People were listening to low-quality audio all the time before things went digital. The radio was the most popular way to listen to music for a very long time and it was not high quality until relatively recently. There was vinyl for a while, but many people just bought cheap turntables and didn't see a need to spend the money for a quality one. Audio cassettes were far from lossless, and people would put them into cheap stereos or they used cheap headphones. Cheap headphones have been used for many decades.

My point is that the general public has never really cared about audio quality, and the people who do care have always had ways to hear quality sound. I don't think that has changed at all (or if anything, quality has become cheaper to achieve, so more people can afford it).

> I think it started with the acceptance of digital lossy audio formats, making its way into early bluetooth protocols, and it all went downhill from there.

You know what we had before Bluetooth and streaming?

• Cassette players
• Shitty plastic walkman headphones
• AM/FM radios
• Scratched records
• FM transmitters for your car
• Tiny desktop speakers bundled with a computer
• Laptop speakers
• Low quality burned CDs

High quality listening is cheaper and more accessible than it's ever been. Listening to Spotify over bluetooth on a stock car stereo is far better than the radio ever was, and that's without even getting into the convenience factor.

The truth is that people have never cared at large about audiophile level quality. The only difference now is that the baseline will get you far enough for most listeners, while you used to have to take some amount of effort to get to that level.

The worst part of it is my hearing is so shite now I wouldn't notice the lack of quality, so it's a shame the youngsters aren't experiencing it now whilst they can.

> A lot of younger folks don't care about audio quality

I think its also the fact that most easily accessible listening devices are shit. Cheap earphones that come with your phone or that you can purchase easily? Shit in 90% of cases. Want wireless buds for under $200? Shit once again.

You can get good audio quality for an affordable price, but you have to be into the hobby to even learn about it. I wouldn't even blame it on lossy Bluetooth protocols, it's more about the shitty V-shaped sound signatures.