Is car audio/DIY dying?

In Europe here is quite a big descent in car audio scene. Only in a few countries scene is still running strong - Germany, United Kingdom, Italy. If we look at the whole world not so different situation - I can see the same thing. USA is still strong (at least stronger than EU), far east is booming - very strong scene that is still growing fast.

The true car audio fanatics will always build our own systems no matter of what, but younger generation is at question here - Factory systems becoming better and better, no problems with optical integration, no need to invest big bucks......and some other things like - youngsters dont want to invest time to educate themselves on acoustic and fabricating, they dont have money to spent on car audio, they dont have skills, dont have willingness to work on their systems, they dont give a fuck for anything except for their phones and tablets......
 
HiFiAudioGuy34 said:
I appreciate everyone's input. What I've noticed is the enthusiasts claim that its "changing" while the people who work in the industry say its been slowing down significantly. I see both sides and think I'll quote the great Ben Stiller when he says...

"a little bit of both"
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It is a little bit of both. Part of it is the younger generation not having much interest. I have 2 kids with cars and neither of them care how good of an audio system they have. If at least 1 speaker works, good enough.
 
This is from my experience ^^^ all they care about is whether or not their earbuds work for their iPhone.
 
Not sure we want car manufacturers putting in decks with optical outputs. If they do, they'll just use a proprietary codec and we'll be back to where we started.
 
Euphonic said:
It is a little bit of both. Part of it is the younger generation not having much interest. I have 2 kids with cars and neither of them care how good of an audio system they have. If at least 1 speaker works, good enough.
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You should be happy they kept going after they got their phones ?
 
LBaudio said:
In Europe here is quite a big descent in car audio scene. Only in a few countries scene is still running strong - Germany, United Kingdom, Italy. If we look at the whole world not so different situation - I can see the same thing. USA is still strong (at least stronger than EU), far east is booming - very strong scene that is still growing fast.

The true car audio fanatics will always build our own systems no matter of what, but younger generation is at question here - Factory systems becoming better and better, no problems with optical integration, no need to invest big bucks......and some other things like - youngsters dont want to invest time to educate themselves on acoustic and fabricating, they dont have money to spent on car audio, they dont have skills, dont have willingness to work on their systems, they dont give a fuck for anything except for their phones and tablets......
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I can understand some countries in the EU having a OK scene. The EU seems to be pretty well connected by train and a lot of cities have good bus/subway systems and I don't know about the car ownership rate or the daily drive/commute. I do know the vehicles tend to be designed a little bit smaller (in comparison to gas-guzzler SUV-land a.k.a USA) and hearing a lot about the millennial generation in the EU going through hard times (economic and employment) in certain countries I'd think car audio (or owning a car) would be pretty low on that list.
 
I'm currently facing car audio burnout myself. And I only live 5 miles from work and do mostly short hops around town. I do go trout fishing a couple times a month during the cooler months which is 3 hours round trip. But really, whether or not I install a system in my next vehicle is an unknown. As for DIY, some who used to DIY as a necessity are farming the work out to a trusted shop to get it done faster and better thanks to being blessed with the disposable funds to do so. Others have come to the point where they just don't want to mess with it anymore. With any hobby we have to ask ourselves if we truly enjoy what we do or are we just going through the motions out of habit? A few weeks back I asked myself why I put so much time and money into a truck I'm rarely in long enough to truly enjoy the system. My solution to that problem is to get into home audio. The truck sounds great for the amount of time and money I've put into it and could be better with a little more work. Too bad I can't justify doing much more to it "just because" and what's in it now will probably be what comes out of it when I get rid of the truck. If this truck goes from a daily to a tow rig that only gets a couple thousand miles a year on it I'll probably just return it to stock. IF I put a system in my next vehicle it will probably be just a simple 2-way front and small box sub. And just enough deadener in the doors let the woofers do their job without exciting the doors.
 
@HIFI AUDIOGUY34:
I belive that also American made cars are getting smaller, and you use more and more European meke cars (AUDI BMW VW, and a lot of Japanese cars like Hondas, Toyotas,...etc) Here in Europe is normal to have 2-3 or even more cars in family. In some countries fees on cars are killer (Norway,...)

problems with youngsters in EU, at least in my country is that they dont want to work for minimal wage, we older citizens must work until 60-65 which also present problem of not enough jobs,...this is also a problem, because youngsters can not or hardly manage to make own family/kids/own apartment.... we should be retired after 50-55 and go to earned pension, and youngsters should go to work after school/university and start live independant life
 
LBaudio said:
@HIFI AUDIOGUY34:
I belive that also American made cars are getting smaller, and you use more and more European meke cars (AUDI BMW VW, and a lot of Japanese cars like Hondas, Toyotas,...etc) Here in Europe is normal to have 2-3 or even more cars in family. In some countries fees on cars are killer (Norway,...)

