In no particular order:

- Online-focused brands versus brands that support local business: There has to be a margin in the product for a local business to make a profit. Online brands cut the margin and many cut the quality of the product to bring a less expensive item directly to the customer.

- Poorly trained technicians/business owners: The reality is that most shops still do not know how to implement an active powered sound system. Most do not know how to do signal analysis, or proper diagnostic work, and some don't even understand how to use the king of all diagnostic tools, a multimeter. Couple that with business owners/managers who do not know how to run the storefront and it leads to disaster. A lot of shops open with the use of a small business loan provided by our Government with the hope and dreams that the future will bring great revenue and support the idealistic business model they came up with. Most end up failing.

- Poor customer service: Many shops have salespeople or technicians who are unable to professionally, politely, and maturely talk to potential customers. I have witnessed many shops failing to follow up with potential customers on questions asked during the initial contact.

- Laziness: Many shops will not participate in industry events that can offer training on new products, new installation methods, and new opportunities. Heck, the networking alone from such events is worth it alone to participate. Most customers are not stupid and can see when a shop is falling behind the times.

- Cost of living: Due to the current conditions of what it costs to live, there is less money available to spend on luxuries such as car electronics.

 

I think it's irrational to say music has run its course, I'm 20

I have CDs older than you

As far as you thinking nothing new coming out that's good I think you are just grossly mistaken.

Right, because I'm old.
Next, let's review some old music genres that may still be around today, but rarely offer anything new & fresh:
Progressive Rock (Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull)
Space Rock (Hawkwind, Pink Floyd)
Kraut Rock Amon Duul II, Can, Neu, Ash Ra Temple)
Psychedelic Rock (Doors, Moody Blues, Pink Floyd)
Southern Rock (Alllman Bros, Marshall Tucker)
Boogie Rock (Status Quo, Savoy Brown)
Blues Rock (Hendrix, Robin Trower, Rory Gallagher)
Hard Rock (Black Sabbath, Scorpions)

As far as you thinking nothing new coming out that's good I think you are just grossly mistaken.

Ok, there are a few decent bands, but I can assure you: they are NOT the same ones you're thinking of...
I.E.: check out My Sleeping Karma and see if you consider that even "music"...

I think you might be conflating the whole of this era's music with the garbage that's popular on the radio and the top 100 Spotify playlists for every genre.

I apologize to everyone here if I was indeed "CONFLATING", I certainly did not mean to and I won't do it again..
Next, for our young disagreer: please tell me exactly which genres contain NEW & FRESH sounds?

We can enjoy old and new, listening to Fleetwood Mac | Tusk, right now and I will be bumping 2Hollis later. Cheer up!

One or two 20-years-olds that enjoy listening to old Fleetwood Mac songs does NOT disprove the fact that music has run it's course, it actually supports the notion, as you are savvy enough to hear the quality of old stuff (Note: I only liked Fleetwood Mac, when they were a Blues Band, not when they became a pop band)..

LASTLY: At 20, I thought I knew everything too, except there was no internet around then to argue with people who had many more LIFE experiences than I did! And as you will learn as you get older, life is changing, all around you, every day, you just don't recognize it as much when you are young...

I am happy though that you like modern music and do not mean to slow you down with exploring it, you are the future of music, no matter where it is heading...

 

I have CDs older than you



Right, because I'm old.
Next, let's review some old music genres that may still be around today, but rarely offer anything new & fresh:
Progressive Rock (Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull)
Space Rock (Hawkwind, Pink Floyd)
Kraut Rock Amon Duul II, Can, Neu, Ash Ra Temple)
Psychedelic Rock (Doors, Moody Blues, Pink Floyd)
Southern Rock (Alllman Bros, Marshall Tucker)
Boogie Rock (Status Quo, Savoy Brown)
Blues Rock (Hendrix, Robin Trower, Rory Gallagher)
Hard Rock (Black Sabbath, Scorpions)



Ok, there are a few decent bands, but I can assure you: they are NOT the same ones you're thinking of...
I.E.: check out My Sleeping Karma and see if you consider that even "music"...



