You did do something really nice for him. You tried and, believe me, your effort won’t go unnoticed or unappreciated......in his way and time; just like the way he chooses to listen to music....his way. Don’t beat yourself up over this and don’t attach undue significance to common generational differences that are not that important in the scheme of life. We’re talking about someTHING you value and not about a life VALUE.
Having had similar experiences with my sons, I can tell you that there is something for us aging audiophiles to learn from events like this. First, the quality of sound available to your son from his portable devices is infinitely better than what was available from portables when we were his age. We do get conditioned to listen to music a certain way and with a certain type of gear. I suspect that had decent sound been available from portables back in the day, there would be fewer audiophiles (as we define the term) today. Perhaps unfortunate, but probably true. Along with that comes the reminder that it’s the music that matters most and as nice as audiophile sound is, it is not necessary to enjoy music in a meaningful way. Take your son to some quality live performances; that may really rock his boat.
Having had similar experiences with my sons, I can tell you that there is something for us aging audiophiles to learn from events like this. First, the quality of sound available to your son from his portable devices is infinitely better than what was available from portables when we were his age. We do get conditioned to listen to music a certain way and with a certain type of gear. I suspect that had decent sound been available from portables back in the day, there would be fewer audiophiles (as we define the term) today. Perhaps unfortunate, but probably true. Along with that comes the reminder that it’s the music that matters most and as nice as audiophile sound is, it is not necessary to enjoy music in a meaningful way. Take your son to some quality live performances; that may really rock his boat.