By During our recent event at Harvard University, where we donated a $150,000 audiophile system to the Shelemay Audio Lab a few weeks back, a number of really fascinating conversations were had. One was with the 33-year-old PhD. director of the program, John Pax. Dr. Pax has made this audio lab his passion. The upstairs listening room is well-outfitted with choice vinyl and professional audio equipment, as well as all sorts of ways for students to access and experiment with audio. This is a music lover’s playground – now with a full audiophile system for both personal and group listening.
When discussing the new system, Dr. Pax told Paul Wilson, Marc Finer (the executive at Sony who launched the Compact Disc back on October 1, 1982) and myself something that left us slack-jawed. He said that he’s never been inside a stereo store. Sheila Broflovski (Kyle’s mom from South Park) said it best when she said “WHA-WHA-WHAT?” Dr. Pax has purchased Magnepan speakers. Dr. Pax has purchased McIntosh electronics. Yet Dr. Pax has never stepped inside of a Best Buy and strolled to the Magnolia store inside. We couldn’t believe it, but it was true.
What was even more fascinating was that the idea of the stereo store was not something that appealed to Dr. Pax. Like many online buyers today, he looks to publications like FutureAudiophile.com and others for leads on the best gear, but then wants to test it in his lab. We get that, but to have never been to a stereo store seemed like sacrilege. However, upon further contemplation, it’s clear this is how younger audiophiles shop. Amazon.com is how so many things get bought in the modern era. Food comes from Door Dash or Uber Eats. Clothing gets bought in bulk and tried on, with the surplus returned. Why wouldn’t the same process be the standard with audio? The more we asked, the more we learned that this IS the standard for younger audiophiles. They buy close to everything online and even pick it up at a physical store. How times have changed.
Consumer Audiophile Shows Are Now Even More Important
Audiophile equipment is a very personal investment. Dr. Pax loved the Magnepans that he brought in enough to keep them in the lab, but never went to go hear them at a store. While stereo stores mean less to younger audiophiles than to older ones, experiencing audiophile gear is still really important. Just as a music festival such as Coachella is appealing to music-loving youth, audiophile shows like AXPONA have a similar appeal for younger audiophiles. Where else can you go to hear million-dollar systems, as well as far more realistic, affordable and real-world components?
The problem is that nowhere near enough young audiophiles know such events exist.
Little to no outreach is done by these regional audiophiles shows, and the relatively low attendance and elderly male demographics prove this. Is it easy to reach young, tech-savvy audiophiles? Nope. We will be the first ones to tell you that, as this is at the core of the FutureAudiophile.com Mission Statement. We have moved our social media focus in 2026 from Facebook, which was the platform of choice for hobbyists, but it skews old, old, old. Eric Forst has taken our Instagram account from a mere 300 to over 3,000 in less than 90 days. By no means is that cause for celebration, as our friends (they actually are) at Stereophile.com have 5,500 and some of the better influencers in the audiophile space are in the 15,000 range. We aim to be at those levels by the end of 2026.
In talking with very young audiophiles, like Lucca Chesky of the 3D-printed audiophile speaker company Chesky Audio, they don’t consume any traditional or linear media. Get this: as a freshman at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Lucca get his news and entertainment from TikTok. Yes, the Chinese spyware site! We’ve given in on our objections to TikTok and will start creating reels there in the coming months. I am setting up a modest studio to do so in our pending move. Will the audiophile shows market like this? We can’t control those promoters, but we sure know (and love) the audiophile show folks, and we encourage them to woo the younger audiophiles where they consume media – not where their grandparents do.
Online Retail Is More Important Than Ever
Never ever will I forget a meeting that I had in 1999 in the North Hall of the Consumer Electronics Show with Sony. I was all-in on the Internet, having risked it all by leaving my much more road-more-traveled path of high-end AV sales for online publishing. Sony told me in no uncertain terms, “We will never sell Sony on the Internet.” We laughed at them then, and that statement sounds fully absurd in 2026.