I apologize to everyone here if I was indeed "CONFLATING", I certainly did not mean to and I won't do it again..
Next, for our young disagreer: please tell me exactly which genres contain NEW & FRESH sounds?



One or two 20-years-olds that enjoy listening to old Fleetwood Mac songs does NOT disprove the fact that music has run it's course, it actually supports the notion, as you are savvy enough to hear the quality of old stuff (Note: I only liked Fleetwood Mac, when they were a Blues Band, not when they became a pop band)..

LASTLY: At 20, I thought I knew everything too, except there was no internet around then to argue with people who had many more LIFE experiences than I did! And as you will learn as you get older, life is changing, all around you, every day, you just don't recognize it as much when you are young...

I am happy though that you like modern music and do not mean to slow you down with exploring it, you are the future of music, no matter where it is heading...

I don't think I could name a genre that doesn't contain new and fresh sounds, but hyperpop stands out to me as one thats unique to my generations. I listen to artists like 2hollis and Heylog, whose sounds I couldn't even compare to older artists. Hyperpop gets **** on due to artists like 100 Gecs being popular (still haven't figured that one out) but even some of the more mainstream artists like Glaive have some catchy tracks.

I'm not a Rock guy so I cant find you a bunch of new old rock and I can't deny you are definitely correct we are through that golden era of Rock, but while me may not have space Rock and Boogie Rock hits dropping every day, we do have styles of rap and hip-hop unimaginable by people of the 80s/90s. Trap music may not be new but Suicideboys and XXXTENTACION were 2 artists that have completely changed the game, you can't tell me you'd hear a song like "Alone Pt.3" or "R.I.P. Roach" in the 90s (though you probably won't like them).

I do consider My Sleeping Karma music by the way. It's not something I would enjoy but I have a friend that listens to and makes similar stuff, I see the merit. You may enjoy Kashiwa Daisuke, I like the tracks Stella and April#02. Not many people like to sit down and appreciate a half hour plus long piece, but I dont think those that can't ever really appreciate short songs either.

I dont mean to come off as a smart ass kid, I just can't sit and watch old people say **** like "music is dead, kids don't make or appreciate music anymore" when I know that couldn't be further from the truth. I'm growing up in the best time yet to be an audiophile, With the internet I have instant access to every genre and artist, and as long as I don't let algorithms trick me into playing Drake (eww) I have an endless library of new music to listen to. Music will never die, people will always listen to old stuff, always listen to new stuff, and always ***** and moan that it isn't like the old days, just like we always have.

 

One of my cars has a pretty good SQ/L system and does lots of car meets and shows.

All generations love it, and can't get over how amazing it sounds. Even the guys that think they know what they're about to hear.

But when you tell them they're listening to $50K of gear and install, you can see the hope and excitement drain from their faces pretty quickly.


Car audio is just too expensive, and even if people aren't happy with the quality of their stock audio, they accept that's just a compromise to make.

 

The economy 🤣

 

Economy is booming in New England, I understand not everywhere though. Healthcare is doing quite strong, if you are an RN or RT, CRNA, ER doc you can do very well.

 

Themselves, not being able to understand and adapt quickly to what automakers are doing, they seem to be a few steps behind except for a few shops which do very well . At the end of the day any car audio system can be improved a lot if you know how to, and sometimes you don’t need to spend 5k or more to get there. Mostly is lack of tuning and integration with the new cars.

 

@Mythos

Old man yells at cloud and is angry that the youth doesn't care for the music he grew up with

"No one makes good music in the styles that made an emotional impact with me when I was young. Wait, why isn't anyone wearing bell bottoms and floral headdresses? Where are all the greasers their slicked.back hair, leather vests, and packs of cigs rolled up in the sleeve of their white tees. "

Also, the pinto. And smoking on airplanes and in restaurants.

