WAM Census 2021 Results - Age & Gender

lostwin

Tinker Bod
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So here we go... 

I would like to release the the results in a series of discussion topics focusing on different elements of the WAM Census 2021. By doing it this way - rather in one big hit  - I'm hoping we can develop more focused discussions about what it all might mean.

As with all the results to be published, they will naturally reflect those that both read the forum and chose to complete the survey. 215 responses in total were collected.

Chart_Q1_211112 copy 2.png

I guess first, and most obvious, is that it overwhelmingly appears to be a male dominated hobby. In fact only 115 respondents provided their gender details - although that could reflect that the age and gender was squeezed into one question. Nevertheless, taking at face value based on those that did reply, we are overwhelmingly male. I would suggest that the hobby has all the traits of appealing to men - it's both gadgety, tweaky &  spendy and allows periods of isolation that fit the profile of many mens hobbies. Which is not to say by any means that that women don't enjoy music, just that typically the process is much less important than the experience for them - would it be fair to say that us men are more 50/50?

Some very clear trends on age as well. It's a middle aged hobby. with 71% of respondents in their 50's or 60's. 

I would throw the following out there;

- Is this because at that age we have the disposable means and the time to indulge?

- This age group is more likely to interact with the forum and therefore complete the survey?

- It's a nostalgia trip, we were brought up with HiFi and and the connection to physical media?

- Could this even mean it is a dying hobby as our generation moves on?

Over to you...

 

Nopiano

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The age profile is pretty much what I’d guessed from having been here for a few years.

I had expected men to account for 95% plus, but clearly some folks didn’t read the questions!  And with statistics, you could report that 52% aren’t male!  In fact shouldn’t the male:female percentage be based on those replying, as not having a gender is pretty unlikely - steering clear of woke gender ideas. 

 
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StingRay

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Ray
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I thought the age would be higher, 50-60 is the largest group. Not many over 70. I have noticed a few younger members recently.

Yes nearly all male, no surprise there.

Dying hobby, not sure, maybe as men get older they become interested? But it’s different now, I had a Hifi system when I was 15,  not very good one but now how many teenagers have a HiFi system? I don’t know anyone around here that has one. 

 
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PeteT59

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Well no real surprise on the age and gender front, other than the lack of gender responses - by the way what was the age response take-up rate?

50s and 60s grew up with vinyl, 30s and 40s probably grew up more accustomed to CDs, still physical media, but perhaps more at home with digital I might guess..?

Sent from my CLT-L09 using Tapatalk

 
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lostwin

Tinker Bod
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Well no real surprise on the age and gender front, other than the lack of gender responses - by the way what was the age response take-up rate?

50s and 60s grew up with vinyl, 30s and 40s probably grew up more accustomed to CDs, still physical media, but perhaps more at home with digital I might guess..?

Sent from my CLT-L09 using Tapatalk
 
Sorry, should have said, 100% response rate on the age question.

 

lostwin

Tinker Bod
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I thought the age would be higher, 50-60 is the largest group. Not many over 70. I have noticed a few younger members recently.

Yes nearly all male, no surprise there.

Dying hobby, not sure, maybe as men get older they become interested? But it’s different now, I had a Hifi system when I was 15,  not very good one but now how many teenagers have a HiFi system? I don’t know anyone around here that has one. 
Yes, for me that touches on the most interesting trend. As our group moves on will it be filled with new middle age-ers coming into the hobby, or is our interest based on our generational experience growing up?

 

lazycat

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I had a Hifi system when I was 15,  not very good one but now how many teenagers have a HiFi system? I don’t know anyone around here that has one. 
I imagine most of the 50-60 age group became interested in hifi at an early age because a decent system was something to aspire to.

When I was in my teens hifi was discussed almost as much as cars(boring). It makes sense this age range is overly represented.

As an aside - I never learnt to drive, I spent my money on hifi and music from my mid-teens.

 

lostwin

Tinker Bod
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I imagine most of the 50-60 age group became interested in hifi at an early age because a decent system was something to aspire to.

When I was in my teens hifi was discussed almost as much as cars(boring). It makes sense this age range is overly represented.

