It’s the time of year for saving money!
Unless you live under a rock or cut all of your cables, including the Internet, you likely have heard the comment “OK, Boomer.” which, became popular when a young woman named Clohe Swarbrick reacted in November 2019 to being interrupted by a member of New Zealand’s parliament while giving a speech about climate change (but has origins dating back as far as 2015.)
Her retort became a viral meme as a protest about Generation Z’s disgust over older generation’s ambivalence towards the topic. Her deadpan quip was widely picked up by global media outlets thus becoming a viral moment. Ironically, according to Wikipedia the average age of the New Zealand Parliament was 49 years old which makes them, on average much more Generation X, who tend to look at issues like climate change more like Millennials and Gen Zs. It is unclear how old the person disrupting Ms. Swarbrick’s speech was but that’s not really the point.
“OK, Boomer” is as much about complicity as anything. The Millennials and Generation Z feel like little is being done about climate change (and other topics like student loan debt) in politics and potentially foreshadows an age when these younger generations will vote in larger numbers. The upcoming 2020 United States election will be a litmus test on this concept but that is a good year away and we are here to talk about audio, right?
Let’s get this fact out there up front: without Baby Boomers there is no audiophile hobby or business as we know today. Simply put, the Boomers made the hobby over the past four plus decades. They designed the most famous and well-reviewed gear. They built and ran the stores that sold the systems. In larger and larger numbers, even though some morphing into Yuppies in the 1980s, Boomers continually powered the specialty electronics business. There is no denying that fact but as we head into 2020, Baby Boomers are older consumers and the hobby is at a meaningful and troubling crossroads.
How many $20,000 preamps will sell designed by an 85-year old audiophile designer 10 years from now? How many more 73 year olds need another pair of $35,000 speakers in the next few years? Some, but the future of the hobby and especially the audiophile business is to attract new buyers. The good news is that Millennials and Gen Z love music – especially streaming music. They love experiential events, perhaps over physical item but an audiophile system can deliver that goosebumps effect which could appeal to them.
The question I ask to AudiophileReview.com readers is: are we complicit to the downfall of the hobby or is there something that we could do to help be more welcoming to a hobby that is still very much focused on a solo listening experience based around expensive and esoteric products? The hobby tends to be drawn to old technologies be it tubes, vinyl or even “NOS” (not on sale) vintage DAC chips when we have better alternatives such as Class-A electronics, HD digital files (streaming or download) that are exact copies of the master recording not ½ the dynamics like with vinyl and digital playback devices that have both bleeding edge performance but also meaningful room acoustics, accommodations for subwoofers and beyond.
How can the audiophile community be more inclusive and engaging with the large numbers of the next, music-loving demographic?
Here are some out-of-the-box proposed solutions that we can maybe act on:
- What would happen if every older audiophile (including Gen Xers like me) took a younger music enthusiast to a traditional stereo store for a 20 minute visit? Imagine if 10,000 or 20,000 young people got to experience the best that our business-hobby has to experience just once? If you are going to be a crack addict, you need somebody to get you that first rock, the glass pipe and something to light it with (trust me on this one). Shouldn’t that be us?
Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, Capital Audiofest, AXPONA and all of the other shows should offer a large but limited number of free tickets to local music, film, engineering, business (or any other interested parties) students in the area who might want to come see what good sound is about. Manufacturers could put on a for-credit series of classes about AV electronics that could be very engaging. I could see someone like Nelson Pass putting on one hell of a master class on amp design for a high school or college class. I know that Ray Kimber is heavily involved in Utah with college students and he could likely help promote such programs at regional audio shows. I could see Kevin Voecks from Revel teaching the basics of room acoustics and speakers in a way that is both engaging and musically relevant for younger listeners. This is just a start of where we could go with this idea and who we could recruit to engage new fans. Imagine the effect of mainstream press from local TV, newspapers and radio for such an initiative for an audio show that is looking to sell more tickets? Everybody wins here.
- What if retailers set up truly affordable music playback systems that focused on future technology as it relates to younger buyers? Kids can’t afford advanced audiophile systems in general but they can grow into it as many of us did – over time.
