[cifani090]

I was just reading a post on hometheaterreview.com on "Saving Audiophila: How To Get a Young, New Generation of Audio Enthusiasts Hooked," (http://hometheaterreview.com/saving-audiophila-how-to-get-a-young-new-generation-of-audio-enthusiasts-hooked/) and i was reading the post and than the comments and i found that kids are interested in audio, there just has to be some exposure to it. Costa Rodis writes,
 
"There's no doubt in my mind that it only takes exposure to a higher quality of gear to get young ears interested. Kids from the age of 10 and up show curiosity when they just see my Magneplanar panels in my living room. "Can I hear those?" they invariably ask. So long as I can find music they like, they'll stay in the living room to listen. Some stay when music new to them is put on. Those are the ones getting hooked.
My college-age daughter comments on the quality of classical recordings. She hears the difference between a CD and a SACD and remarks on how better-sounding the SACD is - without knowing that's what I've put on. When she's ready for a sound system of her own, she'll look to me for guidance because she'll want the best sound she can afford. And she'll learn how to use her ears to find the right gear by simply doing what she already does well: listen.
And my 12-year-old middle schooler is already seeking the best sound he can afford inside or on his ears. He far prefers my Audio Technicha or Sennheiser 'phones over the earbuds that come with his MP3 player or that he bought for $15 at Best Buy; the earbuds are for public use only (can't be caught dead with headphones around your neck when you're a tween!). When he shopped for his MP3 player, he wanted the best sounding one, not the most popular. So he ended up with a Creative Zen rather than an iPod.
Clearly, exposure is the key. Without getting into audio esoteria or an obsession with gear, our kids can definitely find a passion for good sound just by being in the same room where music they like is being played on good gear. That's where it all starts."
 
So please post what your kids think of Audiophilia?
 

 

[earerror]

Quote:

 
So please post what your kids think of Audiophilia?
 

They love the sound quality. Always trying to get the best bang for the buck gear (mp3 players, headphones) sometimes they are picky with headphones. 

 

[mralexosborn]

I am 14. I was never exposed to audiophilia. I just miraculously found this site and am thankful for it. I bought my first decent pair of IEM's (if you can call them that, V-Moda Bass Freq) on a whim, for $30. I loved how great they sounded compared to all the other terrible earbuds I had prior to them. They fell apart, I came here, then bought the Shure SE110. Didn't appreciate the lack of bass but grew to love them as I realized how much clearer they were all through the frequencies. Bought the UE SuperFi 5vi, a hit and miss with music, but they are the best I have had so far. Getting an SR225 or MS1 in a week or two. 

 
I have exposed myself (poor choice of words) to a couple of these niche communities. That is how I got into PC's which drove me to build one a couple months ago. I am just an ever so curious teenager.

 

[Uncle Erik]

I don't have any children that I know about, but gave a SR-60 to my niece, who enjoys it greatly. The nephews are a bit too young, but they will get SR-60s in a few years. One nephew has a big appetite for science. He's almost nine and should be ready for a soldering iron in the next year or two. My plan is to set him up with a CMoy and then work him up into doing tubes point-to-point. I think he'll enjoy it and it would be good to groom someone to inherit the gear collection.

I had a couple of good influences as a kid. One was the father of a childhood friend who was a serious audiophile. We were allowed into his listening room as long as we didn't touch (and we didn't) and occasionally got to hear the big line arrays and other toys. I remember how good it sounded. Another influence was my uncle. He wasn't an audiophile, but he was a Bell Labs engineer and deeply into amateur radio. He built an amazing tube linear amp the size of a refrigerator and loved tubes. He could build or fix anything. This wasn't lost on me. I love tubes as much as he did and still remember how excited he was when I got an amateur radio license.

Unfortunately, both of them are gone now. I wish they were around to talk to about all of this.

