[Ypoknons]

Once someone is hooked on a boomy bass sound, it's hard to get them off. Many young people, even musicians who know perfectly well what real instruments sound like, in my experience have refused to listen to higher-end gear simply because the bass they're used to isn't there. Same thing as crack, really. In fact, I am forced to suspect that some of think that reality does not have enough bass. 
 
Which is why I will get some Leatherheads one day I will them over 

 

[tmars78]

Quote:

 

I make the argument, "Okay, so you spent about $200-300 on your iPod,  probably more than that on your music, and you're using them through headphones that sound like crap? That's kind of a waste."
 

And unfortunately the response you're most likely to get is, "I don't really care, just as long as I can hear what I am listening to." Sad? Yes. Truthful? Most likely another yes. I don't have a hi-fi set-up by any means, and most of friends will agree that it sounds a lot nicer than what they listen to, but most of them can't be bothered, or don't care enough to upgrade what they have. 

 

[Ishcabible]

Quote:

And unfortunately the response you're most likely to get is, "I don't really care, just as long as I can hear what I am listening to." Sad? Yes. Truthful? Most likely another yes. I don't have a hi-fi set-up by any means, and most of friends will agree that it sounds a lot nicer than what they listen to, but most of them can't be bothered, or don't care enough to upgrade what they have. 

 
That's not what I get when I make them listen to my Coppers. Then again, I have friends with money to burn and are completely obsessed with their music.
 

 

[tmars78]

Quote:

 
That's not what I get when I make them listen to my Coppers. Then again, I have friends with money to burn and are completely obsessed with their music.
 

Yeah, I have a few like that too, but most of my friends are casual listeners, as in it makes for nice background noise. And the others who actually listen to music, listen to rap, and are really only listening to the wordplay, and couldn't care less about how it actually sounds. Even still, it surprises me when people hear my mid-fi, I guess you would call it, set-up and rave about how nice it sounds, that they don't actually improve upon what they have. 

 

[Ishcabible]

 
Quote:

Yeah, I have a few like that too, but most of my friends are casual listeners, as in it makes for nice background noise. And the others who actually listen to music, listen to rap, and are really only listening to the wordplay, and couldn't care less about how it actually sounds. Even still, it surprises me when people hear my mid-fi, I guess you would call it, set-up and rave about how nice it sounds, that they don't actually improve upon what they have. 

Laziness is a curse, I tell you!

 

[tmars78]

Quote:

 

Laziness is a curse, I tell you!

I was once one of those lazy people, then I stumbled onto here. I haven't gonna crazy buying gear, but I upgraded a few things. Could I improve what I have? Of course I could, but I am happy with what I have right now, and I think I'll stay with what I have for a little while longer. 

 

[dagothur]

   The fact that a pair of $200 headphones can be considered 'budget' here speaks to the stark contrast between an audiophile and a regular person.  I will submit that there are a few people who simply don't feel like upgrading, but it's (understandably) hard for a person to actually get into actually hi-fi stuff.  The problem remains with price tag vs. ubiquity.  The most expensive headphones I own are coming this Friday, and that's a pair of M50s for $90.  If I told that to most people, they would scratch their head and muttering something about getting a pair of Bose and bass clarity not mattering.  You see, my fellow head-fi'ers, Bose, Monster, Skullcandy, etc., simply have better marketing than Sennheiser or Audio Technica.  Not only that, to truly become an audiophile you have to at least do the following:
1) Offer 12 pints of virgin blood and the soul of an innocent (i.e., make your wallet cry)
2) Use the terms/phrases "sibilant," "warm," "colored," "not neutral enough" and "it's only $400" - Never use "it's neutral enough," because that's like dividing by zero in the headphone world.
3) Research for many hours and study Trigonometry in order to find the perfect pair of cans
4) Call your headphones "cans," especially if you're a girl in order to confuse those who don't understand what you mean
   Any intended humor aside, being an audiophile is expensive and requires a lot of research.  I'm a metalhead, and know a death metal band for almost every letter of the alphabet.  Despite that, I hear countless "death metal fans" telling me they like "iwrestledabearonce, Job For a Cowboy, Animosity, bands like that lol."  That's because those bands, like Bose and other overpriced garbage, simply have better PR and circulation.  You always hear d-bags booming their subwoofer because they've been convinced that bass is the most important part of any recording.  And they're d-bags, rude attention-seeking behavior being in their nature.  It doesn't necessarily mean that these people don't like good recordings, or they don't like death metal, it's just that they haven't lurked deeply enough in the field to get past what's popular vs. what's good.

 

[khaos974]

Not true, I know how's the situation on the States, but if you wander in a big enough Fnac in France (~Virgin Megastore/HMV ie. books, Cd & electronics) and you ask for best headphones, they'll give you an HD650, good quality audio can still be found easily.

 

[fluffygdog95]

Wow. That would truly be nice, to live in a non-brainwashed land. Story time.
 
I went to the Mall of America last month and went to an electronics store. I approached the nearest salesperson and asked, "Do you have any audio equipment for sale?"
 
He proceeded to show me some lowly store branded items. 
 
I then asked him, "Do you have anything more towards 'high-end?'"
 
Without a pause and with much confidence he stated, "You should try the Bose store."
 
I said, "Thank you," resisted laughing, and walked out of the store.

 

[Ham Sandwich]

 
Quote:

  
   Any intended humor aside, being an audiophile is expensive and requires a lot of research. 