Lol

 

For all the past bad experiences.
95% of the shop doing worse than the oem radio so after one bad experience why even bother again?

ofcourse it's also connected to culture and economy.
But this the main reason for me

 

I still smoke (hookah) In restaurants 😃

And get live entertainment while I'm at it..

 

And get live entertainment while I'm at it..

That's the craziest car audio shop I've ever seen, no wonder they are still in business!

 

From what i can see up where i'm at, why you say "sound system" it's still equated to bumper-thumpers that rattle body panels and just annoy the neighborhood.
There's no knowledge of the SQ side of it.

Now combine that with the hype of the 21speaker system that come with OEM....my shrink and i talk about audio a little and he swears there's no possible way that my car can sound better than his brand new suv with the premium stereo package (forget what maker but it's got a fckton of speakers)
Can a shop really beat the marketing hype of "more is better"?

As for music, i wouldn't say it's dead, more like evolved.
Computer-based productions have started to replace live performance although live artists are still going strong. I've been jamming to Phonk and Lo-fi genres lately

 

The younger generation will always like music. It's just a sign of the times though. It's all rap music now. We had legendary music and musicians and great music to listen to back in the day. They don't have that now. All you have to do is go into any car stereo shop USA and watch what happens. Guys come in smelling like weed one after another asking for 2 things. Bigger subs and a more powerful amp. Strictly cheap SPL type stuff. That's why most shops can't tune a DSP. Most of them look at you like you're speaking Russian if you even mention a DSP. There's not much specialized work happening at shops now. Shops don't even want that kind of business for the most part because they don't have installers capable of putting together systems like that now. There are some great installers on here that work at good shops, but that is definitely not the norm anymore.

 

If I was 23 with $150k in student loan debt making $15/hr hoping to one day afford a decent car, knowing full well I’ll probably never buy a house, car audio is the last thing on my mind.

So yeah, the economy definitely has something to do with it.

 

If someone has $150K in student loan debt, they better have an MD (maybe an ivy JD) and if they’re only making $15 an hour, they have much bigger problems. Just saying.

 

Music isn't dead, it's just different. Is a lot of it 💩? Yup. But there is still some good newer stuff out there. I think we all prefer the music we grew up on, although my favorite is 90s and early 2000s rock and grunge. I think it started going down hill with the invention of autotune. When that came out, magically anyone could sing and sound good.

 

Music isn't dead, it's just different. Is a lot of it 💩? Yup. But there is still some good newer stuff out there. I think we all prefer the music we grew up on, although my favorite is 90s and early 2000s rock and grunge. I think it started going down hill with the invention of autotune. When that came out, magically anyone could sing and sound good.

I immediately envisioned these two guys when I read that!

BWWAAAAHAAHAHAAAA!!!!

 

OEM Integration

 

music is far from dead, just consumed very differently and that impacts car audio. My son and his classmates have all sorts of stuff they listen to, just dont care about SQ. For them, it is on my phone, Bluetooth to what ever device is in the room or the car. These kids have all grown up listening to compressed streamed music, so its their norm.

 

The world moves too damn fast eh.

In my country I have found 0 sq oriented shops. Theres only a few car audio shops and all are spl, more/bigger = better.
People need to be educated, and you have to have the patience and work ethic to provide quality work. Only then I believe you can outlast the fast moving crowd who will move on the next day. Cant lie to your customers and sell them bs. I think dodgy and lazy practices are a big reason why nobody new except teenagers takes this industry seriously.

 

There’s also the home audio situation. At best there is a healthy niche in the headphone market. Speakers on the other hand are dying. Its sad when everyone and their grandma cares about having a nice tv but couldn’t give a rats ass about the speakers.
My girl knows as good as anyone what this all means to me, but I bet you can guess whether it was an easy process getting speakers on stands in our living room.Now think about the average joe… I wasnt around in the 70s and 80s but I get nostalgic thinking about the times when it was cool to have speakers ,amp, preamp and record player stack set ups.

