neo33 Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 As I browse through the members profile, I notice that most of us are well into the mid-40s (and beyond). Why does it take that long for us to recognize that audio is an important part of our life? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audible Nectar Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 I don't think that's necessarily the case. For many, it takes a while for some to get the resources (aka $$$) to get into this kind of gear. Klipsch isn't exactly cheap, so I think it has to do with income, to a degree. It took me almost 20 years before I could afford Cornwalls after first seeing them - and then only at used prices. Thank goodness for the internet - which opened doors to the really good gear at affordable prices. And cheers to PWK, for building speakers that would be around long enough for me to find them and afford them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cut-Throat Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 I'm almost 53 and have been into hi-end audio since I was 16. I could not afford what I wanted at that time, but was interested in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoggy Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 I too have been into hi end gear since my 20's. It's just been recently I've been able to afford to upgrade componants. Klipsch is the one thing I forced myself to spend the money on early. These were my '76 Belles which I recently swapped for Khorns with Ki Choi who wanted Belles for centers. hoggy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Taylor Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 Good Topic, when I was younger I just listen to music in the car or truck, but never thought I had the money for a high-end audio for the home, when I hit my late 40's I said the hell with it and bought a pair of Heresy II brand new for $700. from a furniture store going out of bussiness, and havn't looked back. I still don't have money for high-end audio, I just cut back on eating and cloths and it's nice to be single. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mandi Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 Took me this long to get up the courage to spend the money without asking the wife. She loves the Cornwalls but would never have agreed to spend the money had I asked her. I purchased everything I have as a package and told her (after I had already paid) that I would sell the Cornwalls for about what I paid for everything. I picked em up while she was at work, and got everything in the house and hooked up. The Cornwalls do not match our entertainment center, but pretty darn close and they filled a hole rather nicely. When she got home, the first thing she pointed to were the Corns and said "those are NOT the ones you are selling! Are they?", I yanked fast and set that hook deep. hehehehehe. I will try to get a picture so you can see why she wanted to keep them. She makes sure they are playing when anyone comes to visit. Now everything else, she could care less about. hehehe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 Agreed. When I was 11 my dad had a pretty elaborate (and constantly updated) hi-fi system which always fascinated me. That same year ('73) when I saved up my paper route money, I bought my first 10 watt Precor receiver with built-in BSR record changer and combined 4" fullrange speakers, later adding a RadioShack top-loading cassette recorder. All my friends just had pocket transistor radios, but I had a hi-fi system to be proud of! I, too, had to wait over 20 years to be able to afford all the Carver, