[macbrush]

Wait until your *girl* friend learned how to tell the difference between a pair of Monster cables and a pair of Siltech Paris reference cables by just listening, you'll know ignorance is preferred! There will be no way to hide!!!

 

[TheLaZeR]

Yeah, my friends don't see why i dropped 200 on my hd-595's, and say things like "I could buy a pair of sony's from best buy, and it would sound the same"...and it makes me want to punch them in the face.

 

[LFC_SL]

Most of my friends I think have done some damage to their ears

I only take my Pan HJE50s to college, but they still offer enough isolation to allow me to keep the volume down, but they say its too quiet - then go back to blasting the stock iPods to the point of distorting the music!

I may take my UE fi.5Pros just to see the reaction...yet I know one guy who spends £100+ on a sweater yet thinks spending more than £5 on headphones is a waste of money as you get them for free with a DAP...

 

[EvilDwarf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LFC_SL Most of my friends I think have done some damage to their ears I only take my Pan HJE50s to college, but they still offer enough isolation to allow me to keep the volume down, but they say its too quiet - then go back to blasting the stock iPods to the point of distorting the music! I may take my UE fi.5Pros just to see the reaction...yet I know one guy who spends £100+ on a sweater yet thinks spending more than £5 on headphones is a waste of money as you get them for free with a DAP...

Best example of the inherent problem: You don't understand him (maybe expensive sweaters are just more important to him than music), he doesn't understand you. What this needs is called tolerance. In the end, everybody just wants to show off his allegedly better equipment/clothes/car etc.

A hint about possible damage to hearing is of course never out of place.

 

[elmoe]

My friends take long listens, close their eyes, nod, agree it sounds marvelous, but still think its crazy to "waste" so much money on that gear. Seeing I'm 21 and only a student, they may have a point, but as music is the most important thing for me, money will certainly not be an obstacle to my enjoyment of music.

They usually simply come in my room, wonder and ask what my gear is all about, I explain quickly, give them a listen for 10-15 minutes usually, watch a smile on their face as they listen to their fav tunes in extremely good quality, and thats that.

Either way, I'm not really interested in hearing my friends tell me how great my rig sounds and how right I was to buy all this gear. First of all, I don't feel doubtful about spending so much on all of this, I loved it and still do, no doubt in my mind so why would I need confirmation?

Second of all, as long as I am able to hear the differences between equipment and overall sound quality, wether they're able to or not isn't my problem, its theirs, so why would I care? I enjoy my setup, too bad if others don't, they're not the ones who spent so much on it and I shouldn't really care if their opinions differ from mine, as long as I enjoy my rig thoroughly as I do today.

I think people who actually bring importance to other non-audiophile people's opinions about their rig are more into this hobby to have a hot looking collection and show it off rather than for the great sound such rig can get you. It's not a matter that I've ever thought about until I found this thread.

 

[squall2072]

Do they drive me crazy?

Nope, but but I think I annoy them.

They're my friends, every single one of them has asked why I spent so much and laughed, but went we had a poker night I let them all listen and within 10 seconds each they all gave a nod and said they sound great. All discussion about price was dropped and they haven't metioned it since.

They were only asking questions because they don't know about it, and I'm sure I'll get some banter in the future for it but they'll always be my lads!

Mind you, I haven't mentioned the price of my amp yet, I just told them I was getting an amp and "that would be the end of it".

Who am I trying to kid! This place is a disease!


Although strangely one of them thought the SR-225's were "better looking" than the RS-1's!! That kind of talk is inexcusable!!

 

[sxr71]

Quote:

Originally Posted by squall2072 Do they drive me crazy? Nope, but but I think I annoy them. They're my friends, every single one of them has asked why I spent so much and laughed, but went we had a poker night I let them all listen and within 10 seconds each they all gave a nod and said they sound great. All discussion about price was dropped and they haven't metioned it since. They were only asking questions because they don't know about it, and I'm sure I'll get some banter in the future for it but they'll always be my lads! Mind you, I haven't mentioned the price of my amp yet, I just told them I was getting an amp and "that would be the end of it". Who am I trying to kid! This place is a disease! Although strangely one of them thought the SR-225's were "better looking" than the RS-1's!! That kind of talk is inexcusable!!

Sometimes, albeit rarely, people keep bothering with about what you paid for some audio gear as a way of getting you let them audition it without directly asking you. I have a feeling that one or two of your friends were playing that game.

 

[Coltrane]

I think many of you tend to lose sight of the fact that most people listen to the music, not the headphones. As much as I love good headphones, when I listen to Miles Davis on ibuds you know how it sounds to me? Freaking amazing. As great as hi-fi is, crappy phones cant ruin the music for me. And I think its a shame that seems to be the case for so many of you.

I also find it ironic that the music sites I post on have very few audiophiles on there. Most care about getting some decent sound, but they spend the great majority of their time seeking out music and talking about music, not headphones. As crazy as you might think it is for people to not be able to tell the difference between ibuds and RS-1, I think its a hundred times crazier some of the music people listen to on there RS-1s.