Imagine bridging the gap between video games and high end audio? The video game industry is bigger than all of Hollywood and all of music combined in 2019. That is fact even if music people don’t see it that way. Kids will spend on gaming in ways that we could only hope that they would on audio. What if the two concepts were merged. What if a pair of Focal speakers were mated with a big pair of SVS subwoofers in a nearfield audiophile system based around a fast refresh, 8K monitor playing Fortnite on a super-fast gaming PC? Michael Jordan, who owns an NBA team, is investing in E-sports. Comcast is building a $50,000,000 stadium to host E-sports events in Philadelphia. Anybody thing that the audiophile community should get in on the trend or are $100 headphones OK for this already-huge market that is only getting bigger.
There will come a day, sooner than later, when the audiophile hobby-business will need to be powered by a new generation of buyers. What is the legacy of the Boomers who got it to the highest of heights? Are you complicit like the many in the GOP on climate change? Do you deny science (like how a 14 bit, 33 year old DAC chip somehow performs better than today’s state of the art DAC chip sets) to promote esoterica? Or do are you willing to embrace the future, change and work towards the future success of audiophilia? It isn’t as easy to do as the words are to write but I will take on the challenge if you will. Comment below what you can do and what ideas you have to add to the discussion. We love to hear from you.
No one under 30 will buy a $20K amp unless they are a millionaire. They can’t afford it.
Of course. and nor should they.
Outside of Beverly Hills High – who’s first car is a Ferrari? Who’s first speakers are Wilsons?
It is a journey. The PROBLEM IS: we need to help promote the hobby past the 70 year olds who are already sold on it (who might be the people who by $20,000 preamps) to a new generation.
My first electronics was NAD. I’ve been blessed to own EVERYTHING GOOD since. My first car was a 1992 VW GTI (in red) and the day I picked it up – the very good salesman at Porsche-Audi-VW of Cherry Hill, New Jersey had me sit in a bight red twin turbo 911. I bought one of those too – albeit when I was in my early 30s. Mark Levinson always told me “you need to plant a seed to grow a mighty tree”.
frank, no one over 30 will buy a $20k preamp, either, unless they’re a millionaire.
unless, you’re one of those lunatic fringe audiophiles; then, you might consider it, regardless of your age… ;~)
doug s.
Most people cant hear what they buy, get a hearing test before you buy. May save you a lot of bucks.
This is kind of defeatist.
I sold an entire Cello system to someone in Ridgefield, CT with nearly no hearing in his right ear. He owned 20,000 classic LPs and nearly 30,000 classical CDs along with vintage 9-foot August Furuster (sp?) concert grand piano and more. He wanted the best and he got it and LOVED IT.
I am not saying we should seek out deaf people to sell $100,000 plus audio systems too but a new, younger, better-hearing generation might be worth our while.
Don’t be complacent like Ivanka. Do something. Stand for something. OK, Boomer. That’s the point of the comment by the woman in NZ. (In her case, she’s talking about climate change not audio obviously:)
Just like listening to old time radios is a hobby which went obsolete decades ago, HiFi will suffer a similar fate. People who hear a great system are impressed, but in the same way that I am impressed when somebody shows me their awesome stamp collection. As impressed as I was, I would never give a thought to getting into stamp collecting.
Coming from a radio family (my father founded the radio trade publication Inside Radio and sold it in 2002) I can tell you radio as a business is deader than a doornail.
With access to nearly every bit of music ever recorded via Qobuz, Tidal, Amazon or elsewhere for a small amount of money per year and in HD – today’s generation loves music more than any before them yet we’ve got a complacency issue with the Boomers who keep their hobby the old way (read the print zines) thus pushing vinyl, tubes (I like tubes btw), discs, physical media and ugly systems when we’ve got so much better.
It is time to take a stand.
The future of audio belongs to future people. So, there is only so much we elders can do now. But I agree, it’s worthwhile for us to try.
As an organizer of an audio club, I try to emphasize music and good sound at all prices, including very inexpensive gear. We do not make a fuss over esoteric cables, weird feet, and so on (none of which have impressed me). Rather, we try to talk about observations that are repeatable — things that make a CLEAR difference that most anyone can hear. As much as anything, I will continue to state — when asked — that there’s no point fetishizing any particular technology or chipset. A talented design engineer makes more difference than any of that. And finally, we try very hard to make people of all types feel at home if they venture into our meetings, regardless of what they look like or what kind of music or audio floats their boat.
