I used the analogy of my favorite kind of restaurant, all too rare here in New York City, the kind that acquires the freshest ingredients and prepares them very simply, freshly caught fish on the grill over wood with salt and a squeeze of lime. Put the money into ingredients, not fancy chefs, and prepare each meal with care. Serve on newsprint.
After that article hit newsstands, I got feedback, much of it of the "get off my lawn" variety. "Kids today! ... Young people don't care about music ... They're so deep into their phones and social media that they'll never be able to appreciate good music well produced. Our hobby will die with us." No it won't.
We should all be suspicious of that kind of cynicism. That kind of thinking is usually about us, not them, and it always leads us astray. It takes no more than a few minutes of careful thinking—or of simply paying attention—to recognize that it's almost certainly wrong.
Good music is worthwhile. Of course it is. We know it, as others have at least for centuries, probably longer. Music has been enjoyed in the home, reproduced by electronic or mechanical means, for more than a hundred years. Given the hobby's attractions, some small fraction of music enthusiasts will become perfectionists, what we call audiophiles. It's the height of arrogance to think it will end with us. Our pursuit is not that fragile.
Another thing, just look around. Spotify, which is, at long last, about to launch its lossless hi-fi tier, is kicking butt, because young people listen to music constantly.
A few nights ago, I had dinner with a rep from a major hi-fi manufacturer. When visitors are in town, I usually take them to jazz clubs, but it was a Tuesday, and Tuesday isn't a good night for live music, even here in the Big City. So instead we went to a place called The Listening Room at Tokyo Record Bar, in Greenwich Village.
As we waited a few minutes for our table, we took in the scene. I was relieved to see that this was the kind of place where you could listen or talk, listen and talk. As much as I like the idea of the Tokyo-style jazz kissa, where talking isn't allowed while a record is playing, that's not what I was looking for that Tuesday night.
Looking around, I saw vintage McIntosh tube amplifiers, a pair of Tannoys over the Bar. A bit farther out, one on each side, was a pair of early Klipsch Heresy speakers. The turntables behind the bar were not vintage, just a pair of decent deejay decks.
The music was from the 1970s, largely funk and soul, all played from vinyl. The deejay kept up a steady groove, and the volume was loud enough to get into your soul and make your head bop, but you could carry on a conversation without yelling. The Japanese-themed food was good, too.
We were seated with drinks and the first round of food—some popcorn with Japanese spices—when my companion pointed out something I hadn't noticed: This was a very young crowd. My companion and I may have been the only ones over 35.
It was around that time I had this new insight: Looking around, it was clear that we don't need to attract young people to hi-fi. We just need to stay out of their way.
As we grow older, it's tempting to put ourselves at the center of things, to believe it can't go on without us. But the world looks very different to these younger folks. We hardly factor in to their worldview. If we try to insinuate ourselves—to show them the right way to do things—at best they'll ignore us and at worst they'll go off and find a different hobby. So let them find their own way in. There is no need to worry about the future of our hobby. It will be around a lot longer than we will.
It's not that I think my September advice was wrong. It was, as I already wrote, intended for a different audience. Manufacturers surely want to be ready when the next wave of folks goes shopping. But even for them, I think my advice missed the mark at least a little. Better advice, probably, is to presume nothing. Get ready to be flexible. With changes in technology and intergenerational sensibilities, the form our hobby takes may be scarcely recognizable in the next generation. Watch them, see if you can figure out what they want, then figure out how to give it to them.
My thinking here, in this column, is intended for a wider audience, for all of us already in this hobby. It's almost cheating, because it's advice that's almost never not correct, or at least useful, in any situation: Relax. Be humble. Give them space to reinvent things by their own lights, in their own image. We've certainly left room for improvement. Twenty years from now, or 50, plenty of people will still be listening to good music through good home systems, though I cannot predict what those systems will look or sound like. Just sit back and enjoy the music.
COMMENTS
One anecdote, while interesting, doesn't really prove anything. As for the restaurant, people could have been there for the food, its location, its current hotness, its ambiance with the music as a plus rather than the main draw. That manufacturers and dealers have to meet consumers where they are would seem to be a given.
Sure... and Elvis (, Jimi, Jim and Kurt) are still alive. Oh yeah, Paul on the other hand is dead.
Nobody I know under 30 is interested in hifi equipment. Nobody. They do listen to Spotify, yeah, but what does that say about their perception of sound quality? And even worse, they play the music on the built-in speakers of their iPhone. And that while me and my friends took the most terrible jobs when we were 14 and 15 to save up for a hifi set and to buy music/LPs. Okay, some young people still do that, I know. Some! But they play it on a budget recordplayer.
Anyway and beside this exception the official government data of were the different age categories spent their money at, now and in the past, also show that. No, we are seeing the last gasps of the (high-end/hifi) industry, making a lot of money quickly while it is still possible, while we are still alive with their absurd overpriced equipment.
And what does this article want to prove, the fact that it is even written is already a sign on the wall, sufficient proof (of the opposite). What is otherwise the point of this article?
with rooms to put their speakers into, and so on. That said, I'm an "old" and in my life I've only turned one person towards this hobby. Most people would rather spend their $music on the concerts.