Good audio does not need to be expensive.  That was one of the points in Sean's blog post.  It does, however, require some research cause the stuff that has a good sound for a reasonable price doesn't also have the saturation marketing that make the brand well known for audio (and a joke amongst audiophiles).
 
What is expensive are cell phone plans, iPhones, cable TV, buying yet a bigger flat screen TV, buying a new iPod every year, and similar accepted consumer electronics spending.  Buying a reasonable headphone that has good sound ranks pretty low on that expense scale.
 
"Good audio" is within reach of the normal consumer.  You don't need to spend big bucks to get there.  You do, however, need a desire to get there and have "good audio".  You also have to realize that you aren't going to get there for $25.

 

[Ham Sandwich]

I wonder how I would have done in similar experiments back when I was a teen?
 
Funny thing is back then (freshman year of college) I was listening to Sony MDR-V6 headphones.  Thought they sounded great back then.  I know better now.  Now I don't enjoy them at all.  They're all treble with faux treble hyped "details".  Poor soundstage.  Poor sound placement.  But back then I liked them.
 
We spend our whole lives surrounded by sound.  Yet when it comes to listening to audio equipment it actually takes some practice and acclimation to find what sounds "natural" and learn how to listen.  As a teen that acclimation hasn't yet sunk in and it is easy to be swayed by false faux sound and gimmicks. 

 

[tmars78]

Quote:

 

Good audio does not need to be expensive.  That was one of the points in Sean's blog post.  It does, however, require some research cause the stuff that has a good sound for a reasonable price doesn't also have the saturation marketing that make the brand well known for audio (and a joke amongst audiophiles).
 
What is expensive are cell phone plans, iPhones, cable TV, buying yet a bigger flat screen TV, buying a new iPod every year, and similar accepted consumer electronics spending.  Buying a reasonable headphone that has good sound ranks pretty low on that expense scale.
 
"Good audio" is within reach of the normal consumer.  You don't need to spend big bucks to get there.  You do, however, need a desire to get there and have "good audio".  You also have to realize that you aren't going to get there for $25.

I agree that it is within the reach of the normal consumer. I don't have anything TOO expensive, and really don't plan on buying much more than what I already have. I understand to some people that this hobby can become very consuming, but I was just looking for better sound at a price that wouldn't break the bank. Have I achieved audio nirvana? No, I haven't, but I do get lots of enjoyment listening to what I have. 

 

[spiftacu1ar]

Reporting in at 19 yrs old. I have always liked "good" sound, but didn't have any money to spend till recently (My parents were very controlling of what I spent money on, no such thing as my "own" money). My first proper headphones were hd595's which I got for 17th birthday. Most of my friends thought it was a waste, but slowly I convinced them otherwise. One of my college friends was the type to buy the cheapest possile headphones. I mean, this is a guy who would buy a 3-pack of coby headphones for $5 because they "crap out" every couple of months. However, he spends a lot of time in my room, and i think I converted him: a couple days after I bought my hd650's (which I got a couple months ago), he came and asked me if I'd sell my 595's, lol.
 
As mentioned earlier, going from lo-fi to hi-fi is like "whoa, that sounds good, but I don't really care", but if you get someone used to hi-fi (meaning listen to it a lot), they won't liek lo-fi stuff anymore. I think that's what happened to my friend (not the only one, but he is the best example). I have KRK Rokit 6's as my speakers, and spending so much time in my room, he got used the vastly superior quality of that sound over the coby's (Although for the first year that I knew him, he insisted that it was a waste of my money). 
 
Thinking about it, I think budget also has a huge factor, and "older" people tend to have bigger budgets which is why it might *seem* like they prefer higher quality sound. The fact that people notice the difference, and then say it doens't matter, means that if it cost the same, they would get the hi-fi equipment. But it doens't cost the same, and even with entry levl hi-fi (or mid-fi, as some would call it), the $50 needed to enter could be "better" spent elsewhere. You don't need to convince people that hi-fi is good, just that its benefits are better than a new cell-phone or other gadget. Face-it, gadgets have that "cool" factor to them. People think a thin, sleek iphone is cooler than a fat set of headphones which sound epic, but make you look like an "wierd". (I dare someone to go to a party wearing those huge cans).
 
On the other hand, a bigger budget means you can get both

 

[AudioDelite]

I won't say that I'm an audiophile, but I agree with spiftacular that listening to good quality music for a while, does push you to switch to Hi-Fi gear =) That's how it converted me, I remembered when I first got an image S4, I was VERY happy for the next 3 months.
 
Then one day I chanced upon a high end audio store selling IEMs, I gave the W3, IE8 and TF10 a try, and I immediately fell in love! I didn't expect such niche products to be soo much better than my image S4. That's how my chase for good quality music began

 

[Ishcabible]

Quote:

I dare someone to go to a party wearing those huge cans

 

Bring it on.
 
(Stolen from Imalhan)
 
And it's much easier to convince fellow band geeks than normal non music inclined people. Forgot to put that in my original post.
 
I've also used the excuse from Soundearphones. "Well nice headphones have nice 1-2 warrantees. Cheap headphones tend to break every 2 months or so. $15x6=$90 a year. $180 for two years. I'd rather have nice headphones guaranteed for 2 years for that much" Converted a few people.
 
Random statement but correlating to the quoted post. It's my goal to get a pair of Jecklin Floats and have my girlfriend model them. I'm a sick person.