Can you bring the audiophile club to say a local college electronics club or engineering society or music school? That would be cool JUST to get them AWARE of what we do.
Just a thought.
And thank you for your enthusiasm!!! 🙂
Jerry, We have not yet brought the club to the college, but we have hired students from the local music program (Portland State University) to give live demos for us.
The 800 lb Gorilla in the room. After neccesities, rent, college debt, who has money ? Even if you’re older you may be finding disposable income isn’t what it used to be. Wealthy audiophiles were never the norm. Audio needs be a lot more affordable to survive.
I agree that part of the problem is the huge wealth stratification that has developed in society. It leaves many manufacturers chasing patronage of the very rich, and many citizens without the disposable income to experiment with stereo gear and without much time to listen to it.
You are right Mike.
I remember at Cello in the Mid-1990s – our prices went up and up and up thus leaving aspirational audiophiles out of the game. The same Duet 350 amp (good class AB amp BTW) started at $6,500 when I moved over to Cello. Two years later, it was $9,500 and out of line with the Levinson’s, Krell’s and ARC’s of the world thus we only were selling to the 100% converted clients who wanted the entire Cello experience which was VERY PRICEY at the time.
They have money for Beats.
They have money for iPhones ($1,200 now)
They have money for experiential events (think Taco Bell hotel pop-up in Palm Springs this past summer)
They have money for hair dye. They have money for tattoos.
jerry, for these kids, these are necessities. boomers and those a few years behind the boomers, also had their necessities.
there will be very few of these kids who become audiophiles, and those that do, will somehow figure out how to sacrifice their “necessities” to feed their audiophile addiction. just like the very few boomers who are audiophiles, figured out how to sacrifice their “necessities” to feed their audiophile addiction.
$35k for a pair of speakers is a far cry from Beats, iPhones and tattoos.
lol OKAY Boomer. Now compare that to:
35k speakers
20k preamp
20k dual monos
10k record player
10k sacd player
5k cables
2k cable risers
2k rack
2k power conditioner
90% snake oil
10% engineering
Jerry old pal, since I’ve ( almost) retired from 31 successful years in the trenches of audio specialty retailing, I tell all colleagues how lucky I was to have the boomers as major market all that time.The boomers are the last group that really “ gets it”. But as I passed 27 years, new, younger folk came in with a whole different approach to music appreciation, shall we say. Portability became a near- paramount concern even as the sound quality of internet- based program material was shredded by MP-3 encoders. I would mention that we loved our transistor radios, but knew that there must be more to harvest. Yet I continued to convey the message that the more you give to the experience, the more profoundly it gives back. Eventually though, one thing became clear: the very activity that you or I might say comprises the original reason we have stayed so lit up can be simply expressed thusly,” Sit down ( in front of great loudspeakers,) Shut up, & Listen, a sole activity scenario for one or more. Well… guess what the youngsters don’t do??? No wonder they don’t want components etc., most likely never will. Oh, and those almost- attached cellphones? Hell, they’re little televisions & little computers all in one, little versions that combine the two most dominant electronic bits that they were raised with; no wonder. Last but least, the overbearing pressure from online & the publics’ ocd attitude about getting everything done as fast as possible mitigates against the delivery of hi- fi passion & actually tuning into your client over a period of time, & ultimately making that person insanely happy with their purchase and their connection with you. Again, turn the phone off. Play a physical music medium on great speakers. Sit down, shut up, & listen.!
Criag – good to hear from you.
Please note: we can’t spend the past. We can’t live in the past.
Physical media is dead. Audiophile won’t accept it but it is true and factually evident. In 2017 12% of the 8.9b of music sold was via CD (mostly CD) and vinyl. In the video world – streaming 4K is every BIT as good as a silver disc. Yet, Boomers hang on to the past to the peril of the business.
We need to embrace how new buyers want to consume music. We can’t force them to sit down, shut up and listen. They do it their way.
