[sebascrub]

I wasn't sure what forum to post this, so I figured I'd do it here, considering headphones are usually the gateway drug into the vortex of doom that is high-end audio

...anyways, I was wondering today, what is it that makes people, especially people in my age group (18-25), attracted to something better than ibuds/generic crap-phones that come included in DAPs? I mean, it's not like we remember the "good old days" of well mastered albums and quality over quantity. In most cases, we don't even have that much disposable income to be looking for audio nirvana; not when there's tuition and books to pay for. Is it the type of music we listen to? Is it something in our personalities? Have we just seen one too many live shows? Or are we just bored? Heh.

Personally, I do think it's the kind of music we listen to. If you ever met me in person, you'd know in about 10 seconds flat that I detest hip-hop/pop/rap/techno/dance/etc. I listen to rock, and rock alone, even though I can appreciate jazz and classical. Anyways, back to the matter at hand. This may make me some enemies, but, I think that someone who tends to listen to pop music tend not to care about audio quality as much as someone who listens to a more complex genre. I mean, in the end, pop music is all about bass power, feeling the bass, dancing, etc. Now, that doesn't make it any better or worse, it makes it what it is. But, is someone who is listening to Black Eyed Peas's - My Humps really going to wonder how much detail there is to extract? Whether the synthesized beats could be clearer? Does it even matter??

I'm the only one amongst my close friends who listens to rock. Everyone else listens to the very music I hate (fate, I tell you

). They just seem to care about the beat, and whether they can dance to it, groove to it, do whatever to it. That all gets conveyed over an AM transistor radio...you don't need K1000s to feel the beat. No one even understands why I have an amp for my iPod, let alone a $100, 2-inch, line-out cable. Or (gasp!), I'm in the process of waiting for my second pair of headphones over $20 (c'mon SR80s!!!).

So, what is it in people's tastes and/or personalities that makes them wonder if the grass is indeed greener on the other side of the ibuds? Why do people wonder what their DAP's potential is, when they are certainly not marketed that way? I mean, if it wasn't for a few curious clicks when I got bored of my then "high-end" headphones (MDR-V500, I think....definitely in that family....waaaaaay too much and too flabby bass, not enough detail), I'd still be listening to disposable Sony buds that cost me $10 at Zellers. Thank god curiosity got the best of me!

 

[Azure]

I believe all it takes is a passion for music and the knowledge that you can have better sound than what you have now. That's what did it for me.

 

[Meyvn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sebascrub I wasn't sure what forum to post this, so I figured I'd do it here, considering headphones are usually the gateway drug into the vortex of doom that is high-end audio ...anyways, I was wondering today, what is it that makes people, especially people in my age group (18-25), attracted to something better than ibuds/generic crap-phones that come included in DAPs? I mean, it's not like we remember the "good old days" of well mastered albums and quality over quantity. In most cases, we don't even have that much disposable income to be looking for audio nirvana; not when there's tuition and books to pay for. Is it the type of music we listen to? Is it something in our personalities? Have we just seen one too many live shows? Or are we just bored? Heh. Personally, I do think it's the kind of music we listen to. If you ever met me in person, you'd know in about 10 seconds flat that I detest hip-hop/pop/rap/techno/dance/etc. I listen to rock, and rock alone, even though I can appreciate jazz and classical. Anyways, back to the matter at hand. This may make me some enemies, but, I think that someone who tends to listen to pop music tend not to care about audio quality as much as someone who listens to a more complex genre. I mean, in the end, pop music is all about bass power, feeling the bass, dancing, etc. Now, that doesn't make it any better or worse, it makes it what it is. But, is someone who is listening to Black Eyed Peas's - My Humps really going to wonder how much detail there is to extract? Whether the synthesized beats could be clearer? Does it even matter?? I'm the only one amongst my close friends who listens to rock. Everyone else listens to the very music I hate (fate, I tell you ). They just seem to care about the beat, and whether they can dance to it, groove to it, do whatever to it. That all gets conveyed over an AM transistor radio...you don't need K1000s to feel the beat. No one even understands why I have an amp for my iPod, let alone a $100, 2-inch, line-out cable. Or (gasp!), I'm in the process of waiting for my second pair of headphones over $20 (c'mon SR80s!!!). So, what is it in people's tastes and/or personalities that makes them wonder if the grass is indeed greener on the other side of the ibuds? Why do people wonder what their DAP's potential is, when they are certainly not marketed that way? I mean, if it wasn't for a few curious clicks when I got bored of my then "high-end" headphones (MDR-V500, I think....definitely in that family....waaaaaay too much and too flabby bass, not enough detail), I'd still be listening to disposable Sony buds that cost me $10 at Zellers. Thank god curiosity got the best of me!

