[Sonic Atrocity]

 
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Ive had kids at school borrow my Grados (some have beats, bose). I dont tell them how much I spent, or if they are good. I say nothing about them. Half the time, they ask "why are you using those old crappy headphones?" Or "they are clear but they dont have enough bass".  There are a few people at school who do have good taste for sound. But the majority are into frequencies below 100 hz and above 10,000khz. Everything in between is meaningless to them.
 
I did a blind test on my Dad with the MS1 vs. Bose AE. No matter which track, he liked the AE much better, even without knowing which brand is which or that I even had good headphones.(not that he cares).  
 
Ive had people listen to my stereo at home, behringer truth B2031A monitors, Velodyne 15 inch servo woofer, acoustic treatments. Usually I get comments like "can the bass go louder". Or I get nothing at all.  
 
To be honest, most average people dont know Hi-Fi when they hear it. Usually when people think of "good sound", it means sheer SPL power and Bass.

 
Yeah, the layperson definitely doesn't really know what good sound is. I guess that is okay though. I am sure there are people who know about television and cinema and would trump me with their tastes in those areas. Everyone has their thing.
 

 

[ProjectDenz]

Ugh some people must be completely tone deaf. The other day me and my friends were cruising in his car, he had a subwoofer that shakes the whole car and gives the people sitting in the back a back massage. Now this doof doof doof crap is fine by me but are they so damn tone deaf as to not realize how damn sibilant his damn speakers are?!

Imagine hardcore sibilance at roughly 100db, sitting roughly 40cm away from the speaker. SsssssssssSSSSSSSSSsssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSsssssssssssssss

I guess all that doof doof at over 100db ruined their hearing.

Well, at least I had my TF10s with me to act like earplugs and save my hearing.

 

[dub Beatz]

I can relate to your story man haha. Some people don't even upgrade their speakers, they just buy a $200 woofer and think they're the bee's knees haha. 

 

[3602]

Although I let no one touch my headphones (IEMs and the whole shebang), the DT880's, as open as they are, well, leak a lot. So every time I sit in the living room listening to Candide Overture, my father would come over and say "turn down the volume, man, you'll blast your ears out". After explaining the headphones being open, I offered him to try them on with my volume level. While he refused, he never said anything about the volume thing again. Well these days I listen to my little PCD 100 + HAGL setup in my room, so.
Then there's the situation where I listen to my Discman + Coppers in front of the PC. He would call me for supper, and of course, I can't hear him. Again with the "put the volume down" thing, but I just said "there are like, um, those earplugs you wear when you go to sleep". That usually works.
Not complaining about the fact that he told me to lower the volume. Of course I know that's a very good intention.

 

[luckybaer]

 
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We found my older son's iPod Nano.  My younger son did NOT flush it down the toilet.
 
This has nothing to do with non-audiophile reactions to high-end headphones, but I'm sure there were those of you that were hanging on the edge of your seat wondering what had happened to to the iPod.

I for one was ready to rage if I didn't get news of the situation fast. However, I'm curious as to what your children think of your headphone collection. 

Well, I just had the little one down here (he is 3 yrs and 9 months).  He is living the high life, what with being found innocent of flushing an iPod down the toilet.
 
I put the D2000 on him, and he just chilled out listening to Gorillaz ("Left Hand Suzuki Method"), New Order ("Blue Monday"), and Edgar Winter ("Frankenstein").  These are songs he recognizes and likes.  I know this, because when he plays with iTunes, he plays these songs more than others.  He listened to some other songs tonight, and I think he would have been content to leave the headphones on for a long time.
 
He doesn't care how many headphones I have, as long as he is wearing a pair - and apparently, as long as they aren't the crappy Sony headphones.  He did like the D2000 and didn't take them off once in 15 minutes - that is a reflection on their comfort, and how much he likes listening to music.  He may be a better musician than his big brother when he gets older.  Maybe.

 

[dub Beatz]

This is actually kind of surprising. Usually children under the age of 5 have a hard time sitting still and listening to music or watching a movie for more than 5 minutes haha. So I'm guessing he wont be going to school with skullcandies or beats when he grows up; thankfully. 

 

[luckybaer]

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This is actually kind of surprising. Usually children under the age of 5 have a hard time sitting still and listening to music or watching a movie for more than 5 minutes haha. So I'm guessing he wont be going to school with skullcandies or beats when he grows up; thankfully. 

lol... this kid LOVES music.  I mean, I thought his brother liked music, but this boy is really in to music.  I bought him a relatively inexpensive digital drum set (cost about $50) for Christmas, and I can't wait to see him mess around.  He really seems to have a clue, and this is coming from a dad that doesn't get blinded just because I'm talking about my kids (I probably need to be less neutral and more positive about what they do).
 
Haha... who know what he'll use when he grows up!  Peer pressure can be weird, but if the little one is like his older brother, he'll march to his own beat and get what he wants - regardless of what the drones think is cool.  The important thing is to let him know how much of a selection he has, so he doesn't feel limited to what is at Best Buy!  By the time he is 7, he'll know "Beyerdynamic", "AKG", "Denon", and "Sennheiser"!  hehehe

 

[Kreisleriana]

Denon 7000 seems to be a great headphone as an introduction.
I play Khachaturian's Violin Concerto, Medtner's 2nd Piano Concerto, or Ravel's Piano Concerto to blow people (Who have listened to classical music before) away.
For most of the time, Bach's First Cello Suite: Vorspiel works like a charm.

