[FlyingInABlueDream]

My roommate and I have known each other for the last 10 years. We both went to college for music, and both have degrees. But he will not invest in good headphones.
 
He's listened to every pair of cans I've owned in the last 10 years, and always tells me how blown away he is. Guess what he uses?  A pair of Skullcandy crap. $40 BestBuy Skullcandy garbage. It's almost insulting when he tells me "check this out" and hands them to me. He brags about the box saying they had a 50mm driver, etc.. 
 
I'm honestly thinking of buying him some nice cans so I never have to see the Skullcandy's again. They sound so bad I almost wonder if he can't hear. Am I alone with this?  Friends with good taste in music, but bad taste in headphones. I regret selling me Senn HD-595. I'd happily give them to him so he has something to listen to. 10 years ago I convinced him to get a pair of Grado's, and he used them till they broke. Since then, it's all been cheap Walmart/BestBuy garbage. 
 
I'm about one click away from ordering him a pair of Senns.
 
This is what he rocks all day long...
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=skull+candy&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=12373203003827623193&ei=pKQ5TJC4KML38AborMWnBg&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=image&resnum=4&ved=0CEgQ8gIwAw#
 
Maybe it's not that big a deal. I mean, as long as he enjoys music its all good. Still, how do I convince someone to invest in decent audio? 

 

[Mochan]

Leave the man alone, he is happy with his gear. It's not your place to judge his taste.

 

[earthpeople]

If they aren't convinced after listening to your gear, I'm not sure you have much chance otherwise. Maybe loan him a pair for extended listening, say a week or two, and see if that changes his mind.
At the same time, I see that he did own some Grados at one point and still went back to cheap stuff, so maybe there's just not any hope. I wouldn't push it on him too much.

 

[Noobiiee]

Just leave him alone. Some people have such good imaginening abilities that a fake apple ibud can do their ears justice unlike some ppl (esp those on head-fi

 ) 

 

[FlyingInABlueDream]

In my defense, I have never given him crap about his taste in HP. I'm not that snobby that I would make someone feel bad about not having nice gear. It's his choice, and like I said, at least he enjoys his music.
 
Maybe I'll buy him a new pair of Grados for his b-day. 

 

[Mochan]

Considering he didn't look for a new set of Grados when they broke, I get the feeling Grados aren't his HP of choice. Mayhap you should get him something with a different kind of sound signature. He might prefer closed bassy headphones.

 

[Mr Joboto]

Good sign from him, he's gonna save a lot of money 

 

[krmathis]

Just let him enjoy them!
He is clearly not interested in spending money on a higher quality pair of headphones. So be it...

 

[pekingduck]

Leave him alone x2

 
We all have different priorities in life.

 

[hahahigh]

Your situation sounds very similar to mine. My best friend and I have also known each other for 10 years, and we will be attending college together (Virginians like yeah!). She will also not invest in good headphones, despite the fact that she listens to music all day long. Lucky for her, I'll be taking all my gear to our dorm, and I just happen to have an extra pair of phones (MS1) and speakers (some old but decent Altec Lansings) that will pretty much become hers. We'll see if she changes her mind by the end of next year.

 
Quote:

My roommate and I have known each other for the last 10 years. We both went to college for music, and both have degrees. But he will not invest in good headphones.
 

 

[Chef]

I don't see anything wrong with gifting him a good pair of phones You two sound like great friends. Don't listen to the people who say to leave him alone. The only reason he doesn't use better phones is because he can't justify spending that much on a luxury item for himself. It's like people who use a crappy camera forever until someone finally buys them a good one because they know how much they like taking pictures. Some people are just that way.

 

[David.M]

"Not that there's anything wrong with that"... Seinfeld anyone?

 

[FlyingInABlueDream]

Like I said before, I will never rag on him for his headphones. He's my best friend. I consider him a brother to me. He has a $2500 drumset, so I understand that we all spend our cash differently. He's outside listening to my Ultrasones (I tried to bring up that he could get a pair for cheap). 
 
His b-day is in two months, I'm really considering buying him a $100-200 pair of cans. 

 

[NapalmK]

Yeah I recently tried to dissuade a coworker from buying beats. I let him listen to my Pro 750s which he really seemed to like. However, I lost hope when he said "Wow, these sound better than a car stereo." He really seemed interested but the beats have him utterly entranced. Oh well, I tried.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Just be thankful for having a good friend.