 

There’s also the home audio situation. At best there is a healthy niche in the headphone market. Speakers on the other hand are dying. Its sad when everyone and their grandma cares about having a nice tv but couldn’t give a rats ass about the speakers.
My girl knows as good as anyone what this all means to me, but I bet you can guess whether it was an easy process getting speakers on stands in our living room. Now think about the average joe… I wasnt around in the 70s and 80s but I get nostalgic thinking about the times when it was cool to have speakers ,amp, preamp and record player stack set ups.

I wish I could get into having a nice home audio setup but I like loud music, like most, and like many I live in an apartment with okay at best sound deadening. It just really isn't feasible for me and many young people to get into speakers and home audio setups if you can't really enjoy them. I'm into headphones and car audio because its what I can enjoy now, but I'll be sure to have a home audio setup when I can and I know of a fair amount of peers that feel the same way, though maybe to a lesser extent.

 

Out before the lock!

 

You started it, sort of.

 

i used to work at an audio shop in the 90's... many would agree this was the "golden age"

Honestly i wouldnt say todays system are much better.. when you discect these systems most of em are crap... furthermore you can only get these systems in the higher end models...

id say its a smaller percentage that buy the higher end car in what ever line they favor.

Yes we have subs and amps and multiple drivers now but a lot of that was around in the early 2000's from the OEM's.

Many cars now come with remote start, alarms, keyless entry... etc.

This was many a shops main staples, believe it or not the shop i worked at was actually a "higher" end store and had a couple IASCA cars but in all honesty they LOST money on those installs. They took over a year sometimes and were not rushed. Mainly the owner was the only one toucing those cars.

We had guys that did alarms only, deck and two, deck and four only. Everyone had a task they were strong at.

IMHO i feel the difficulty in adding aftermarket speakers and a deck is what keeps many from upgrading... as far as the killing of shops it wasnt just 1 or 2 things... it was the combo of things that chipped away at the bottom line.

 

Honestly i wouldnt say todays system are much better.. when you discect these systems most of em are crap... furthermore you can only get these systems in the higher end models...

I strongly disagree on this one, there's a bit of an offset that I think most people aren't taking into consideration. Back in that golden age the industry was heavily fueled by the younger crowd, kids driving around in either their first or maybe second car. These were mostly used cars more than likely 5-10 years old when this generation started out in them, factory audio in cars manufactured between 1980 and 1990 was absolutely complete garbage. Many of my friends were living the paper cone 4x6 in the dash life with classic 2 post decks mounted in steel dashboard panels, a few of the lucky ones had 6x9's in the rear deck. My first car was a Toyota with a single DIN cassette deck and two 4" coaxials in the lower dash literally aimed at the floor!

Even a 20 year old base model Hyundai Accent came from the factory with a system that would put anything from that era to shame. Don't get me wrong, it's still trash but it is a very different category of badness with a single DIN cassette deck and 4 proper 5 1/4" coaxials in the doors and rear deck.

id say its a smaller percentage that buy the higher end car in what ever line they favor.

Yes we have subs and amps and multiple drivers now but a lot of that was around in the early 2000's from the OEM's.

I would agree that the share of higher end models with better factory systems is absolutely smaller the very same progression I mentioned above has continued over the years. My wife and I have a prime example of this. Years ago we bought a brand new 2010 Honda Fit Sport for just over $17k brand new. Not quite the bottom of the barrel but not too far away and this car had a basic system that honestly wasn't too bad at all for a compact car like this. Decent CD player in the dash, 2 way up front with a dash mounted tweeter and 5 1/4" mids in the door and 5 1/4" coaxials in the rear door. Far from the garbage that first Toyota of mine came with!

