I've worked some very good pro audio guys (young) who listen to music on crappy Bluetooth speakers. I don't get it, they know good audio. I suppose it's just music to them, not audio. Different goals.
I see a lot of young people listening to music on the phone, not earbuds, just that tiny speaker. Why??? Bzzzz, bzzzz, bzzzz. Sounds worse than the little transistor radios we were famous for in the 1960s. I just don't get it.
I see a lot of young people listening to music on the phone, not earbuds, just that tiny speaker. Why??? Bzzzz, bzzzz, bzzzz. Sounds worse than the little transistor radios we were famous for in the 1960s. I just don't get it.
Bless her, one fewer thing to worry about in that blissful thing called marriage.
Ummm... I'm reading innuendo and understand your plight.
Ok, I'm gonna keep my wife away from this thread.
Only under extreme pressure.
And the problem is?
'cause not everyone thinks like us audioholics
Talk nice to the Mrs. She can solve that problem.
I think that the youth of today care more about convenience than audio fidelity. Both of my daughters grew up with good sounding gear, so they have the experience. Sometimes when one of them comes for a visit I'll ask for an opinion of my latest tweak or upgrade, and usually I'll get a positive response about how good it sounds compared to what the listen to, but they are then completely happy to go back to what they have. Good sound is just not a priority these days.
Mike
Look at it in another way, what if she was the crackhead and her no-good boyfriend the stripper.
LOL, yes, it was a joke, but some tech types must take everything literally...
FWIW, I have built her good speakers, & she didn't use them, I think Chris nailed it, it's about convenience, just plug that thing into you're USB port and you're flying. I guess it's also the difference between listening to the music vs. listening to the sound.
Now, why doesn't your wife like your huge dark dalek macho looking speakers??? Seriously, I've been looking around for white cone drivers so I can make something that looks like my idea of a higher SAF speaker.
FWIW, I have built her good speakers, & she didn't use them, I think Chris nailed it, it's about convenience, just plug that thing into you're USB port and you're flying. I guess it's also the difference between listening to the music vs. listening to the sound.
Now, why doesn't your wife like your huge dark dalek macho looking speakers??? Seriously, I've been looking around for white cone drivers so I can make something that looks like my idea of a higher SAF speaker.
Which intrigues me. I just find it annoying after not too long. I'm not able to tune out the bad sound to get to the music. That's an audiohile affliction if ever there was one.
It's amazing that music can do that for most people. It's almost like homeopathy. It takes only the tiniest dose to get the desired effect.
Roll the clock back about 50 yrs and you would probably find much the same conversation amongst audiophiles of that time.
We were one of three families with a dedicated hi-fi system in a very well off neighborhood in a town slightly west of Boston back in the 1960s. Money was probably not the problem..
I am and was much more passionate about good sound than my father was even so. (I think in most cases passion is something you are born with or not.)
We were one of three families with a dedicated hi-fi system in a very well off neighborhood in a town slightly west of Boston back in the 1960s. Money was probably not the problem..
I am and was much more passionate about good sound than my father was even so. (I think in most cases passion is something you are born with or not.)
I must have gone through a dozen or so of those Japanese 2 transistor AM radios in the early 60's. I collected some nice tube radios, and fixed them up for use in the house, but most of the time I could be found outside somewhere (usually up in a tree) with the single beige earbud stuck in the side of my head.
It was through this path that I learned to sing and play the guitar to all of the early Beatles songs and the surf music that occupied AM radio in south Florida. Of course all those guitar lessons that my parents dragged me to helped.
By the mid 60's I had learned how to make tube amps, mostly for guitar, and for me, the measure of an amp's quality was mostly "how loud will it go with out sounding terrible."
I also had one of those cassette recorders. Mine was a reasonably decent monophonic Panasonic that went to high school with me almost every day. It was our signal source for amp building in vocational electronics class.
Sometime around 1967 (age 15) my next door neighbor asked me to help him build a Heathkit AR-13 receiver kit. He said that I could have his old tube set if I could get the Heathkit working. He was a "quack" doctor practicing some strange life extension therapy that required flying his "patients" to a Caribbean island for treatment. My parents and most of the other neighbors found him strange. He did woodworking, stained glass, model trains, and several other hobbies. None of the neighbors had even been inside his house....it was cool, speakers everywhere, all home built. He had some rather strange looking speakers with funny faces. I now know that they were Karlson horns. He introduced me to good sounding audio, and I liked it.
