[Yukon Trooper]

Because of this damned website.

 

[Rednamalas1]

I blame my gf actually.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f11/do...o-much-369593/

 

[helicopter34234]

I was trying to figure out why I couldn't tell the difference between high bit rate mp3 and low bit rate mp3.

 

[F107plus5]

I was listening to my 45s through a older late 30s era tube amp with a pretty darned nice speaker inside driven by an RCA 45 changer. Looking back historically, it turns out that both units were of higher quality than I'd realized at the time.(I was like 13 or 14 and it was about '57 or '58)but then we got something really new! It was called "Stereo"!! It had those "elephant Ears" speakers that pivoted out from the side of a box that held the changer and amp. The new "LPs" sounded pretty neat what with listening to ping pong balls bouncing back and forth and trains passing in front of us on the test records and all, but the 45s? The 45s sounded terrible! The tiny little speaker drivers in the "ears" had nothing but mids, and I don't recall any heat coming from the amp part of the box, so the amp may have been some dinky little three or four transistor unit instead of a proper tube amp. But my 45s through my old rig sounded rich and full and defined and had some real body to them. All in all a much more satisfying sound.

The rest is history.

 

[ddoingwell]

My mother used to listen to Nat King Cole and Brook Benton records on an old tube record player that also had a radio in it. I'd sit next to that thing for hours as a baby (so I'm told but can still remember being enthralled by the "magic" even as a toddler) and only howl when the music ended. When I got big enough to find the dials for the radio, I'd clammer up on to the console to try and change the station when the yakking started to get back to the SOUNDS. I clearly remember that bit.

That was almost 50 years ago. I became a career musician thanks to that radio/record player cranking out Mama's records and yes, I play lots of those songs my Mama used to love. Good onya Ma. Thank you. Being an audiophile is just an occupational hazard.

Sweet huh?

 

[cerbie]

My dad had stuff fixed up from at hamfests, or found on the street (he still uses one receiver he actually picked up on the side of the road), and semi-DIY speaker systems (pre-cut enclosure panels, Parts Express order, Radio Shack sale...working speaker cabinet!). There was always a risk of music playing

. Forget measurements--a lot of that late 70s to mid 80s stuff can make good sound.

The new portable CD players started coming out with 50+ hours of battery life, and wow, the sound sucked. When my headphones broke, about this time, I asked on Anandtech about decent replacements, and was told to (a) get Koss KSC50, and (b) head over to Head-fi. That's how I got here.

Also, analog clipping makes me dizzy and nauseous, and excessive digital compression and clipping is somewhat uncomfortable to listen to.

 

[chinesekiwi]

mmm..to add to what I wrote before, I remember when I was little playing around with the knobs on my parents' vinyl player amp (still there today!

) and how they got so annoyed at times because I was playing with the treble and bass knob buttons and moving them up and down haha. 2-3 year olds dunno what the treble and bass knobs do you know, all they see it 'oh..pretty knobs, oh..I can move it..this is fun!'

 

[krmathis]

This community certainly helped a lot!
I auditioned my first Stax some 10-15 years ago, but got reminded of it when reading around here a couple of year back. Then I were completely hooked.

Thanks Head-Fi!

 

[SleepyOne]

Since university time I was hooked to hifi...... but in term of headfi, it was the fault of AKG701 that got me here!

 

[Ear Damage]

After my HD202s I got the Grado SR80s which pretty much was a starting point that headphones can have great audio. I bought the HD650 package from HeadRoom and it went on from there.

 

[s4nder]

I got a portable cassette player in kindergarten and it was always with me, that's when it started I guess, hehe.

Years later when I was having some Internet problems, I just sat at the computer and listened to music with the integrated sound card and 15 $ Defender headphones, concentrating solely on the music. It sounded so good I was almost sorry when the Internet connection was restored.

I eventually got better equipment and was blown away by the new experience. This quickly got into an exponentially increasing gear acquisition spree and only now that the law of diminishing returns is kicking in have I slowed down a bit. I've enjoyed every minute of the journey and turned quite a few friends into audiophiles as well by cheaply selling them my used equipment.

 

[hew]

I bought a copy of Stereophile magazine.

 

[Barock]

Not sure if I'm there (yet), but buying stereo separates rather than a mini system (music centre) helped, then scouring the local library for classical CDs. Then going to classical concerts, learning an instrument (violin then flute) all made me appreciate good music more. Finally getting good headphones, starting with Grado SR80's. Maybe one day I'll be an 'audiophile', but the name doesn't matter - the love of music does, which probably started in infancy..

 

[portaprostud]

Never have, man. The freaky bass and thrilling experience listening to movies with my portapros has been exciting enough for me. Headphones with too much treble irritate my ears anyway, and taking that escalator to upgradesville is too expensive for me.

 

[chinesekiwi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barock /img/forum/go_quote.gif ....then scouring the local library for classical CDs.

*cough* rip and return *cough*