Having been around cars all throughout my youth I can honestly say that I can't think of any cars from that 1980-1990 era that had factory systems even close to the quality in that Honda Fit. From Mercedes & BMW to Caddys and Corvettes things just sucked back then, plain and simple.

Many cars now come with remote start, alarms, keyless entry... etc.

Back then remote start and keyless entry were black magic and you only had an alarm if you had a system. Power windows and locks were borderline rare, I didn't breathe this rarefied air until my 4th car!

This was many a shops main staples, believe it or not the shop i worked at was actually a "higher" end store and had a couple IASCA cars but in all honesty they LOST money on those installs. They took over a year sometimes and were not rushed. Mainly the owner was the only one toucing those cars.

We had guys that did alarms only, deck and two, deck and four only. Everyone had a task they were strong at.

I think this is exactly my point, gone are the days of someone NEEDING a deck and 4 upgrade when a few decades ago this was almost a requirement for anyone who even mildly cared about listening to the radio.

it was the combo of things that chipped away at the bottom line.

Ultimately the truth lies here, there's about a million things that contribute to this in my opinion and with every generation there are more and more things which compete for the attention and dollars. All those Walkmans we used to see on a daily basis are smart phones and Beats now and they aren't cheap, kids aren't dubbing tapes these days they are paying for Apple Music or Spotify.

Music isn't "played out" and not everything is garbage. I get it, I am an old man who loves to shake his fist at the youths too. Popularity of genres will wax and wane just as it always has but music will always endure. My parents had the Beatles, Elvis and The Stones; I had Michael Jackson, N.W.A. and Nirvana; kids today have Taylor Swift, Drake and Billie Eilish. All extremely talented artists, all doing something different and all very very very popular. The only difference is which of them YOU think are garbage.

Same as it ever was.

 

I strongly disagree on this one, there's a bit of an offset that I think most people aren't taking into consideration. Back in that golden age the industry was heavily fueled by the younger crowd, kids driving around in either their first or maybe second car. These were mostly used cars more than likely 5-10 years old when this generation started out in them, factory audio in cars manufactured between 1980 and 1990 was absolutely complete garbage. Many of my friends were living the paper cone 4x6 in the dash life with classic 2 post decks mounted in steel dashboard panels, a few of the lucky ones had 6x9's in the rear deck. My first car was a Toyota with a single DIN cassette deck and two 4" coaxials in the lower dash literally aimed at the floor!

Even a 20 year old base model Hyundai Accent came from the factory with a system that would put anything from that era to shame. Don't get me wrong, it's still trash but it is a very different category of badness with a single DIN cassette deck and 4 proper 5 1/4" coaxials in the doors and rear deck.



I would agree that the share of higher end models with better factory systems is absolutely smaller the very same progression I mentioned above has continued over the years. My wife and I have a prime example of this. Years ago we bought a brand new 2010 Honda Fit Sport for just over $17k brand new. Not quite the bottom of the barrel but not too far away and this car had a basic system that honestly wasn't too bad at all for a compact car like this. Decent CD player in the dash, 2 way up front with a dash mounted tweeter and 5 1/4" mids in the door and 5 1/4" coaxials in the rear door. Far from the garbage that first Toyota of mine came with!

Having been around cars all throughout my youth I can honestly say that I can't think of any cars from that 1980-1990 era that had factory systems even close to the quality in that Honda Fit. From Mercedes & BMW to Caddys and Corvettes things just sucked back then, plain and simple.



Back then remote start and keyless entry were black magic and you only had an alarm if you had a system. Power windows and locks were borderline rare, I didn't breathe this rarefied air until my 4th car!



I think this is exactly my point, gone are the days of someone NEEDING a deck and 4 upgrade when a few decades ago this was almost a requirement for anyone who even mildly cared about listening to the radio.



Ultimately the truth lies here, there's about a million things that contribute to this in my opinion and with every generation there are more and more things which compete for the attention and dollars. All those Walkmans we used to see on a daily basis are smart phones and Beats now and they aren't cheap, kids aren't dubbing tapes these days they are paying for Apple Music or Spotify.

