The Hi-Fi Generation Gap—and What the Industry Must Do

This week, host Jorden Guth is joined by SoundStage! Audiophile Podcast producer and SoundStage! Access editor Dennis Burger to offer a sneak peek at what’s ahead in season five of the podcast. They discuss Dennis’s recent editorial, “Yet Another Navel-Gazing Editorial About Boomers, Kids, and the Future of Hi-Fi,” as well as a manifesto from SoundStage! Network founder Doug Schneider titled “A New Year’s Wake-Up Call for the Hi-Fi Industry,” and what it all means for the long-term health of our hobby, our industry, and the media outlets that cover them both.

Sources:

“Yet Another Navel-Gazing Editorial About Boomers, Kids, and the Future of Hi-Fi” by Dennis Burger: https://www.soundstageaccess.com/index.php/feature-articles/1368-yet-another-navel-gazing-editorial-about-boomers-kids-and-the-future-of-hi-fi

“A New Year’s Wake-Up Call for the Hi-Fi Industry” by Doug Schneider: https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/opinion/2024-a-new-years-wake-up-call-for-the-hi%E2%80%91fi-industry

Chapters:
00:00:00 Announcement
00:00:31 Introductions
00:01:27 The hi-fi demographic shift from 10,000 feet
00:10:02 Can video games be hi-fi?
00:13:51 Does the dominant entertainment medium influence the hobby?
00:30:29 Why is “movies vs. music” a thing?
00:43:05 The marketing trap
00:54:36 Outro music: “Strata” by Lake Union