I made the Heathkit work, collected a Fisher tube stereo, and the neighbor helped me make a pair of bookshelf speakers for it that sounded pretty good, but I never really appreciated the system that much since it wasn't LOUD. It got used when my parents were home.
So, what's my point??????
My wife is constantly trying to get the grandkids interested in playing an instrument. Guitar, piano, even the drums......interest dies in zero to 2 weeks. I think the 10 year old boy liked beating on the drums, but had no interest in playing them. Why?
None of these kids LISTEN to music. They would rather play video games, which do contain music, but they never LISTEN to it....They hear it, but don't listen. If I play one of the soundtracks on something other than the TV, none of them can tell me which game it's from.
If a kid spends a few hours a day listening to music through ANY device or system, then the elements are there for them to appreciate and possibly create music later in life.
Today there are far more activities competing for kids time than there were in the 60's and some just don't listen period. Killer stereo or iPOD, it won't matter. Some, like my daughter listened on semi decent equipment (a Panasonic boom box that I still have) even though she had access to the home stereo. She was teaching piano and drums through and after high school.
I asked her if she would use the old Panasonic if I gave it back to her, or let her kids use it......No, with 4 kids and 5 TV's the house is too noisy already......Have I failed?????
That's why I have mine on a pig tail very short USB extension cable so it dangles about 6" and can swing about..
Regards
M. Gregg
I have come to the conclusion,
The reason the youth today listen to such equipment is because its limited so the Punk music of today that has to contain TISSSSSSSSS TISSSSSSSSS
In the background or its not Punk is only listenable on non HIFI equipment because its sounds absolutely pants in reality. So I will have to fit a vail and extreme veil switch with a smear control to make its usable for new music,,
Its even more interesting when its played via YouTube with the music uploaded with the volume knob twisted round until it nearly snaps off before upload.
NB please note my 50" flat screen TV has just blown up again and has lasted 6 months since the last one That lasted 12 months and three days..Ah well..
Modern technology you just can't beat it..would you like to try my new helicopter..er I'll give it a miss..its perfectly safe its fly by wire..
Regards
M. Gregg
The reason the youth today listen to such equipment is because its limited so the Punk music of today that has to contain TISSSSSSSSS TISSSSSSSSS
In the background or its not Punk is only listenable on non HIFI equipment because its sounds absolutely pants in reality. So I will have to fit a vail and extreme veil switch with a smear control to make its usable for new music,,
Its even more interesting when its played via YouTube with the music uploaded with the volume knob twisted round until it nearly snaps off before upload.
NB please note my 50" flat screen TV has just blown up again and has lasted 6 months since the last one That lasted 12 months and three days..Ah well..
Modern technology you just can't beat it..would you like to try my new helicopter..er I'll give it a miss..its perfectly safe its fly by wire..
Regards
M. Gregg
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While I agree that technologies have opened the door for a range of activities that compete for time with listening to music, especially gaming, it's not all negative.
My boys (who are still fairly young) play a game on their Ipods called "My Singing Monsters" where they try to collect 'monsters' who sing unique tonal notes or chord sequences. They then try to 'arrange' these various monster tones to produce interesting and enjoyable music (at least for them). This is a game they discovered on their own and they play it religiously. It is literally about musical arrangement, but presented in the guise of a game. Very clever really.
They listen to these on their Ipods. A couple of weeks ago I decided to hook one of their Ipods up to a receiver in one of the bedrooms using an Ipod/RCA jack and when I turned it on their faces just lit up. They couldn't believe the difference in the quality of the sound. Now I have jacks on stereos on their bedrooms and they will go in there every now and then to listen to what they've created.
So the new technologies are not all bad....
Chicken : He said it's safe to cross the road, trust me, I'm a doctor.
How the C-H was I to know he meant philosophy.
I'm sorry, I'm exchanging the rear tire (*tyre) of my son's bicycle.
The 18 year old repeatedly refused to do it himself over the last three months.
Said he has no problem walking half a mile to the bus stop for school.
The Monster sometimes Sings along with the in-ear cell tones, except when it rains.
Dear Lord, please give me strength for a little while longer.
(* these days, one can not be too careful at this forum)
How the C-H was I to know he meant philosophy.