Actually, I think you're pigeonholing pop and hip hop. I think in a lot of ways, with much of modern rock, recordings are more poorly mixed and mastered than a lot of modern pop. But then, the pop and hip hop I listen to is usually borderline, and more "intelligent" (lyrically and creatively, IMO) than mainstream dance music. I think Linkin Park, Metallica, Yellowcard, and other popular rock bands are if anything, significantly less likely to inspire a need for better sound than say, Norah Jones, Maroon 5, Eric Clapton, or Dido. I'd agree with you on most hip hop, though, with the exception of a few like Gnarls Barkley (listen to those vocals on good headphones and you'll know what I mean; not to mention, the rest of the album besides "Crazy" is actually really introspective lyrically), and a few of Dr. Dre's songs.

 

[F107plus5]

When I was a young kid we didn't call it rock. We didn't call it anything. It wasn't invented yet!!

I grew up with a close Uncle who sang opera, a Mother who played bluegrass on 78s and a Father who liked the popular music of the day and an older brother who loved classical. When rock snuck in around '54 I began an extensive 45 collection.

So it began. My musical collection is now about 70% rock and country from the 50s through the late 80s. And about 30% classical and opera. The ratio was reversed until I "Discovered" cans in March of this year and ended up going on a CD buying spree to fuel the appitite of my demanding Alessandro MS-1s and newer MS2i. I badly miss my classical collection since listening on my excellent speaker system is getting difficult with so many Grandkids milling around wanting to take over the main system....for movies!! So a set of HD650 is peeking over the horizon eyeing my classical collection with thoughts of bringing it back up to equal the rock and country side.

I won't argue.

 

[Hi-Finthen]

The pursuit of the feelings, the primal & complex emotions, that is music, which good reproductive gears produce is hyper entertaining and NEEDED!!! I've personally, always been drawn towards music culturally. the more the better especially higher quality experiences with it... Soooo I've invested in that pursuit! I'm enjoying it along with my time invested here on Head-Fi as being hyper rewarding!

/keeps me off the streets XD

 

[sebascrub]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meyvn Actually, I think you're pigeonholing pop and hip hop. I think in a lot of ways, with much of modern rock, recordings are more poorly mixed and mastered than a lot of modern pop. But then, the pop and hip hop I listen to is usually borderline, and more "intelligent" (lyrically and creatively, IMO) than mainstream dance music. I think Linkin Park, Metallica, Yellowcard, and other popular rock bands are if anything, significantly less likely to inspire a need for better sound than say, Norah Jones, Maroon 5, Eric Clapton, or Dido. I'd agree with you on most hip hop, though, with the exception of a few like Gnarls Barkley (listen to those vocals on good headphones and you'll know what I mean; not to mention, the rest of the album besides "Crazy" is actually really introspective lyrically), and a few of Dr. Dre's songs.

I agree with you. Most modern rock is terrible and over produced, no more or less so than pop and hip hop. I listen mainly to classical rock, and that is what made me want more...the Beatles, Pink Floyd, the Stones....they all made me curious to see how else I could enjoy them....especially the Beatles. I remember last term sitting in my dorm room with my two other roommates listening to their self-titled album on vinyl at around midnight with lights off, just enjoying the music. It was, bar none, my best musical experience outside of concerts.

But, my question remains....how is it that in today's world, where we are totally inundated with sub standard encoding (iTunes Store, though I love iTunes...c'mon, can't you encode your stuff better?), advertising aimed towards the DAP changing your life and being able to socialize better, not aimed at the quality of said DAP, and life-styles that are too hectic to be able to often sit down and "just listen", we're able to initially discover higher audio?? How do people make that jump? Why do they make that jump?

 

[SoundGoon]

Being apart of the age group you mentioned, I believe that it is in part what you listen to. I am a Tubist (with some Trombone and Euphonium on the side); that and teaching are what I do. I have been in and to enough concerts to know what a Band or Orchestra or Choir or ensemble or quintet, etc should sound like, and it SHOULD NOT sound like what comes out of those pieces of crap ibuds or whatever is supplied with any portable players (in my opinion, MP3's/compressed audio suck(s) too, but that's a different discussion).
I think that people in our age group get into higher end audio because of a desire to duplicate the feeling that we get by experiencing a live concert. It is about the aesthetics - how we feel listening to that concert, and how that concert makes us feel, is what gives music its power. I think that best way for that to be experienced is with something as realistic as possible, hence that girlfriend/wife scaring/frustrating higher-fi addiction.

 

[blessingx]

If you're comparing genres across the board your chosen one is going to get buried in a fight by several others.

And iTunes 128 kbps is better quality than what most people heard going up. Average AM or 8-track or cassette or whatever. I mean we should be careful generalizing the past when we only go back a couple decades. And even during that couple decades there were people spending a fortune on a massive reel to reel setup, etc. trying to squeeze out the most while others were perfectly happy listening to the same music in their mono pickup radio.