 

[Endless]

I'm 17. My experience was similar to mralexosborn's. My iPod headphones broke and I thought I'd get a decent set of headphones / earphones under 30 dollars (hahaha.. chum change..) from recommendations from Head-fi. I got a set of V-Moda bass freq's also and loved the U shaped response with the emphasis on bass (muddy). However, after losing the tips for my V-Modas (I pulled them out too hard and the tips fell onto the floor. Didn't bother looking for them.), so I got a set of Sennheiser CX300s. With the CX300's, I slowly began to grasp the concept of the different frequencies of sound. 
 
After getting my first job, I decided to invest money into the Sennheiser 555's. The lack of bass was disappointing at first, but I fell in love with the flat and natural response that the headphones had to offer. Bass wasn't the meaning of life anymore. After picking up the Head Direct RE0's, bass was the least of my priorities. Now, I've settled onto the Sennheiser HD 650's. I'm satisfied with my headphones. So far.
 
So yes. I agree with your statement that exposure is key. However, I think it also depends on the type of music people listen to. My friend who listens to mainstream music from MTV thought it was ridiculous for me to spend hundreds on my headphones, and more on my amp and DAC. However, my other friend who listens solely to classical music such as Bach and Yo-Yo Ma loved the sound of my RE0's after lending my IEM's for him to hear. I'm proud to say that I convinced him to buy his own set of RE0's.
 
However, I think that the important factor, the most important factor, is money. Teenagers my age don't feel the need to spend hundreds of good audio equipment when they could be listening to music with airplane earbuds. Food, new phones, shoes, clothes, video games, textbooks, apple products, and etc. take higher priority. Whatever, to each their own.
 
 
 

 

[ImitationOfLife]

I'll start off by saying that I'm 19. I've been into music and played musical instruments nearly my whole life (I started playing guitar at 6 and then picked up trumpet and piano later on). I've always listened to massive amounts of music; I'll always have music playing the whole day and into the night. I've been exposed to very nice audio equipment through my dad (Monitor Audio, and high-end Sony, Denon, Nakamichi, and Onkyo products for as long as I can remember). I use headphones for most of my listening time, especially at college. I had/have Bose headphones that I used for traveling, listening, and recording music with my guitar and a few bands that I was in. Anyway, I recently had enough money to buy my Sennheiser HD650 and Beyerdynamic DT770 cans and my NuForce uDAC. My parents were kind enough to buy me a Woo Audio 6 (my first and only amp!). I guess they know how important music is to me.

It's nice to finally have some high-end audio equipment that I can actually call my own. But I do love to listen to my dad's equipment as well.

 

[Endless]

Quote:

My parents were kind enough to buy me a Woo Audio 6 (my first and only amp!).

Very very kind parents. I have to admit, I'm jealous. 

 

[mralexosborn]

Quote:

Very very kind parents. I have to admit, I'm jealous. 

My parents are hesitant to buy me a pair of SR225i's. Silly parents don't understand my expenses... 

 

[ImitationOfLife]

Quote:

Very very kind parents. I have to admit, I'm jealous. 

Yes, I'm very thankful.
 

 

[Paste]

Well I'm fourteen -_-. I had to save up lunch money until I had enough for my M50. My conviction remains that there are lots of children out there beyond salvation, already cast into the chasm of conformity with their SkullyCandys and Beats. I've resorted to passing these on to my technically-savvy and unorthodox cohorts and letting them hear for themselves, the pinnacle of budget audio.
 
I really couldn't care less about helping a child find unadulterated musical bliss if they're so compelled to sacrifice their autonomy and submit to peer pressure. All I'm concerned is with finding the best deals for my friends and I. My point is, kids are interested, just not the majority.
 
Before I make any major purchase ($50+, what do you expect) I do weeks of stressful research before I head to the store (because I cannot pay for shipping) and buy whatever I want. Through the research, I invariably develop a bond and passion for the field, which is how I got sucked into this forum, and is also how I became involved in professional (describing the market, not myself) photography and performance computing (building computers). I pass my experience and expertise (I cringed when I typed that) to my small circle of colleagues, and they become consumers, too.
 
