My parents are legally responsible for that for four more years, and after that, I'm not taking any more money from them. Whatever money I earn now from odd jobs around the neighborhood is mine and should be used for real food and books in college. If I spend too much, I'll just be car-less on a diet of ramen for three meals a day working the late shift at mcdonalds.
Came for the headphones, stayed for the community.
I mean, my setup is still very rudimentary. Only two budget headphones, a M50 and the SR80i, and a rockboxed Gigabeat F40. Yeah, I'm super poor.
I don't quite like the M50, because its closed, and because it has a very long cable. Despite living in an apartment, I still like the sound of open phones better.
Well, Im still in High school and I do take this hobby seroiusly. I have puchased a HD 800 and diy'ed my own power supply for my Amp but luckily, both my parents understand my hobby and my dad is also an audiophile .
I'm under 30 and take this hobby semi-seriously, but note I havent bought anything lately as my other (more expensive) hobbies have depleted all savings
I joined a couple months after I turned 14. I found out about this place at 12, but wasn't allowed to join.
I like to think I'm dedicated. Most of my money goes here (look through my profile if you're really interested. I'm pretty backed up with projects.), and I'm seriously considering purchasing an XB1000, PRO900, and Darth Beyer V4 with the woodied Fostex I'm making to have a bass shootout to pay back to the community in some way. I'd love to made a full sized headphone version of what Joker does, but that's impossible at this point.
I think a large percent of the site is people under 30, for the reasons given like it's cheaper to get your feet wet than in Speakerland and not all that many people under 30 have the space for a speaker room. There has also been a huge influx of teens joining for bassy headphones, likely thanks to Monster.
...I don't know why, but I laughed at that. Crossfades aren't...THAT bad.
As a side comment (not sure if this is acceptable. I'll delete it if necessary), didn't the CEO of V-Moda get arrested? There was something about that a bit ago.
I'm almost 50. I have always had headphones. I tried to buy some top $ Grados in 1998.The store I went to would need to order them and I lost interest! You always saw Headroom ads in stereo magazines! All and all I had really no clue that folks were so into headphones. I saw the k 701s in a guitar store and when online to learn about them. I found Head-Fi. The first thing I said to myself was "Wow, these folks are really into it."
It turns out with the education here and people I have met that I ended up with a good rig in the end. I would say that is the point for some. I am happy to see young people here. In the few years I have been around it seems like more and more young people are getting into it. I am happy to see the new members as there are much more evil ways to spend your cash.(some) It may not always be a money thing as I also see and hear DIY projects which get to extreme levels of HI/FI. This place is not always about money but how well you can read though the BS and find the audio gold.
Even if someone was at a low level of income there are resources here to mod a used I-Pod classic and run it through a DIY amp though a used pair of headphones and have audiophile sound! The information is here for people who want to give it a try. It's not an age or money thing at all.
For some many reasons people should not look at much of the stuff as unreachable on a less than 6 figure income. A Nuforce HDP hooked up to a Mac ( Even an old white Macbook ) with a pair of AH-D7000 Denons is going to get somebody 80% there. If this stuff was looked out for in the used market, the whole rig would be under $1500.00. It really is a question of folks saving and wanting to get into a system. I have read stereo mags for years just to wonder the sound of 60K rigs. The best part of headphones is you can get to that level to a point on a shoestring.
The side of Head-fi that seems more critical is the Classical Music side of things. These people from experience know just how an string is to sound. The sound stage is even more important as the progress in Classical Music has followed the dominance of Western culture in our World. Classical Music has a need for hi-standards which the folks being into rock maybe really don't need. This place attracts a level of over doers who have over done everything their whole lives and bring the elite camp this way too. A newcomer needs to look out for this trend and see it as far removed from reality as it exists in. We do have the manufactures who are the first to get on the latest craze and talk folks into looking down on the gear they just purchased only to get caught-up in the next cycle. We need to look at all the ad around us and realize that this place is bought and paid for by the continuation of audio gear purchases. The reality though is to look at the members who are truly happy with a couple pairs of good headphones. A person who in not on the hamster wheel of upgrades but has found a pure form of joy in this hobby for what it is.
There is a right way and a wrong way to have classical music be represented. This is where I think that last 20% of the music quality is.
If one was to concentrate on that 20% after a while you could hair split it into an 80% perspective. It really is not. I would say play a 10K system and the Nuforce system for the gal at the drive though window at the next fast food place you go to as a test. She would most likely be able to give us the best results. The Classical Music folks deserve to be where they are. There is a place for that level of systems. The issue here is people should not feel left out due to the amount of money they have to spend. I enjoyed this hobby fine with finding the right combo of gear. It is really not the money you spend but the educated choices you make. The other side of the coin too is to stop when your there. It seems we also have people buying headphones over and over or selling stuff that they wish they had not. The second best resource we have besides the web is to go to meets. Finding a system with your sound is key to making the correct buys early on.
The best part of being young in this hobby is being able to learn more and keep your gear longer than the oldies who join! The question is will there be better gear in the future? It seems in some ways gear has dropped in price from say 2003, when you consider price to SQ. That is just what I see. The one fact that I think everyone will agree upon is we have far more headphone amp choices now than ever. The surge of I-Pods have also given way to a whole new generation of headphone users which may never have been exposed to music in this form years ago.
When I was 15 we sang out loud the FM top 40 on the way to school. We have come along way in 2011!
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