Non-audiophile reactions to high-end headphones - Page 11  

I think one factor besides the quality of your headphones is the REAL PASSION you feel for music.

Even music is inherent to humans, some of us enjoy music more than others and that's why you look for the best musical experience you can get or afford. I have that very special situation at home, my wife is someone who enjoys music but mostly because of dancing and social cohesion that brings. But I she wont bother about the soundstage or crisp highs... on the other hand my brother (3 years younger than I) grew with my same passion about music I have, he really appreciates sound quality, so the reaction I get when my wife heard my HP had a huge difference from what my brother said.  I don't think one opinion is better than the other, simply is how passionate you are to certain aspects of music.

Reality check, folks.

Ask yourself how much thought you put into your last car/clothes/furniture purchase. You probably spent a certain amount of time ensuring that it was the right 'fit' for your lifestyle, but I doubt that you went online and researched it to the nth degree (prices aside, but more on that in a moment) the way you do with audio. By contrast, someone who considers themselves a passionate enthusiast in a given area might well consider your choices to be bland - for example, the Toyota Corolla is one of the biggest selling cars in the world, but how many 'motorheads' would be seen dead in one ?

For a large percentage of the general population, an iPod with 128K MP3s and the stock earbuds is about as far as they need to go - its just another consumer purchase for them. You or I can bang on about the inadequacies of that combination till the sun comes up, but it would have as much impact as someone telling me about the gap between what I am wearing right now and what the cool folk are wearing in Greenwich Village.

Finally, we probably need to accept that some of the folk with seriously expensive high end gear (and I'm talking several hundred thousand dollars) would consider the majority of Head-Fiers as complete newbies to audio.

I see, I totally agree with you on this point.  We do sometime have a reputation over in other country for being arrogant, loud, and sometime even rude.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shipley 

I'm not bitter toward non-audiophiles as much as I am bitter to the typical failure of stereotypical Americans who make the rest of us look bad. These are the people who are always buying the latest stuff without researching it, the people who buy houses 4 times larger than they need and paying it off for 50 years, the people who don't hold doors open for people, the people who can't maintain a conversation without swearing or stuttering, the people who sue others over irrelevant things. Those people I am bitter at. In this case, it just happens to be over headphones, but the same basic concept applies to almost anything. Hobbies are hobbies, and shouldn't be taken so seriously you argue constantly with others about them. But, as Argyris said, people need to learn to respect other people and their hobbies. This is the main reason I get angry at people, they don't know what they are talking about, yet they insist on PRETENDING like their opinion has merit or value. I don't know anything about RC planes, but I know that some people consider that their hobby, if someone says they spent "X" amount on an RC plane, I might go "Wow, that's a lot, it must be a great plane!", but NEVER would I say "You spent that much on a RC PLANE?? Wow, what a waste of money". Anyone agree? 

Quote:

Originally Posted by estreeter 

Reality check, folks.

 

Ask yourself how much thought you put into your last car/clothes/furniture purchase. You probably spent a certain amount of time ensuring that it was the right 'fit' for your lifestyle, but I doubt that you went online and researched it to the nth degree (prices aside, but more on that in a moment) the way you do with audio. By contrast, someone who considers themselves a passionate enthusiast in a given area might well consider your choices to be bland - for example, the Toyota Corolla is one of the biggest selling cars in the world, but how many 'motorheads' would be seen dead in one ?

 

For a large percentage of the general population, an iPod with 128K MP3s and the stock earbuds is about as far as they need to go - its just another consumer purchase for them. You or I can bang on about the inadequacies of that combination till the sun comes up, but it would have as much impact as someone telling me about the gap between what I am wearing right now and what the cool folk are wearing in Greenwich Village.

 

Finally, we probably need to accept that some of the folk with seriously expensive high end gear (and I'm talking several hundred thousand dollars) would consider the majority of Head-Fiers as complete newbies to audio.

 

Well, you have a point, but it isn't true in my case. I pretty much research any purchase, big or small, before I buy. That's actually how I came across here. That's also how I got into computers, watches, tea, etc. I like to have the "best" in everything. I don't mean the best as in flagship but good enough that I am content. For example my current headphone setup will be upgraditis free once I get my amp; no more money spent on this hobby unless speakers count. But in many cases you are right. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3602 

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpiralStatic 

Quote:

Originally Posted by hudamanium 

The only way to expand the Head-Fi market is more knowledgable consumers.

 

 

Also, I usually get the NEEDZ MOAR BASSSSS!!! response. Then the person who said that listens to The Beats' bass, which makes the song sound like the artist recorded it while a Magnitude 8.0 earthquake was happening, and they say, "OMFG these are the best!!!!" 

 

According to several Chinese audiophiles,

 

A new audiophile craves bass;

An established audiophile craves treble;

A really serious audiophile craves mid-range.

 

So basically everybody is a potential audiophile. The key is to get them past the "massive bass" stage. I got myself past that by buying a pair of Koss UR-20. That's right.