No new audiophile company can make a living selling exclusively through traditional retailers. Even old-school ones like PS Audio have switched their business model to direct-to-consumer. The more up-and-coming brands sell direct. Schiit, Orchard Audio, Peachtree Audio, Argent Pur, AMPED America, Tekton Designs, and so many more. Companies with real marketing might, such as SVS, sell in all channels, including direct, catalog, retail, custom installation, international markets and beyond. They also are the clubhouse leaders when it comes to social media followers, who power their sales across all channels.
The idea that an audiophile entity, be it a manufacturer, a retailer or even a publication like us, can market to younger customers via the same linear media is a joke. Times have changed and the marketing must follow.
Word of Mouth Leads to More Accessibility
AI is in its infancy right now. When I am not playing the role of publisher of an online magazine, I do a bit of consulting on the topics of SEO (search engine optimization), as well as AI. In the simplest terms, more links have always meant better SEO results, dating back to Google’s inception in 1997. User engagement is the next best concept, and one that is hard to fake. How do you get user engagement? That’s a big topic but, in the audiophile world, one place that can be powerful is also really dirty and yucky – the audiophile forums.
R/Audiophile.com on Reddit is a miserable place online that took an old-school user forum and made it even more caustic, exclusionary and off-putting. With all of that said – AI seems to love modern forum sites like Reddit and Quora. When a thread starts there organically, it can get really good momentum and traffic. That builds momentum for a product and/or a brand in ways that seem authentic, not purchased. Younger users love this and, when they see authenticity, they often will reward said authenticity with a sale. A lack of authenticity is a perception that likely can’t be fixed in the world of online sales.
Building buzz for an audiophile product has changed from the days when Harry Pearson put a product on the cover of The Absolute Sound and it would sell like hotcakes. Today, getting the buzz out on a product takes a lot more effort. Are influencers true category experts? Often not, but if their large followings think they are, then they can move the needle. More and more savvy audiophile companies look to online publications and influencer campaigns designed to grow their appeal as they try to reach younger users.
Some Closing Thoughts on Audiophile Accessibility …
There is a long-standing rumor that Best Buy is going to pull the plug on their 200-plus in-store Magnolia AV experience centers. I think this a seemingly unlikely outcome but, then again, how are Tweeter, Ultimate Electronics and Circuit City doing today? And if you want a Best Buy rationale – remember when they got into the musical instrument business and then bailed? So, it could happen even if the audiophile industry in the United States badly needs these more traditional retail outlets to show what the hobby can do.
The reality is that we live in a brave new world. The way our next generation of audiophiles buy gear is just different than the OG audiophiles who came before them. Change is good. Change is healthy. The issue is that the audiophile industry isn’t always that good at change. In fact, we sadly fight it, even when that fight is antithetical to our best interests. That’s a behavior that we might want to stop sooner than later.
Two of my former editors, Dennis Burger and now-influencer Andrew Robinson, tell stories about they both fell in love with audio from seeing and ultimately hearing MartinLogan’s iconic CLS speakers in the 1990s at their respective hometown Circuit City stores. Their first audiophile crack rock was a specifically addictive one and they ran with it, as many of us did in our own special ways. It is the start of a long, beautiful audiophile journey. It looks more and more likely that, going forward, where this journey starts isn’t going to be in a high-end audio salon. It might be from a reel on Instagram or a 90-second clip on TikTok. That is definitely change, but change isn’t always a bad thing.
Where do you buy your audiophile gear when you are in the market for another component? What media do you most like/trust when you are researching audiophile topics? Let us know in the comments below. We love to hear from you.
I’m not a “Future Audiophile” (I’m 60+ years old), but I enjoyed your article. I like to think of myself as a young-thinking senior, and as someone who retired from Sales & Marketing, you are spot on regarding the buying habits of today’s Under-35 demographic.
As you stated, these buyers have gotten used to “buying and trying” — if they don’t like it they simply return it, usually with no penalties. What will be interesting to me is how audio retailers handle the current restocking fees for returned items bought by these “testing it out” buyers. These restocking fees can quite high on some products. Will buyers accept them as the “price of convenience” or will retailers have to adapt?
Just my thoughts.
First of all WELCOME!!! Everybody is a future audiophile. Old, young – male & female. We need an inclusive mix.
The days of restocking fees are over. Retailers will/have adapted. The ones who haven’t are doomed in the mainstream
Timely topic as usual. I just completed upgrading my entire system as well as treating my room. A very nice retirement present from my wife. I live in a remote area of Texas. No audio store here, Best Buy yes. I have been building my system since I was 15 years old (65 now). This time it’s what I wanted, not what I’m getting. If you understand my meaning. With no audio store within a 2 hour drive I had to do a lot of online research. First piece falls into place in 2024: Magnepan releases the 2.7i. I call the Dallas dealer where I purchased my 1.7i’s. “Can I come in and demo them?”” No we don’t have them but we’ll order you a pair.”” You want me to buy them before I hear them?” “Yes.”” No Thanks.”
I called all over the U.S. no one has them yet. Finally I called a store in CO. and they say “You can buy them from us, try them for 60 days, if you don’t like them we’ll take them back, no problem.” I say, “Deal!” They also bought my 1.7i’s from me. They quoted me 2 weeks for the delivery of the speakers they were there in 3 days. Now I needed to power those speakers! I’m running a 75 watt tube amp and tube preamp and while it sounds sweet I know I’m missing so much detail. I can not find any amplifier recommendations for the 2.7i’s they are still so new.
18 months later. I retire! YAY!
More research leads me to Benchmark Media Systems AHB2. I studied the amp and I really liked it. I went to my dealer in CO’s site and guess what amp they are now recommending for the 2.7i’s? Yes! The AHB2. So I sold them most of my old gear and purchased the Benchmark LA4 and 2-AHB2’s that I run mono-blocked.
I finished my system off with a Gustard R30 Network Streaming DAC and I could not be more pleased with my sound and sound stage.
I read reviews and watched video’s about both the AHB2 and LA4 in various places the I have trusted for years and also new voices that are helping the hobby grow. This is the way I was able to upgrade in rural USA in 2026 without visiting an audio store. Going to the SW Audio Fest hoping to bring at least 2 granddaughters!
Years ago “ListenUp” in Denver was my Magnepan dealer…I bought their MGIIIA and at that time they were also dealers for VTL tube amps, so I matched the Maggies w/ a pair of MB 300 mono tube amps. Cray! I understand that “The Music Room” in Erie now represents Magnepan. I’ve been wanting to visit The Music Room for a long time. Yours was an excellent and cool post, thanks.
I like Listen Up AND the Music Room.
Top places to buy audio in this hobby!
THEMUSICROOM is awesome. They have been fantastic to work with and I also corresponded with the folks at Benchmark about how to configure everything correctly and they are great people. Yes get more Maggie’s!
Many of us have sold them gear which costs a little more but is much easier and often worth small percentage.
I am in late stage discussion with a local VERY POPULAR wellness studio about hosting HIFI Wellness evening where I will set up a HIFI and play different music for ambience….Some days Jazz, other days electronica/ambience etc. Focus on the experience and music initially, but have an open discussion afterwards about the gear and bringing the experience into their lives.
What a great article. I agree with it all. I would add that experienced audiophiles have an obligation to invite younger music lovers and audiophiles into the hobby. Include them in events, guide them, invite them over the house, sell them your used gear, and tell them all of the mistakes you’ve made along the way that you don’t want them to make. In essence, be a mentor and pay it forward.
I go to two or three formal audio events each year to see, touch, and hear a variety of equipment that, if not, I would never be able to. I read magazines (The Future Audiophile is #1), watch YouTube videos, and follow a few audiophile bloggers. I also participate in a semi-local Audiophile club with members that I’ve met, visited their homes, and share ideas and insights with. It takes effort yet well worth it.
Specialist dealers are a must for me. I’m lucky because the UK is relatively small with a higher population density so I don’t have to go far to find such a dealer( 4 miles in my case). It’s the after care that I value and indeed depend on.
That proximity is becoming a rarity in too many places here in the US.
I hate the term “hobby” for what is really an avocation. Would you call the brilliant audio engineers that design audio equipment as “hobbyists”? While the definition of “hobby” is something we do for pleasure, performing and listening to music can and often is a profession and at the very least, an avocation for many. Using the word hobby turns this activity into a kind of stamp collecting of sorts, and listening to music, playing it, and designing the equipment for playing it is certainly not a hobby.