Dont lost sight of the fact that the music itself is WAAAAAAAAY more important than the fidelity.

 

[xxlMusikfreak]

It's totally right that music is way more important than hifi.
Theres a lot of music I can listen to on nearly anything (if this would not be true I would not be able to listen on the go because the portable rig is obviously not quite as good as the home rig) and I'm still amazed.
BUT there is also some music which is quite ok with crappy gear but really really amazing with a good rig. I have some discs I just can't listen to anywhere else than at home (has also to do with the fact that I concentrate to the music at home). There are some musicgenres I found quite boring before I get into this hobby but right know I like to listen to them because it amazes me how well the musician plays with nuances in the music I just haven't heard before.
Good music will always be good music. But with the right gear you can unleash its magic and sometimes widen your musical horizon.

Just my two cents...

 

[F1GTR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coltrane I think many of you tend to lose sight of the fact that most people listen to the music, not the headphones. As much as I love good headphones, when I listen to Miles Davis on ibuds you know how it sounds to me? Freaking amazing. As great as hi-fi is, crappy phones cant ruin the music for me. And I think its a shame that seems to be the case for so many of you. I also find it ironic that the music sites I post on have very few audiophiles on there. Most care about getting some decent sound, but they spend the great majority of their time seeking out music and talking about music, not headphones. As crazy as you might think it is for people to not be able to tell the difference between ibuds and RS-1, I think its a hundred times crazier some of the music people listen to on there RS-1s. Dont lost sight of the fact that the music itself is WAAAAAAAAY more important than the fidelity.

IMO you're looking at this from the wrong perspective and making some incorrect assumptions.

I may not speak for everyone at head-fi but I'm just as concerned with "enjoying the music" as I am "getting the best quality" from the music. The reason you don't see as many people, on the other forums you frequent, obssessed with the "quality" as much as they are with the music is because many of them are not "audiophiles" and those places aren't head-fi. I don't find it ironic in the slightest that you are recognizing that.

This is a community of people, I assume that already love music on the level you claim you do, that are seeking the best possible methods for reproducing said music. They clearly "haven't lost sight of the music". It's not about being obssessed with the fidelity part of it all, it's about finding the right equipment that allows said music to sound better to your ears than it ever has before. That is what seperates head-fi from the other forums. Here we already have the obvious love for music; it's a given. We are just trying to find that last 5% of it that seems to get lost in subpar equipment that many of the people on the other forums are ignorant to.

 

[smeggy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by etherealbeats Be careful what you say, I listen to techno, and electronic music, but also some instrumental and rock, and I can tell the difference between good and crap headphones. I have some friends who are ignorant like that, god it annoys me. They always use the "this sounds the same as my iPod buds" and "how many MP3's do you have" questions. I have some friends who are not stupid and understand the hadphone hobby though, and they are open minded. I have persuaded a couple of friends to by some decent cans.

A, but that's the thing. You also listen to other types of music, he *only* listens to, techno... nothing else! All day, every day.

 

[squall2072]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sxr71 Sometimes, albeit rarely, people keep bothering with about what you paid for some audio gear as a way of getting you let them audition it without directly asking you. I have a feeling that one or two of your friends were playing that game.

They did keep asking what makes them so good. So maybe

In regards to music and equipment. Basically I'm trying to get the right set-up for me, I want the music I love to get even better. Although its true the same sound is there, Ibuds or RS-1's the same music is being played. But the difference comes from how I hear it and enjoy it. Personally, (and don't call me crazy) I find my Grado's like my speakers....

Why? How is that even possible? Am I insane?

Because they make me sing along with the music and make me think I'm strumming away on the guitar with Godspeed... Anything that brings me closer to the music I love ges two thumbs up from me.

 

[jagorev]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jashugan I think people who actually bring importance to other non-audiophile people's opinions about their rig are more into this hobby to have a hot looking collection and show it off rather than for the great sound such rig can get you. It's not a matter that I've ever thought about until I found this thread.

Not true. I usually prefer not to show off my good headphones to anyone, since I know I couldn't justify the expense to them. I keep it in my room and hardly anyone sees me use my Sennheisers. However, when a close friend shows a genuine interest and tries it out, it is nice if they have the intelligence or sensitivity to hear the quality. Fortunately, most of my friends do. But if someone honestly thought that it sounded no different from ipod buds, I'd just have to laugh at them for being either stupid or tone-deaf.

I'm not in it for any kind of social status; I just expect people to be able to appreciate good quality....this applies to all kinds of things - from furniture and clothes and cars to wine and cheese and cameras. I'm not a wine aficionado at all, but I'd have a hard time respecting someone who said fine Bordeaux tastes exactly the same as Mad Dog 20/20 - which is essentially what the "this sounds like my ipod earbuds" folks are saying.

 

[ScubaSteve87]

word

 

[LFF]

I love it when friends act that way. I find it is usually brought on by jealousy and disbelief.

What I think is funny is that I get these same type of comments from guys who own a $3,000.00 car with $14,000.00 stereo equipment and subs which sound like crap.

Go figure.