Ha, I must have just skipped the first stage and gone for a mix between the last two. I've never really understood the whole bass = sound quality frame of mind for the average consumer. My first (and only at the moment) decent pair of headphones were the ATH-FC700s, which don't even have much bass.  Maybe it's because I'm not into the whole Top 40 music thing like 95% of people my age. The one thing that's made me the most mad, though is the way one of my friends thinks. He pretty much has the same musical taste as me and yet still thinks that more bass = better. (He also thinks headphones are stupid and that soundstage doesn't matter. ) And I listen to music where the bass is not even close to the main instrument. What's even worse is that my other friend who actually plays and records music also thinks that bass is the most important. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by mralexosborn 

Well, you have a point, but it isn't true in my case. I pretty much research any purchase, big or small, before I buy. That's actually how I came across here. That's also how I got into computers, watches, tea, etc. I like to have the "best" in everything. I don't mean the best as in flagship but good enough that I am content. For example my current headphone setup will be upgraditis free once I get my amp; no more money spent on this hobby unless speakers count. But in many cases you are right. 

Then you are a rare and privileged human being, and I suspect that your possessions are the inverse of mine - for everything I own with the 'Made In China' tag, you own something which wasnt made in China/Korea/Thailand. With the possible exception of the tea, but I'm a coffee drinker anyway, and at least half of any computer you own  :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by estreeter 

Quote:

Originally Posted by mralexosborn 

Well, you have a point, but it isn't true in my case. I pretty much research any purchase, big or small, before I buy. That's actually how I came across here. That's also how I got into computers, watches, tea, etc. I like to have the "best" in everything. I don't mean the best as in flagship but good enough that I am content. For example my current headphone setup will be upgraditis free once I get my amp; no more money spent on this hobby unless speakers count. But in many cases you are right. 

Then you are a rare and privileged human being, and I suspect that your possessions are the inverse of mine - for everything I own with the 'Made In China' tag, you own something which wasnt made in China/Korea/Thailand. With the possible exception of the tea, but I'm a coffee drinker anyway, and at least half of any computer you own  :)

I like coffee but I am too particular about it. Most coffees have a very strong acidic taste which I don't like. I have only been to a few places that had coffee I could appreciate. 

I just have a budget gaming system I built. Nothing special but at least I didn't get a Dell. XD
 

haha...

My fav reaction is this from a colleague I know who is REALLY into trance music and always plays skullscandy headphones from his iPod at max volume. "Holy ****...  hold on." *listens some more "Wow I didn't even know music sounded like this" *more time* "How much much is all this? I was planning on buying a new iPod but I might way and get some better headphones". He really isn't worried about taking his time listening.

I reply: "haha... much more than an iPod."

They reply: "oh well that's ok I have been saving up a bit. How much was it?"

Me:  "These headphones 300$ (SA5K), those 1000$ (LCD-2 which he was listening to), those 650$ (D7000). My Dac and Amp together cost more than the used car you just bought (we are both 20)"

Him: not really sure how to react " No way man you are exaggerating but it is really nice and I am sure it is expensive"

Me: " It was expensive - very and haha I am not exaggerating... just google them you know all the names"

He then new his dream had been crushed... and that he should not have bought that used car ;)

I've got 3 non-audiophile reactions to what is honestly fairly low-quality gear by this forum's standpoints. These 3 people were my father, myself, and my mother, in that order, after we got my dad a pair of Sony MDR-V6's for his birthday.

Padre puts on headphones and plugs them into the radio: "Wow, these sound pretty good"

Padre plugs into my mp3 player playing a WAV file (overkill I know, but my converter is being screwy): *jaw dropping in astonishment, followed by looking up towards the ceiling with a smile* this was followed by a "You gotta try this!" type statement.

I had a similar excitement and experience, and my mom, while more reserved, was also amazed by how the headphones "put you in the room with the band"

Now, this case may be a little unusual, as my dad and I are involved with the church's praise band/sound team, and my mom has been a musician (singer and piano player) pretty much forever.

We'll see how my roommate feels about his $40 ibuds after I let him listen to the grado sr60 thats waiting at my doorstep

I don't think I could claim to be part of this hobby however, and I find I am more of an "extreemly interested consumer". I'm the guy who DOES spend hours and days researching every purchase I make, from computer to car to whatever. In fact, It may be some sort of deep rooted mistrust in the world, or some other such psychological mumbo-jumbo. But regardless, I try not to be "that guy" who thinks his stuff is the best stuff and everyone elses stuff is crap stuff.

Wellll we are geeks after all, and geeking out over one product type (headphones) is likely indicative of our propensity to geek out over most other things too. So it's unsurprising that we're wired to research many of our purchases, whereas other people might not be so. For example, mralexosborn is picky about coffee; so am I, to the extent that I got my own grinder and refuse to buy beans from anywhere that doesn't do its own roasting (which is rare in Singapore). 

Perhaps it's just that we are most picky about headphones, out of all our purchases, and hence we are here.