Why do we need to “convert” anyone? Most kids and not-so-kids (sorry, I’m not keeping track of the generational letter soup) have never heard a live symphony orchestra, chamber ensemble, jazz band or choir. Many say they “love music”, but to them, music is a background decoration to video games and movies or something pumped from phones through $1.00 earphones to ease their daily drudgeries. And that’s OK! Some may discover “real” music and look for better ways to play recordings, just like we did and still be a minority, just like we are. If you are in the audio business, you just have to keep looking for ways to interest them into buying gear that works for them.
By the way, My CD purchases for this month include the debut album of the wonderful young soprano Lise Davidsen, two new releases by cellist Gautier Capuçon and an all-Wagner evening from Dresden with conductor Christian Thielemann and tenor Jonas Kaufmann on Blu Ray. If physical media are dead, I’m having a great time at the funeral, which goes on forever!
As an audiophile in my 50’s now, heading towards 60, I date a fair number of women with grown kids in their 20’s. Owning an audiophile sound system is simply not on the radar screen. It doesn’t even occur to them to buy all this gear and set it up somewhere. At best, perhaps a Bluetooth speaker or a TV sound bar to enhance the sound a bit. The idea of a dedicated 2 channel system is foreign – “that’s all it does?”.
Quite honestly, I don’t think today’s music warrants a high end system either.
I keep on trucking with LP’s, my 2 channel setup, and my old BMW’s, my dates love this stuff, but their kids are basically on a different planet with different needs and wants. This generation also didn’t grow up tinkering with electronics like I did, also witness the death of stores like Radio Shack. Building kits and projects was the path towards higher end gear for me, and this particular path seems dead now. It’s all about game consoles etc.
John Hamill…..just a quick question…..do these “kids in their 20’s” still live at home?
john, what you (and many others) don’t seem to understand is that owning an audiophile system wasn’t on the radar screen of the vast majority of your peers when you were young, either. a cheap receiver and a cheap pair of speakers was ‘the thing”. now, “the thing” is something else, but neither thing is an audiophile system. very few of us w/the cheap receiver and speakers, ever went beyond that…
doug s.
i’m continually amazed that people still think that there’s a “downfall of the hobby”, and that there’s something that should be done about it. it just ain’t so. the audiophile hobby always has been a lunatic fringe hobby. as a “boomer”, everyone i know and knew growing up loves and loved music, and loves and loved listening to it in a pre-recorded format, as well as live. but i can count on one hand those i know who became “audiophiles”. how many $20k preamps have ever sold?
it’s the same as it ever was. personally, i think this continual dredging up by boomers, and those just behind the boomers, of this topic that hi end audio is dying, is driven by another fear: WE are dying. and this, i can understand. on 09 december, one of my life-long best friends, just keeled over and dropped dead while at work. (we were born 2 days apart in the same wing of the same hospital, and our parents lived 3 doors apart on the same street – we were friends even before we were born!). he was in apparent good health, no signs of any health issues. here one minute, gone the next. and, coincidentally, he was a died in the wool audiophile. one of the very few i’ve known that i didn’t meet thru the hobby. and the only one i know, that i didn’t meet thru the hobby, who might consider buying a $20k preamp…
so, just enjoy what you can, while you can. and don’t worry about the future of hi-end. if the power grid is still working 50 or 100 years from now, and there’s still any semblance of an advanced human civilization left, there will still be a lunatic fringe group of (mostly) men known as “audiophiles”.
doug s.
Thanks!
My thoughts, exactly.
I guess I live under a rock but then I’m not from New Zealand or LA.
Um, am I misunderstanding you that there is scientific, empirical data that shows a 14 bit, 33 year old DAC chip is, in fact, superior to “today’s state of the art DAC chip sets,” not merely ethereal, amorphous, je ne c’est quoi “sheen in the midrange” subjectiveness?
The older technology sounds better because the music was better. How much high fidelity do you need to listen to boots and pants?
You FRETTING WRITERS who continue to write about this bullshit are seemingly headed to an early grave!!! So why bother thinking, doing, saying, and especially fretting over the inevitable—FUTURE??? Instead, just give us the fine articles as usual, and leave the unknown alone…