamer. As a gear lover, I want new things often so never spend more than $2k on anything. I’ll never have a perfect room and a Saint Bernard doing what it wants in the same room as my gear so I’m always wiping drewel of my Monitor Audio 6″ drivers because i hate grills. LOL