problems with youngsters in EU, at least in my country is that they dont want to work for minimal wage, we older citizens must work until 60-65 which also present problem of not enough jobs,...this is also a problem, because youngsters can not or hardly manage to make own family/kids/own apartment.... we should be retired after 50-55 and go to earned pension, and youngsters should go to work after school/university and start live independant life
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yes american cars are getting smaller for the international market. for our domestic market they're getting bigger. the top selling (kinds) vehicles for around 10 years has been trucks and SUVs. Ford is cutting out their entire car offerings here in the USA and only producing trucks, SUVs, and the mustang. (google it)

I understand the youngsters across the pond don't want to work for minimum wage, for their entire lives they've probably been told to go to University and get a great job with benefits. Their parents probably wanted them to have a better life than themselves. Same thing here in the USA. But with the global economy slowing down, I hear the EU is slipping into a recession (German already in one) and all the banks over there doing a lot of questionable things (same in the USA). Its quite understandable why they're not living on their own or having children (same thing here in the USA. and we're SUPPOSEDLY the "richest" country in the world). The stock market has skyrocketed to all time highs, yet we have too many problems across the US (homelessness, decrease in life expectancy, opiod crises, wealth disparity, TERRIBLE infrastructure) its not even funny.

I've been seeing a LOT of chaos across the globe (South America, Europe, USA, Hong Kong, Middle East) most of it is due to economics. The same factors into why most of developed Western countries see an increase of their older population working later in life. Here in the USA millennials don't believe retirement plans will be there when we get older (Social security). The student debt (and all debt, credit cards, car loans, corporate debt etc.) is killing the next generation.
 
Car Audio will never die because there will always be people who will want to have great sound in their vehicles that will find a way to do that. The car audio seen is definitely changing though.

As far as the economy suffering and all this doom and gloom shit, well I don’t believe that for one second. Where I’m from the economy is actually exploding with growth, we have a laborer shortage with the lowest unemployment rate ever, and businesses around here are hiring with good paying jobs. If someone can’t get a job in today’s economy than it’s by choice or they are the most useless person in the world.
 
JCsAudio said:
Car Audio will never die because there will always be people who will want to have great sound in their vehicles that will find a way to do that. The car audio seen is definitely changing though.

As far as the economy suffering and all this doom and gloom shit, well I don’t believe that for one second. Where I’m from the economy is actually exploding with growth, we have a laborer shortage with the lowest unemployment rate ever, and businesses around here are hiring with good paying jobs. If someone can’t get a job in today’s economy than it’s by choice or they are the most useless person in the world.
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I honestly don't know how to respond.... This was the most self-centered vague response to a very complex discussion.
 
From being away from Car Audio for 15yrs, and slowly learning about the scene again here are some thoughts.

Kids today a lot of times are not even getting their license till 18. They are content having parents drive them, For us in the 30-40-50-60 range. Cars were freedom. Cars were where we might have kissed our first girl. Or had those serious life discussions. Where we road tripped with friends. Etc. Lots of memories and growing up and hanging out and meeting people all tied to cars.

For a lot of kids today... they have always been connected with their friends through technology. They didn't need a car to "hangout".. they "hangout" online. Etc.

Don't get me wrong, there are still kids out there who are into that stuff, but it's not the norm anymore.

But the economy and what kids want have changed. I seem to see more older guys coming back to the hobby now that familes are raised and more income is available. So now we can "get the system we wish we could have afforded as kids" That's me.

The other side is the economy and expectations. People's expectations are to high imo. When I was 21 I was going to a 2yr community college full time, AND working full time as a janitor at a nuclear station.. B/c well... I had to. I needed a job, and instead of complaining about not having one or "looking for what I was qualified for".. I took whatever I could find. And I'm proud of it. Feel like it doing that sort of work made me a better person b/c I realized struggles and understand the importance of things.

The ambitions and top rated priorities of younger generation seems to be travel. While I get it, I haven't traveled much. B/c I couldn't afford it. So I worked. I've worked since I was 15. There are plenty of jobs. Just not jobs people want to do.

Ran across one of the smartest kids I've met in years the other day. Kid is 23. Got out of school. Went to trade school for welding. And in his first 3 yrs welding has made 530k. Kid will do better by time he is 30, than I will in my whole life. No debt. And be rocking it. But it's not glamorous hip work. It's hard. Dangerous where he is. But the pay is good.

....I'm about to turn 40 in 2 months... but sound like my dad.
 
Many car audio lines are becoming stagnant. They keep the same amp and speaker lines for many years and customers get tired of looking at the same stuff.
 
Lewtz , other than I still don't know how you did it ? I am impressed with you putting your name on my thoughts !
 
There are a few reasons why car audio systems may die - the most common of which is a power window switch issue. If your car audio system is dying intermittently, it is best to have it checked out by a mechanic to rule out any other potential issues. If the mechanic finds that your car audio system is dying as a result of a power window switch issue, he or she can usually fix the issue by replacing the power window switch.
 
devwilkey said:
There are a few reasons why car audio systems may die - the most common of which is a power window switch issue. If your car audio system is dying intermittently, it is best to have it checked out by a mechanic to rule out any other potential issues. If the mechanic finds that your car audio system is dying as a result of a power window switch issue, he or she can usually fix the issue by replacing the power window switch.
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