 

[I3eyond]

When I have kids I'm sure I'll be the same way..!
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This is actually kind of surprising. Usually children under the age of 5 have a hard time sitting still and listening to music or watching a movie for more than 5 minutes haha. So I'm guessing he wont be going to school with skullcandies or beats when he grows up; thankfully. 

lol... this kid LOVES music.  I mean, I thought his brother liked music, but this boy is really in to music.  I bought him a relatively inexpensive digital drum set (cost about $50) for Christmas, and I can't wait to see him mess around.  He really seems to have a clue, and this is coming from a dad that doesn't get blinded just because I'm talking about my kids (I probably need to be less neutral and more positive about what they do).
 
Haha... who know what he'll use when he grows up!  Peer pressure can be weird, but if the little one is like his older brother, he'll march to his own beat and get what he wants - regardless of what the drones think is cool.  The important thing is to let him know how much of a selection he has, so he doesn't feel limited to what is at Best Buy!  By the time he is 7, he'll know "Beyerdynamic", "AKG", "Denon", and "Sennheiser"!  hehehe

 

[BlackbeardBen]

I know it's not a non-audiophile experience, but I was just listening to Kraftwerk's live album Minimum-Maximum - and I got vertigo listening to Autobahn.  The audience noise is mixed so perfectly I freaked out when I felt like (almost even thought) I was IN the crowd!

 

[buffalowings]

don't bose users realize how silly they look...I mean the earcups look like what they are called...cups, give me a grado housing or ESW9 anyday...

 
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Ive had kids at school borrow my Grados (some have beats, bose). I dont tell them how much I spent, or if they are good. I say nothing about them. Half the time, they ask "why are you using those old crappy headphones?" Or "they are clear but they dont have enough bass".  There are a few people at school who do have good taste for sound. But the majority are into frequencies below 100 hz and above 10,000khz. Everything in between is meaningless to them.
 
I did a blind test on my Dad with the MS1 vs. Bose AE. No matter which track, he liked the AE much better, even without knowing which brand is which or that I even had good headphones.(not that he cares).  
 
Ive had people listen to my stereo at home, behringer truth B2031A monitors, Velodyne 15 inch servo woofer, acoustic treatments. Usually I get comments like "can the bass go louder". Or I get nothing at all.  
 
To be honest, most average people dont know Hi-Fi when they hear it. Usually when people think of "good sound", it means sheer SPL power and Bass.

 
Yeah, the layperson definitely doesn't really know what good sound is. I guess that is okay though. I am sure there are people who know about television and cinema and would trump me with their tastes in those areas. Everyone has their thing.
 

 

[Oggranak]

Quite different than my experience. I first looked for treble, and my desire for a more powerful and commanding bass and a nice-sounding midrange developed around the same time. Certainly, though, there are some people like this.

I find my ability to judge audio has improved significantly since I got my first good headphones around two years ago, and in retrospect nearly all my past audio decisions (trading my HD650s, getting these ESW9s, and some others) piss me off. I could still have those HD650s today if I hadn't been stupid and wanted exaggerated treble.

 
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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, "OMG 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.

 

[Dibster]

I don't know about high end, but my mother is used to listening to music through radio, car cd-player or the TV. When I made her sit down with a Heed Canamp and K701's, she was nearly in tears listening to Bangles' Eternal Flame. She proceeded to sit there for a couple of hours just listening.
 
My dad's listening habits are similar. He listened to some Three Tenors recording on the same set-up and he thought it sounded just like he was at the concert himself.
 
Now granted, these are easily impressed people considering what they're used to, but it really does make a difference even to people who never really cared about audio quality.
 
EDIT: My introduction to hifi went exactly as outlined in the post quoted above. It took years to get past each phase, and now I'm snugly in the last one.

 

[Ambience]

When I let people listen to my vsonics, I usually get "hey these sound pretty good, how much were they?" and some people are actually shocked that I spent a whole $90 on them.

 

[WhiteCrow]

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According to several Chinese audiophiles,
 
A new audiophile craves bass;
An established audiophile craves treble;
A really serious audiophile craves mid-range.

I agree with this.  It didn't really happen to me with headphones because I started off with Sennheisers and very very well balanced mackie speakers that let the mids shine, so I've always taken a mids first approach to headphones as well.  But I've noticed a lot of head-fiers go through this progression.  First it's big bass because that's what's lacking in computer speakers or ibuds.  Then they start hearing all the details and get obsessed with that, getting bass-light treble heavy phones, but then eventually stop listening so analytically and realize this is unbalanced and overpowers the mids, where the gut reaction comes from. 

I started with Sony*XB700* went to senneheiser HD448, went to grado, and how the HFI580 I feel a pretty good mix of the sennheiser mids, and bass with tebble, I still loooove my grados for rock, but  can anyone tell me what they feel an "audiophile" can is? I mean I loved the senns, I dont use them any more because I'm selling them but I loved there sound more then the AKG k217..