As an aside - I never learnt to drive, I spent my money on hifi and music from my mid-teens.
Interest and enjoyment of music doesn’t seem to be on the wane. How the young access it and play it on has definitely moved on - but will that mean they will shun hifi in the future?

perhaps it has only been the select few all along, how many of your ‘regular’ friends have an interest in hifi

 
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Warszawa

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So lots still confused by their sexuality perhaps
 
I must have missed that question. 
 

At the risk of sounding woke, the options should’ve been male, female and non-binary. 

 

TIU

Artist and daft as a brush
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The hobby is not a 'middle-aged thing' for me. I've had a hifi system of some type or other and bought records, then CDs too since I started full time work at age 17.

 
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StingRay

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Ray
HiFi Trade?
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Interest and enjoyment of music doesn’t seem to be on the wane. How the young access it and play it on has definitely moved on - but will that mean they will shun hifi in the future?

perhaps it has only been the select few all along, how many of your ‘regular’ friends have an interest in hifi
That’s true but I think it is different now, I know quite a few young people but not many talk about music like we used to but that was the 70s. 

Festivals are more pop rather than rock music these days. 

HiFi shops don’t just sell HiFi. Some HiFi mags don’t just cover HiFi.

 

JamieMcC

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I would hazard a guess hifi is very much alive it's just that the majority of new blood and money is from the under 30 who listen with headphones.

Head over to a forum like headfi and take a look see.

The Chord Dave thread for instance is over 1218 pages of posts with Rob Watts posting and answering questions directly on the thread. If required you can even PM him.

The largest thread looks like the Schiit Audio thread 5619 pages which was started in January 2014.

 
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robbie010

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I would suggest one major factor will be expendable income.

Most younger people (20’s - 40’s) won’t or don’t see the value in “expensive” hifi gear for music reproduction, given the amount of low cost, no effort gear on the market. Add in to that the fact that many people people now leave it till later in life to start a family, so other expenditure takes priority.  

 

JANDL100

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I must have missed that question. 
 

At the risk of sounding woke, the options should’ve been male, female and non-binary. 
It does seem curious to me that only half of the respondents answered the gender question. 

In retrospect I agree that a non-binary or non-CIS* option perhaps should have been included. That would have provided information that I would have found interesting..... if 50% of hifi forum denizens don't see themselves as fitting within the old male/female split in some way that would be a fascinating result! 

* Old geezer trying to keep up with current thinking! :D

I went back to the survey to see how it was worded but it's no longer visible. Maybe it would be handy if the questions were listed at the top of each discussion thread? 

 
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lazycat

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how many of your ‘regular’ friends have an interest in hifi
TBH, none. When I was much younger my b-in-law and a close friend both had a fervent interest in kit and music.

The group now thinks I'm eccentric(tho not just hifi. lol), most see music as a background thing.

 
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simon g

Senior Wammer
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Sep 11, 2006
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Lincolnshire Coast
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No surprises there at all.

HiFi as a hobby and interest is fading away rapidly; it has been doing so for many years now. That is the prime driver behind hifi inflation over the same period; as unit volume sales decrease unit sales value increases in an attempt to maintain profit.

It's commented above that it never felt middle aged as interest started as a teenager. That rather misses the point. Many here started as teenagers (at 15 for me) and have stayed with it in the long term. These people are now middle and old aged. How many teenagers today are in to hifi? Virtually none.

Good quality means of listening to a vast array of music are now easily accessible and affordable. They're also very portable. Lifestyles have changed with so many other activities vying for our leisure time. Jobs have become far more encompassing. Very few want to sit on their own listening to music. As far as I'm concerned, these are the days of miracle and wonder (to borrow from a song) for music availability. Millions of albums available at the click of a button. 1000+ albums easily portable on a device that also allows video calls, pays for stuff, interacts with the world. This was science fiction not that many years ago.

On forums like this it is easy to become deluded that hifi is a mass interest hobby. It isn't and never will be again. Most people have no interest in kit at all, other than as a means to enjoy music.

Sorry to report, but we're all dodos here.

 
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