I'm not part of the demographics you're asking this question, but I don't think the premise on the "today" differences is exactly accurate. On the time front, probably, but on the SQ or lifestyle/advertising, probably not. Head back to the 80's Walkman. Jump a little further back...

And they came in colors too.

 

[afobisme]

when i hear good sound, it makes me feel the music much more. it's as simple as that

 

[nytmarezz]

I'm in the age group you mentioned and the reason I started looking for bigger and better was really an accident that was to blame for my first eargasm. At a lanparty ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lanparty ) a friend brought his Sony MDR DJ700s (*puts on flame suit*) and bragged about how cool they were. They looked cool so I was interested in trying them out. I have since grown past (to a degree) the whole "looks" of a headphone thing but it was my motivation at the time. Anywho, I tried them on my pc listening to Crystal Method's High Roller (it is a techno/dance track that focuses heavily on bass

). I was using only onboard audio from my pc (phew looking back that sounded horrible) and I was shocked (not anymore lol) of how everything sounded better! I tried a few other songs from a few other genres. Same thing, everything sounded better in every way. I practically begged my friend to let me continue using them for the rest of the lanparty.

Everything had just sounded better. The bass, the guitars, etc. I then went in search of how to reach this audio nirvana myself.... stumbled across head-fi.... bought some AT A500s and am planning on greater things already...

 

[sebascrub]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blessingx If you're comparing genres across the board your chosen one is going to get buried in a fight by several others. And iTunes 128 kbps is better quality than what most people heard going up. Average AM or 8-track or cassette or whatever. I mean we should be careful generalizing the past when we only go back a couple decades. And even during that couple decades there were people spending a fortune on a massive reel to reel setup, etc. trying to squeeze out the most while others were perfectly happy listening to the same music in their mono pickup radio. I'm not part of the demographics you're asking this question, but I don't think the premise on the "today" differences is exactly accurate. On the time front, probably, but on the SQ or lifestyle/advertising, probably not. Head back to the 80's Walkman. Jump a little further back...

That's also true. I'm just generalizing the unarguable trend of recording technology getting better and better, while end consumer SQ is definitely not following in such leaps and bounds.

For example...for Pink Floyd to get the sounds that they did for their albums, especially their DSOTM era, they had to become masters of the tape reel. They would have to play admist meter after meter of tape being streamed all over the studio just so that they could get the effects and timing that they wanted. Extrapolate that to today, they could probably achieve the exact same effect with about half the effort. It's not that today's SQ is so much worse than 20 years ago, it's just that the gap between the potential of the technology and the realized outcome of the technology is a lot larger.

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

I got sucked in just by looking for more comfortable headphones than the annoyingly sweaty and itchy pair I started out with. One pair of HD590's later and I found out just how good headphones could sound, which was much better than the speakers I loved at the time (Klipsch Promedia 2.1)

 

[drizek]

Im in that age group and I think its just because im a perfectionist. I like everything to be done right so high end phones are just a piece of the pie. Money really isnt an issue IMO because you can always get high end stuff on the cheap. Take the ksc75 for instance. Or the $63 im716. I think im about to buy a koss a130 for under forty bucks on ebay.

 

[Albatross05]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sebascrub I wasn't sure what forum to post this, so I figured I'd do it here, considering headphones are usually the gateway drug into the vortex of doom that is high-end audio ...anyways, I was wondering today, what is it that makes people, especially people in my age group (18-25), attracted to something better than ibuds/generic crap-phones that come included in DAPs? I mean, it's not like we remember the "good old days" of well mastered albums and quality over quantity.

Well, this is just my humble opinion but I believe a lot of people go looking for higher quality headphones (and sources, for that matter) because a lot of albums are poorly recorded and/or mastered.

A well recorded album sounds pretty good on just about any kind of equipment (not saying it doesn't sound better on higher quality equipment). Unfortunately, if you like a particular artist or album whose recording techniques are lousy, you can't force them to do a better job so your only option is to try and improve things on your end as much as possible.

Then again, it's just human nature that no matter how good things are, they can always be "better".

 

[Meyvn]

As to your question of how we make the initial leap, I'd say it's often by hearing the good systems others have on sheer coincidence; I've let people listen and converted them that way. After hearing my SR125s, my father went out and bought a pair of SR225s himself. Another thing is, ironically enough, the issue of bass itself; earbuds typically are severely lacking in this department, and so the average consumer goes out and looks for headphones with "better" (more) bass, and incidentally finds out that maybe that's not the sound they necessarily prefer, and discover better headphones. Not to mention, just looking for headphones of any kind, the internet often leads people here, which is a big help.