I'm sorry, I'm exchanging the rear tire (*tyre) of my son's bicycle.
The 18 year old repeatedly refused to do it himself over the last three months.
Said he has no problem walking half a mile to the bus stop for school.
The Monster sometimes Sings along with the in-ear cell tones, except when it rains.
Dear Lord, please give me strength for a little while longer.
(* these days, one can not be too careful at this forum)
Why the derogatory refernce to philosophy?
I've crossed many a road in my time and I've managed to get along just fine, thank you very much. An open mind and a willingness to learn can go a long way in this world...
The kids overhere had acting classes, singing lessons, music lessons.
We had a piano in the living room, the eldest a thousand dollars worth of drumming gear in his room plus a private teacher, my son had guitar lessons.
I built 3 sets of hybrid class A stereo power amps with an integrated smartphone docking seat for the youngsters, to have them appreciate good sound.
All of them played those intelligent games, including a lot of 'educational' music games.
Not counting DIY made, I have at least $50k worth of audio gear for listening.
Which all amounted to JS !
The eldest just finished his first year at university, next to every day he sends nag smartphone messages about not being able to play his beloved computer games, because one of the other students in his house is drawing too many bits.
On holiday in the US a month ago, he sent a message, asking which good headphone set to buy there.
I told him to get a Grado, in the US 50% cheaper than here, he returned with the most expensive Beats model.
Number 2 wears a baseball cap 24 hours a day, and sings the N-word along with his iphone 6 while he walks up and down the stairs, N-word in the bathroom, even does it when the thing is recharging.
And my kid, well, he sets the alarm on his smartphone to get up for school.
One can experiment and stimulate all day, but in the end it's not the parent who has to cross the road, but the chicken.
(A jester a day keeps the shrink away. It was intended as a small joke, and a small test)
We had a piano in the living room, the eldest a thousand dollars worth of drumming gear in his room plus a private teacher, my son had guitar lessons.
I built 3 sets of hybrid class A stereo power amps with an integrated smartphone docking seat for the youngsters, to have them appreciate good sound.
All of them played those intelligent games, including a lot of 'educational' music games.
Not counting DIY made, I have at least $50k worth of audio gear for listening.
Which all amounted to JS !
The eldest just finished his first year at university, next to every day he sends nag smartphone messages about not being able to play his beloved computer games, because one of the other students in his house is drawing too many bits.
On holiday in the US a month ago, he sent a message, asking which good headphone set to buy there.
I told him to get a Grado, in the US 50% cheaper than here, he returned with the most expensive Beats model.
Number 2 wears a baseball cap 24 hours a day, and sings the N-word along with his iphone 6 while he walks up and down the stairs, N-word in the bathroom, even does it when the thing is recharging.
And my kid, well, he sets the alarm on his smartphone to get up for school.
One can experiment and stimulate all day, but in the end it's not the parent who has to cross the road, but the chicken.
(A jester a day keeps the shrink away. It was intended as a small joke, and a small test)
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Its surprising what you can get away with.
I built a mobile disco in 1980.
It used 4 off Fane 50WRMS guitar speakers that went up to about 3.5KHz.
Never had any complaints.
What it lost in frequency bandwidth it made up for with volume.
I am a bit more fussy these days as I use tweeters too for the top end.
I built a mobile disco in 1980.
It used 4 off Fane 50WRMS guitar speakers that went up to about 3.5KHz.
Never had any complaints.
What it lost in frequency bandwidth it made up for with volume.
I am a bit more fussy these days as I use tweeters too for the top end.
That would definitely be frustrating, no question about that. All the same, I think there are times when we forget what it was like to be a teen or young adult when, what to us seem the most trivial of concerns are to them the center of the universe around which the rest of us merely revolve. One thing is certain, however, and that is that kids are growing up in very different world today than the way it was when we were kids. The current technological environment is changing the way we relate to one another for good or for bad, but that is the reality they have to grow up in and the possibilities and pressures that come with it can seem foreign to older generations (at least that's how they sometimes seem to me).
An older, more senior colleague and friend said something to me years ago that has always stayed with me. He said that while he will always love his children that doesn't mean he always has to like them or some of the choices that they make.
I'm willing to bet that most kids who grow up around music will come to better appreciate why some of us are so fascinated and obsessed with this stuff as they grow older, at least I hope they do.
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