Also, estreeter: I don't like you and your "reality"...

Quote:

Originally Posted by mralexosborn 

Quote:

Originally Posted by estreeter 

Reality check, folks.

 

Ask yourself how much thought you put into your last car/clothes/furniture purchase. You probably spent a certain amount of time ensuring that it was the right 'fit' for your lifestyle, but I doubt that you went online and researched it to the nth degree (prices aside, but more on that in a moment) the way you do with audio. By contrast, someone who considers themselves a passionate enthusiast in a given area might well consider your choices to be bland - for example, the Toyota Corolla is one of the biggest selling cars in the world, but how many 'motorheads' would be seen dead in one ?

 

For a large percentage of the general population, an iPod with 128K MP3s and the stock earbuds is about as far as they need to go - its just another consumer purchase for them. You or I can bang on about the inadequacies of that combination till the sun comes up, but it would have as much impact as someone telling me about the gap between what I am wearing right now and what the cool folk are wearing in Greenwich Village.

 

Finally, we probably need to accept that some of the folk with seriously expensive high end gear (and I'm talking several hundred thousand dollars) would consider the majority of Head-Fiers as complete newbies to audio.

 

Well, you have a point, but it isn't true in my case. I pretty much research any purchase, big or small, before I buy. That's actually how I came across here. That's also how I got into computers, watches, tea, etc. I like to have the "best" in everything. I don't mean the best as in flagship but good enough that I am content. For example my current headphone setup will be upgraditis free once I get my amp; no more money spent on this hobby unless speakers count. But in many cases you are right. 

Same here. There are some things, like, say, a gallon of milk, which probably aren't worth agonizing over. But for anything I'm willing to spend over $50 on, I do tend to do quite a bit of research. Everybody makes impulse buys, including me. I'm not really talking about that. And some people wouldn't spend over $20 on headphones. I'm not really concerned with them, either. But when it's something I'm willing to spend a decent chunk of change for, I don't just compare prices--I look at a lot of people's impressions and at true expert reviews (not posers writing for otherwise unrelated publications).

This is called being a savvy customer. I know that companies are out to get my money, and some of them will try to do it in ways I would consider less than honest. I'm not getting down on capitalism; I expect all this and accept how the world works. No unicorn/utopia dreams here. It's important to me to know I'm not just buying fancy advertising or flashy looks.

I suppose there are people who go for that sort of thing, and I also know there are people who really aren't into things as much as I am. I see your point here, estreeter, and I agree with it. I probably would buy one of those "pedestrian" cars and be quite happy.

But this thread isn't supposed to be a serious reflection or a "reality check." It's supposed to be a place where people mingle with others like themselves and express their occasional frustration that the mainstream world doesn't get them. I think we're all aware of "reality." We're here to escape it for a while, not to dwell on it.

Eric_C: does it taste that much better?

Quote:

Originally Posted by soundeffect 

Eric_C: does it taste that much better?

Tastes like the breakfast of champions.

Ok seriously speaking, roasting and grinding as close to brewing as possible is a good thing. So as not to derail the thread, I'll let the esteemed Mr Alton Brown elaborate:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbqE3Npk13k

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric_C 

Wellll we are geeks after all, and geeking out over one product type (headphones) is likely indicative of our propensity to geek out over most other things too. So it's unsurprising that we're wired to research many of our purchases, whereas other people might not be so. For example, mralexosborn is picky about coffee; so am I, to the extent that I got my own grinder and refuse to buy beans from anywhere that doesn't do its own roasting (which is rare in Singapore). 

 

Perhaps it's just that we are most picky about headphones, out of all our purchases, and hence we are here.

 

Also, estreeter: I don't like you and your "reality"...

I think it's a matter of passion.  I have ADHD and a particular component of that is that I get rather fixated on things for long enough to learn about them.  I rarely get to the bottom of it, but I get enough info to know what I may want.  I own a Mazdaspeed3 because, after research and test-drives and comparing and weighing all input, it was just the right car for me.  The compromises were okay because of the utility.

I'm just as passionate about motorcycles - not just 'any' bike would do.  As a matter of fact, I own no motorcycle right now because I know what I want and am willing to wait to get it instead of just riding anything.

So yeah - people with a particular passion about quality would be the kind of people who would be here - and the same kinds of people who would be offended by Dre Beats, etc - not because they cost, but because they cost for the wrong reasons.

IMHO.

(Yeah - I'm a newb - I don't have anything even remotely 'audiophile' yet - just Grado SR80i and an E7 - but judging by my constant researching my 'next set' - I think I've got the bug - at least for now).
 

People think my pro 900 sounds good, think the sa5000 looks high end.

Because the sony pfr-v1 looks so weird, I like to tell people to try them on.

"That's fine, I don't want to try it, looks like something that will suck out my brains"

"I'm sure it sounds great, but I'll pass"

"Cool, I can hear you talking at the same time"

"Okay, take it out please"