Retiring Baby Boomers Fuel Two-Channel - Sales Surge in 2007

[Sonnie]

Make no mistake, the audiophile business was created by and thrived on the economic power of post World War II Baby Boomers. Fueled by the musical renaissance of the late 1960s and 1970s, the demand for increasingly accurate and realistic music reproduction became more and more important to this large demographic as they aged. By the 1980s a man's stereo system was nearly as much of a societal status symbol as his car he drove. And as Boomers made more and more money, the gear pioneered by the early works of audio designers like Dan D'Agostino, Mark Levinson and Bob Carver (to name just a few) made for an entire luxury goods category.

Roll the tape forward to the advent of home video and the ensuing long term popularity of home video – specifically VHS tape and ultimately DVD – and the world of audiophiles wasn't quite as happy of a place. By the Millennium, gone were the glory days of status-symbol speaker systems and big amplifiers parked on the floor of your living room having been replaced in affluent people's homes by flat HDTVs, in-wall speakers, touch-screen remote controls, home automation and beyond. Additionally factor in the failure of both SACD and DVD-Audio, a long running drought of creatively important popular music and the rise of MP3s and Internet sites like Audiogon that offers audiophile gear at prices lower than most dealers can by them for - and you can clearly see serious trouble for the audiophile business in the twenty first century.

Not everything is as bad as it sounds in 2007. With decades of dreaming of owning that Audio Research tube preamp or a Linn LP12 turntable – more than one audiophile company is reporting a spike in their two-channel sales despite the downturn in the housing market, a slumping Wall Street and $4.00 a gallon gasoline. Some suggest, the Boomer audience, now reaching their early sixties, are finally getting access to the retirement money that they have saved for decades and that is part of what is fueling their audiophile dream purchases. Others suggest that Boomers who saw huge gains in real estate in recent years as well as even bigger gains over the past three decades are often downsizing their family homes to smaller (and many times more than one) homes which can leave discretionary funds to buy some of the more luxurious audio and video goodies.

Questions abound if this spike in audiophile sales is sustainable when music is sold to the masses on low resolution downloads or 25 year old Compact Discs. The answer is 'yes' if the Boomer's children, Generation X, can be sold music in a way that is meaningful to them. Unlike the generation below them (Generation Y) who are now in college, Generation X is a lot more like their parents in terms of the ways they consumer luxury goods. If record labels ever realize that Blu-ray and HD DVD can provide copy-protected HD sound and HD video that competes with HD video game systems and popular home video titles – you could see a significant and sustainable growth period in high end audio in the next twenty years. If selling low-resolution audio is the future of the music business, their future is even more ugly than the labels think and without great new music or remastered back catalog titles – audiophile sales will surely suffer even more severely going forward.

The big question about future generations being posed actually reaches past the Boomer-like, Generation Xers, all the way to Generation Y and teenaged kids called the "Millenials". With a culture of short-attention span entertainment and disposable, hand-held devices driving social networks that pride themselves with the idea of taking away creative control from the record producer or movie director – will entertainment be completely revolutionized 25 years from now? Or will the tech-saturated kids of today revert to more analog, more organic pursuits as they age and increase in financial prominence? If Generation X is any guideline for the generations below them, this prediction is completely possible. While Xers are definitely connected to the Internet and many new media, they are also driving the "green" movement and have been the power behind local, sustainable farming as well as artisinal winemaking and Eastern health trends like yoga and Pilates. Time will tell if the younger generation will follow in the footsteps of the generations before them.

Source: AVRev News

[CharlieU]

I think I have the answer.....Time! Audiophiles are rare in the general population. To most people, music is the "soundtrack" of life. It's there in the background adding a little something to the moment, but it's not their focus. Very few people in their early years have or want to take the time to really listen to music. As we Boomers move into retirement we start having the time to just sit there and listen. It's then that we realize the $500 system that was so good for so long really doesn't sound quite right. Those with the disposable income then go out and buy the audiophile grade equipment. Boomers are a large percentage of the population and even if it's only a small percentage of the group doing this, the industry is going to see a surge in sales. Will this cycle continue with the follow on generations?

I'm 54. I like rock, pop and alternative. I enjoy Britney Spears just as much as the Beatles. I don't like classical or jazz. Take a look at the catalog of high quality music recordings. If you have tastes like mine, the pickings are pretty slim. I don't have a high end system, but I sure can tell when the source material is poor quality. Where is the incentive to buy audiophile grade equipment when the source material isn't going to sound any better? Gen X,Y and Z will be there to keep the high end sales going only if the recording industry provides them a reason.