It's impossible to express my embarrassment to be in the same demographic as those uneducated SkullCandy peasants. I'm sure many of you have the same notion.

 

[mralexosborn]

Quote:

Well I'm fourteen -_-. I had to save up lunch money until I had enough for my M50. My conviction remains that there are lots of children out there beyond salvation, already cast into the chasm of conformity with their SkullyCandys and Beats. I've resorted to passing these on to my technically-savvy and unorthodox cohorts and letting them hear for themselves, the pinnacle of budget audio.
 
I really couldn't care less about helping a child find unadulterated musical bliss if they're so compelled to sacrifice their autonomy and submit to peer pressure. All I'm concerned is with finding the best deals for my friends and I. My point is, kids are interested, just not the majority.
 
Before I make any major purchase ($50+, what do you expect) I do weeks of stressful research before I head to the store (because I cannot pay for shipping) and buy whatever I want. Through the research, I invariably develop a bond and passion for the field, which is how I got sucked into this forum, and is also how I became involved in professional (describing the market, not myself) photography and performance computing (building computers). I pass my experience and expertise (I cringed when I typed that) to my small circle of colleagues, and they become consumers, too.
 
It's impossible to express my embarrassment to be in the same demographic as those uneducated SkullCandy peasants. I'm sure many of you have the same notion.

 
Well put!
 

 

[cifani090]

As i will add, thanks for writing your posts, and ill share mine. I am as of most of you still in my teens (14 turning 15 April, 9)and i also just found this website on accident and and very great full to of found this community. I dearly love music and i thing good equipment and brought me closer. The people on hear are truly great people, and i hope when in 16/17 i can go to CanJam, CES, CanFest, Mini-Meets and get to meet some of them. My very first headphones were those Apple earbuds that i dearly hate(cause they fell out) , and than i moved up to Bose OE in 7th grade, moved up to Denon AH-5000 in 8th grade, showed my neighbor them and he loved them, convinced him to buy some AH7000 which i had some time with and burned in for him, and now im up to some Tripple Fi 10 with an added mid range driver. And just to add i really hate when my brother doesnt know nothing about audiophiliacsm and expresses his feeling which are totally wrong. And here is an example of what my mom said a few days ago on how a really great girl that i know (and that i have a bit of a crush on)and she says that she has a pair of Skullcandies( but she was calling them Skullheads, and i bunch of names i dont even remember) and my older brother and i were just laughing at her.

 

[mralexosborn]

Quote:

As i will add, thanks for writing your posts, and ill share mine. I am as of most of you still in my teens (14 turning 15 April, 9)and i also just found this website on accident and and very great full to of found this community. I dearly love music and i thing good equipment and brought me closer. The people on hear are truly great people, and i hope when in 16/17 i can go to CanJam, CES, CanFest, Mini-Meets and get to meet some of them. My very first headphones were those Apple earbuds that i dearly hate(cause they fell out) , and than i moved up to Bose OE in 7th grade, moved up to Denon AH-5000 in 8th grade, showed my neighbor them and he loved them, convinced him to buy some AH7000 which i had some time with and burned in for him, and now im up to some Tripple Fi 10 with an added mid range driver. And just to add i really hate when my brother doesnt know nothing about audiophiliacsm and expresses his feeling which are totally wrong. And here is an example of what my mom said a few days ago on how a really great girl that i know (and that i have a bit of a crush on)and she says that she has a pair of Skullcandies( but she was calling them Skullheads, and i bunch of names i dont even remember) and my older brother and i were just laughing at her.

D5000 in 8th grade? -.-
I need to do some catching up!

 

[Endless]

Quote:

D5000 in 8th grade? -.-
I need to do some catching up!

I agree lol. There was no way I can cough up that much money to invest on a pair of headphones at that age.

 

[winma]

Wow...i see many young head-fi'ers here. 
Since im a kid, my dad used to wear headphones. I always been exposed to that stuff.