I’m a 44 year old audiophile and I find this topic really interesting. The younger people who attended CAF were testing out headphones. There were stations with Audeze LCD-X headphones and Mytek Brooklyn Bridge II or Linear Tube Audio headphone amps. I think that’s the Trojan horse to get people into this hobby. We need to figure out how to graduate them from headphones to speakers and amps.
I had a discussion about this topic with a few industry people. One of them showed me one of their newest products. It uses a tube that costs $6000. The company’s cheapest product costs $5500. The last thing this industry needs is more aspirational products, we already have plenty of those. We need more high quality, inexpensive products because this hobby is frankly too expensive for most people to be able to enjoy. Thankfully there are companies like Emotiva, Schiit and Geshelli who understand this. I think it will probably be good for the hobby if a bunch of these companies making $50k+ speakers end up biting the dust.
My son inherited the Dynaco A25's from his grandfather that I grew up listening to and his girlfriend received a vinyl copy of Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band a couple Xmas's ago. He also shoots film with his Pentax K1000 more than he uses his digital K3. His friends shoot film too.
Yep, warms the heart...
My son is turning 15 soon, and I told him he can expect $1,000 for his birthday to spend however he pleases. His eyes lit up. “Sweet!” he said, without missing a beat. Then he launched into the Apple website about finally getting the new iPhone he’s been eyeing.
I couldn’t help but shake my, though I have to admit, I wasn't expecting something any different. Hoping he'd invest in a guitar, maybe, or even a stereo. But times change, I suppose. For him, the iPhone is more than a gadget; it’s his connection to friends, to music, to everything that matters in his world right now.
I told him, “Just remember it doesn't come with unlimited refills on the phone plan.” He laughed and promised to stick to his data plan this time around, sure he will.
...Maybe next time try "I'd like to buy you a guitar..." or "I'd like to buy you a stereo..."
This worked with my kids. It's a competition--your values vs Apple's
I would like to read more about young people on the engineering, design, and manufacturing side of the business. Maybe an interview, maybe a team profile, maybe insights into how audio engineering is taught to young people, that sort of thing.
And another interesting subject people are seemingly loathe to talk about, what about articles on how different design teams tune their products "by ear/listening"? How do they pass on their house sound to the young peeps? Just look at all. the. companies. And that's just the US - what about all the European outfits building gear/speakers/computer stuff?
Clearly a lot of people know how to use their ears, what are they doing w/ their young ears?
My elder son is a product designer with an engineering degree. His first job for 2 years was working on an audio product with Lawrence Dickie. He has a large record collection, goes to gigs all the time and has been to every Glastonbury since he was 15. He has two hifi systems in his small flat with his girlfriend, who is equally into music. I doubt he's spent more than $1,000 on hifi in his life. His hifi is old hand-me-downs, but it works, and a $300 streamer. No aspirations for anything better.
Most of his listening is of course on headphones, Sony XM5.
As long as there's a healthy culture of music, the means to enjoy that music individually, and privately, will follow.
I have a group of my sons friends (mid 20's) that come over once a month or so to sit with me in my audio room and ask questions about audio and music. It's wonderful! It is the first time that many of them have actually sat and listened to music not through head or earphones but speakers dedicated to music reproduction only. They're learning, hopefully what I did, that music is wonderful.
Look at the customer reviews on Google Maps, Yelp, and Tripadvisor. Not a single comment about the sound system. People go there for the vibe, food, drinks, and DJs – a place to enjoy socializing. It is just wishful thinking to imagine that places like it would inspire new audiophiles.
There are several problems that separate younger generations from this hobby. Some were touched directly, some indirectly, some not at all.
Firstly and foremost, this is an incredibly expensive hobby. Most people I know under 40 simply do not have the income, nor have had the opportunities for capital gains, that older generations have had. It’s hard to justify the stereo being the single most expensive thing you own, when you haven’t purchased a house. The point of actual diminishing returns is pretty low, but the hobby isn’t just about music playback. People stop listening to music and start listening to equipment at some point.
The snobbery, bigotry and gate keeping. Even within this article, you called the turntables “a couple of dj decks” Which, I’m going to go ahead and guess based on the other equipment, were Technics SL1200s. This bigotry and snobbery is a problem for us. The 1200 is a technically superior deck to most on top of it all. It really doesn’t make sense. The best equipment is also always European or Anglo American by some weird coincidence. Isn’t the real problem with the 1200 how it became famous?
This also grossly misunderstands why the Tannoys and McIntosh equipment are there; they look cool. Yes, they sound good. But they look awesome. Our generation can see and appreciate that many expensive hifi things just look cool, and are made with more craftsmanship. Perhaps you aren’t willing to admit that’s why it’s better but we are. Wilsons sound great, but I’ve absolutely heard speakers that are 1/10th the cost that easily are just as good at playing music. The Wilsons are certainly much more visually impressive. The most educated generation can see we are buying fancy boxes and an impressive engineering story with the Wilsons.
