Have you turned some of your loved ones into audiophiles? Perhaps you have a spouse who now shares your passion and interest. Or maybe your children are starting to follow in your footsteps.
it's not gonna happen in my family. Neither my wife nor my kids have the least bit of interest. They listen to the car radio and ipods and have a very limited range of musical interest.
My wife does tolerate my hobby - including putting up with equipment scattered all over the house. Although, I just can't play it while she's in the room.
I have turned my brother in law into a budding audiophile. (He has a decent stereo, and he is quite into vinyl now.)
My wife loves listening to music, and while she won't put on vinyl, (as she is respectfully afraid of using the turntable-which is okay by me!), she does prefer vinyl to CDs, so she can tell the difference.
And, my little girl (now age 9) loves music and loves to dance to the music, and has since she was 4 or 5 years old. (I notice that most of her friends don't quite get into music nearly as much as she does.)
And, I have a friend who is also a mid-level audiophile, (he has a pretty decent system), and I take a fair amount of credit for him being an audiophile, since he always loved listening to my system. (In fact, he says that I need to leave him something from my system, when I make out my will.)
So, I've done my part to continue this hobby/obsession of ours! ;-)
My family loves music, not important what they listen to it with though. Having said that, my son does have a Parasound Zamp from his computer into a pair of Epos Els3 and Tara Labs cables. He enjoys this combo very much.
My 6 year old is too young, my wife could care less about anything "audiophile," but she stays out of my buying so that's great. My best friend who is like a brother just says "what'd you buy now?" He thinks I keep buying because I'll never be satisfied and sort of thinks I have a problem. A few people in my family other than my parents have heard previous systems I had, but even I was impressed with those setups. I have one associate who has always been a stereo nut, but his thing has always been midfi. But he has always managed to have nice sounding systems unlike yours truly. No new audiophiles here.
I believe everyone thinks I'm touched for spending what I have on the system. Why spend all of that money on a Porsche when you can drive a Fiat 500, right?
I love those women at the audio shows. You know the ones. They sit there next to their man all Stepford like, pretending to be interested. ...Because its important to spend time together, and he's damn sure not going to join her for a pilates class. No thank you. I'll take my strong, self-opinionated wife over some emotional leach ANY day! I have to fight her for every exorbitantly priced cable in my system; but SHE'S REAL! Its that whole predisposition thing. I thought we (my audio cohort and I) had a "fish" recently; but as our cigars were getting short out on the back patio (OK, here I could use a Stepford wife. It would be nice to smoke and listen), and I suggested we go back inside for a spinning of Neil Young, our friend looked at his watch. I knew right then he was a lost cause. Right from the start you had to drag me away from your system! I got turned by my neighbor when I was in high school. Some kids liked to stop at car dealerships on their way home, or the Harley dealer. I drooled on audio equipment I couldn't afford. And, like most of you, I did it alone.
Interested responses. So it seems for most, it is not possible to turn the loved ones into audiophiles. But do you most of you have spouses and all that at least accept your hobby? I know it is much more than a hobby.
My 20 year old Son has started to show a little interest in vinyl. Not to long ago he asked me to set up one of my tt's for him. So I let him have my Technics SL-10 with a Bellari VP130 phono preamp. It's connected to his Yamaha packaged Receiver/CD player table top unit. He can use any of my LP's or CD's because he treats them with respect.
My wife is another story. All she ever says is "That's nice dear" or the ever popular "How much this time"
Interested responses. So it seems for most, it is not possible to turn the loved ones into audiophiles. But do you most of you have spouses and all that at least accept your hobby? I know it is much more than a hobby.
My wife isn't technically oriented, but she enjoys listening with me, and she appreciates the sound quality, the music, and the physical appearance of the equipment. She is not interested in frequent and endless changes of equipment in search of some presumed sonic nirvana, or that will result in benefit that is miniscule in relation to either the cost or the amount of time required for experimentation and optimization. For that matter, neither am I.
And I have been asking myself, "have I shared the pleasure and joy I derive from music with my loved ones?" The answer I get, "not so much with my loved ones, but definitely with strangers." (Keeps me a good mood)
My 20 year old Son has started to show a little interest in vinyl. Not to long ago he asked me to set up one of my tt's for him. So I let him have my Technics SL-10 with a Bellari VP130 phono preamp. It's connected to his Yamaha packaged Receiver/CD player table top unit. He can use any of my LP's or CD's because he treats them with respect.
My wife is another story. All she ever says is "That's nice dear" or the ever popular "How much this time"
My seven year old absolutely loves listening to my system with me. When she sees me head up the stairs to listen, she frantically races past me to be the first one in the listening room.
Normally, she sits on my lap while I listen and will give me signals when she disapproves of the sound - too loud, too digital, etc. She is very calm when I play vinyl (testament to its superiority?)
Last week, a buddy of mine burned me a copy of Ozric Tentacles and we played it together; but she did NOT approve! She folded back her ears, puffed up her tail, then ran off screeching.
Oh well, can't please them all the time. A budding audiophile, nonetheless.
I successfully indoctrinated 2 of my 3 kids by 18 months. My middle child is too much in to building things, tinkering with things, and the like to get much in to music or audio. In a couple years I'm going to buy a small speaker kit and we'll build it together and those will be his bedroom speakers. Maybe that will get him in to audio. :)
My oldest already comments on the difference in sound between the home stereo, the computer, and the car stereos - and started doing so at age 2! :) Needless to say, I'm a proud papa. :)
since being an audiophile is a "disease", it probably is not contagious. i would not be so bold to admit being an audiophile in public, as someone might consider you a nut.
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