Music isn't "played out" and not everything is garbage. I get it, I am an old man who loves to shake his fist at the youths too. Popularity of genres will wax and wane just as it always has but music will always endure. My parents had the Beatles, Elvis and The Stones; I had Michael Jackson, N.W.A. and Nirvana; kids today have Taylor Swift, Drake and Billie Eilish. All extremely talented artists, all doing something different and all very very very popular. The only difference is which of them YOU think are garbage.

Same as it ever was.

Is that a Talking Heads reference?

 

I love when threads go off track 😆

I have a son applying for colleges and he scared AF. I'm gonna help my boy out. But he applying at some prestigious colleges and a good chance of acceptance( boy maintained above a 4.0 thought high school and scored high on the SAT). So I'm scared too....

 

Tuition at an out-of-state university is outrageous, then add in living expenses and a new car and then not liking her roommates and wanting to live alone in a single apartment, then she gets a pure breed dog (better than a boyfriend), that needs training, food, medicine and doggy-day care while she's in school and then she takes 4-1/2 semesters to graduate, and has to stay an extra 6-months in the apartment, because it was on a one-year lease, while paying all her clothes and monthly Amazon bill, you'll be glad you only had one kid.......

 

Tuition at an out-of-state university is outrageous, then add in living expenses and a new car and then not liking her roommates and wanting to live alone in a single apartment, then she gets a pure breed dog (better than a boyfriend), that needs training, food, medicine and doggy-day care while she's in school and she takes 4-1/2 semesters to graduate, and has to say an extra 6-months in the apartment, because it was a one-year lease, while paying all her l and her monthly Amazon bill you'll be glad you only had one kid.......

😒 I got 3

 

Was just trying to count in my head how many car audio shops there are within a 10 mile radius from me, it's right around 10 surprisingly. Out of those 10 I'd trust about 5 of them to do install on my vehicle if I didn't do it myself, multiple of them are authorized dealers of multiple well know companies such as Helix, JL.....
Car audio is still pretty strong around here, not sure if that's because there's lots of $$ here or what. One thing though, they are all mediocre when it comes to tuning.

I have several neighbor kids and adults that are bumping, not that I think most of them are as obsessed/hard core as a lot of us but definitely enjoy their aftermarket systems.

 

we had the best sound quality. It wasn’t convient so we went to mp3s. We then went to popular online music streaming which not all are lossless quality.

factory stereos really stepped up since the 90s. They probably won’t please most people on this forum but are okay for 99% of people.

in closing convenience and ease of use. Apple Music and blue tooth on a decent factory system makes most happy.

 

Who says car audio shops have all but disappeared? Are there stats to support this claim? In Phoenix AZ, if you want work done at an excellent shop, be ready for AT LEAST a three week wait until they can get to your car. Itsonlyahonda hinted at this when he spoke of his tour through shops until he could find one willing to do the work. Perhaps others stated the same, I only read first three pages so far. I recommended my favorite shop to one guy and last I heard he was complaining they still had not gotten to his car and did not seem overly interested.

 

well there are still a ton of them in So. Cal. too, but less than there was in the 90's...

 

one person’s anecdotal experience is not reliable evidence. The Global Car Audio Market size, which was valued at $5.50 billion in 2021 will reach $7.90 billion in 2029

 

Two additional points to consider:

1. It is not "one person's anecdotal experience", it is quite literally everyone here aside from you apparently. Where are you located? I am personally curious to know what geographic area has somehow been able to thrive over the last few decades. I would love to hear from anyone who has more or the same number of local stores today vs 25 years ago.
   
   
2. Nobody has said anything about the industry in general shrinking, the title of this thread is "What’s killing car audio shops?". The article you provided a link to addresses both OEM and aftermarket, the entire industry, which of course is growing just as nearly every other segment of the global economy.