Which music is audiophile? What sources are audiophile? What equipment is audiophile? Who gets to decide? Why do our generation have to specifically adhere to your definition of audiophile?
Hey Supamark, I enjoy a lot of your comments here and, like with this, agree with you on much of it.
facts and data don’t lie.
But let’s not engage with this troll. He clearly came in wanting to pick a political argument. Stereophile is so much more enjoyable without any political talk.
The troll has little interest in discussing sound or audio. He used the successful lies and disinformation to validate his weak analogy in audio.
I'd like to think that the manufacturers will address the needs of young audioheads... or die.
They have their needs and perhaps it will be met by the marketing of Apple, Bose, et al as Peter P warns above, which is a shame because it takes choice out of the equation.
Perhaps it will take intelligent buying from the informed, young consumer public to discern bullshit from good engineering. And I'm not talking about audiophile mfg vs. audiophile mfg.
I find it utterly ironic they are surrounded by technology but most can't discern well-engineered technology from bad.
Who will provide those young buyers with a superior version of the feature sets they are looking for??
I think we can recognize the problem is largest consumer electronics manufacturers- and their distinctly lower quality products. Winning a few people from that side will ensure this hobby endures.
I just turned on a friend to the Audeze Maxwell headphones for gaming... and now audio. He loves them! (I gave him the STORY of Audeze and Sony and their current planar Pulse Elite Wireless.)
One little win leads to more years later. (Because I built TRUST, I get asked questions about audio, dentistry and other subjects.) The long game requires us involved in those passions- and do it with a story.
It will be fine. The future belongs to them anyway and they’ll find their own way. Already they are advantaged in ways that were incomprehensible to me in my youth. They have nearly unlimited access to recorded music on a scale that I would have considered astonishing. Reasonably priced personal audio playback systems using a phone, headphones, and a dac/amp deliver audio quality that was far better than what I could have purchased at 18 years old in 1972.
To attract young audiophiles, stop pushing speakers and components that cost as much as a car or house but that could not actually be identified in a double-blind test.
...shops by doing double blind tests.
No one.
Magazines like this one could conduct them, but they don't, because they know that the vast majority of high-dollar components couldn't be identified in such a setup (except for speakers). For example, take five identical higher-end systems, swap out one component in one system without telling the reviewer which it is, bring them into the room blindfolded, and see if they can identify which system is different. Good luck. But reporting their failure, while helpful to consumers, would damage the reviewer's audiophile cred and (more importantly) tank the magazine's advertising. As a result, every high-dollar component inevitably transports the reviewer to ever-higher levels of audio bliss.
The larger point is that as long as we keep telling young people that the price of entry to hi-fi Nirvana is 10s or 100s of thousands of dollars, we're not going to attract many of them.
...or as little as they want to.
No one does blind testing while shopping for most consumer goods.
There are many budget priced components in the Recommended Components list every 6 months that ANYONE can buy.
You are offput by the State of the Art equipment's pricing. It is not for your financial strata (or mine), but those manufacturers are building the best of the best and the price reflects that.
Stereophile has done blind testing in the past and it was ineffective. Many if not all audiophiles that have trained their ears through years of critical listening and can tell any one component inserted into any familiar system.
Again, you are mistrusting because you are jaded like most people these days and assume that Stereophile doesn't follow scientfic method or they violate the readers trust by 'lying' somehow to the public.
You are wrong in all of your assertions.
Stay out of the way. Moreover, don't make assumptions. In my building, which has 18 residential lofts and two businesses most of the tenants are Gen Z and Millennials. Two or three of the tenants have postal media boxes being delivered, full of records, at least once a week. They are buying more LPs than I am. There was a stack yesterday 4 high. You don't listen to LPs on Spotify. I have a number of friends in thesis cohorts too and when I have them over, they all express interest in my A/V system and when given access to Roon (with Qobuz) go bananas picking things to listen to. They all think records are cool and love music. It's true they jump around with digital files, but when you spin a record you can't fast forward. 60 year old's just don't need to be projecting their experiences onto 20-somethings or making assumptions and judgments about them when many clearly don't have a clue...
have exponentially higher salaries on average. IT and the medical fields are paying unbelievably high salaries to just work in those fields.
They can and do afford expensive audio equipment. The issue is they are ignorant to high end audio and they are also utterly mistrusting of it. Wrongfully, as they are as deluded as any other strata of the buying martket.
The audio business has changed remarkably over my lifetime (I’m 77) and no doubt it will continue. I remember radio DJs commenting on the “magic of tape recording” and when the “microgroove” LP was the next best thing.
The industry, marketplace, and hobby will all continue to evolve. Some wonderful inventions will be commercial failures, some will take the world by storm. Today’s young adults have their own priorities, and it’s not up to us geezers to tell them what’s important. The audio environment they build may not be particularly recognizable to us old-timers, but it will be what they make of it.
Yes, I’m one of those guys who says that s**t ain’t music, just like my parents did with what I was enjoying when I lived in their house. They will get what they feel is best for them, and I’ll simply observe and marvel.
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