[yourgrandma]

I agree, there really isnt much out there that would encourage someone to buy a nice system. All you need now is an iPod filled with low bitrate mp3s and some cheap heardphones or stock car speakers and 15kw worth of Best Buy amps an eight or ten of the cheapest subs you can fit in your car to be considered an audiophile these days.

Quantity over quality has doomed us to listening to ever louder, less dynamic masters and people with poor taste and a lot of mom and dads money ensure there will be a steady supply of rap and emo punk rock bands to fill all those mp3 players with poorly mixed, low quality music, compressed to the point where it sounds like a cellphone ringer.

[mrstampe]

yourgrandma wrote:

I agree, there really isnt much out there that would encourage someone to buy a nice system. All you need now is an iPod filled with low bitrate mp3s and some cheap heardphones or stock car speakers and 15kw worth of Best Buy amps an eight or ten of the cheapest subs you can fit in your car to be considered an audiophile these days.

Quantity over quality has doomed us to listening to ever louder, less dynamic masters and people with poor taste and a lot of mom and dads money ensure there will be a steady supply of rap and emo punk rock bands to fill all those mp3 players with poorly mixed, low quality music, compressed to the point where it sounds like a cellphone ringer.

That's kind of cynical, don't you think? I'm sure you couldn't find true audiophiles in their teens and early twenties in any of the post-WWII decades. There will always be generational shifts and cycles, but today's age bracket that gravitates toward messy loud distorted car bass will mature. An interest in accomplishing something special in SPL will evolve for some into an interest in achieving something special in musical accuracy.

Also, technology has allowed for greater music access and portability than ever before. These new outlets expose the computer-reliant generations to far more than what the major record labels produce to maximize profit and FM play to the masses. Independent and international music have enriched the musical palate much more today than was ever possible before. I think that greater access and portability will ultimately widen interest in reproducing quality music at home, and eventually promote growth in the audiophile community. At least, that's my hope...

[drumdude]

I am definately a typical gen-Xer. Grew up with MTV, where bands with cool looks won out over talent. I was into punk rock 20 years ago. I wanted it loud and nasty, I didn't have enough money care about quality. Somehow I survived my youth with my hearing intact.

As was previously stated, evolution happens, tastes mature, people grow up. Today I have most of my collection archived into my computer, but it is high bit-rate and played back through a firewire mixer with a 24-bit DAC into the best gear I can currently afford, in a room with acoustic treatments. and today you may find me listening to Metallica or a great new Flamenco Guitarist I found on Magnatune.com.

[MikeDuke]

I got bit by this bug very early in life. As such, I am willingly doing what I have to do to get a very nice 2ch/HT system. But, I am not sacrificing my retirement to it. Through great deals I have built a system that I would never have thought possible at my age.

[maverick11359]

mrstampe wrote:

That's kind of cynical, don't you think? I'm sure you couldn't find true audiophiles in their teens and early twenties in any of the post-WWII decades. There will always be generational shifts and cycles, but today's age bracket that gravitates toward messy loud distorted car bass will mature. An interest in accomplishing something special in SPL will evolve for some into an interest in achieving something special in musical accuracy.

Also, technology has allowed for greater music access and portability than ever before. These new outlets expose the computer-reliant generations to far more than what the major record labels produce to maximize profit and FM play to the masses. Independent and international music have enriched the musical palate much more today than was ever possible before. I think that greater access and portability will ultimately widen interest in reproducing quality music at home, and eventually promote growth in the audiophile community. At least, that's my hope...

I totally agree Mark!
I'm brand new to this Forum but I've been around for a while on other Audio forums.So from my observations theres alot of youngersters (20-30) out there that still want to learn about better sound reproduction . To me while they keep asking questions its a good sign that there's still love in this hobby .
Your quote :-Independent and international music have enriched the musical palate much more today than was ever possible before. I think that greater access and portability will ultimately widen interest in reproducing quality music at home, and eventually promote growth in the audiophile community. At least, that's my hope

Personally the mention of international and home rings so true in your quote.My own experience since having the internet in the last six years has broaden my system with tweeks and mods(sound stage seperation,clarity) ,let me find new music sources and artists that i didn't even now existedin the States,to the stage where my collection of music is now 500% CD/SACD/DVD-A stronger .
At home my father started me down the trip of sound enlightenment back in the late 60's and now out of three daughters my 19 year old youngest has started the trip also and I possibly believe she has a better ear than myself. So keep the faith and will keep hoping together.

Rick