"chexxon" wrote in message
om...
OK, so when did everyone lose interest in music and go ga-ga over
movies? Enquiring minds want to know . Pardon my ignorance, but
you see, I pulled a bit of a hi-fi Rip Van Winkle. After buying my
current stereo system in the early 90's, I took 10 years off from
being an audio buff, and only recently got back into it. And I
quickly found out that most "audio" stores have been transformed into
video ones !

Up until about 1992, there was a solid "average joe" constituency interested
in audio.
Up until that time, there was a value oriented manufacturing segment,
patronized by hobbyists, that included the likes of Hafler, formerly Dynaco,
Heathkit, etc.

The trend in gear after that time shows a shift of emphasis from substance
to appearance, with sharp escalations in the price.
In the late 80's and early 90's there were already some failures of chains,
ie., Stereo Discounters, that had deep stocks of wide brands of mid priced
merchandise.

So I would say that the stereo market peaked sometime in the mid to late
80's, and began a gradual decline that accelerated in recent years.