SIGNALS

Millennials, also known as Generation Y, are defined as the demographic with birth years ranging from the early 80s to the early 00s. In other words, Millennials are about 15 to 35 years old. I am appealing to you. You account for almost half of all audio hardware sales. More than any other single group, you are the ones responsible for screwing it up for the rest of us.

Millennials, before I beat on you, let me offer a few words of congratulations. First, you are buying vinyl records. Physical media is on a downward slide, but thanks to your spending, at least we're not yet fully careening into streaming. You are buying more than half of the LPs sold today. I am disappointed that you are not buying more Compact Discs, with sound quality that far surpasses almost all other audio sources, but if you think vinyl is charming, that's cool. Who knows, maybe your interest in that retro format could even fuel a renewed appreciation for music collections on shelves, and that may stimulate a more serious appreciation for music playback. Good work!

Now for the beat down: You're not buying high-quality or even mid-quality audio gear. I frankly can't understand that. Sure—your monthly phone bill sucks up way too much of your disposable cash. But surely you've listened to some high-quality audio here and there and can recognize how genuinely enjoyable that is. Good sound is such a luxury, and an affordable one. I'm not asking you to buy a Ferrari—just a receiver and a couple of decent speakers. But, for some reason, you're choosing not to. As a group, you are in the driver's seat of the audio hardware market. And as a group, you are driving our car off the cliff. The problem is your insatiable love of soundbars.

When soundbars first appeared, I figured they were the perfect way to provide center-channel playback in a 5.1 system. Now, it appears that soundbars (aka wireless speakers) are becoming the de facto, general-purpose audio playback device. Soundbar sales keep increasing, while sales of other playback means decrease. And let's be clear about who is responsible for this: You are.

According to the NPD Group's, Soundbar Ownership and Usage Study, a year ago, Millennials bought 35% of all audio hardware; now they account for 44%. At the same time, sales of soundbars costing less than $200 saw double-digit growth, while sales of soundbars costing more than $500 fell 34%. Not only are you buying soundbars, you are buying junk soundbars.

And let's be clear here: you're not particularly buying soundbars for movie playback. Aside from TV use, two-thirds of Millennials use them for audio-only playback. And I'm guessing that most of the audio playback is from low-fi music sources. You're buying vinyl because it's cool but obviously, I am afraid to say, you don't know diddly about sound quality.

Millennials, I appeal to you. You already outnumber us Boomers and will eventually supplant us. In coming years, as your purchasing power increases (and it will, dramatically) your demographic will define the nature of consumer audio. The market will chase your dollars and it will gravitate toward whatever you want to buy. If you continue with current purchasing patterns, you will drive us off the cliff. Please reconsider the importance of audio. Spend a few bucks for something better than a cheap soundbar.

Seriously. I'm begging you.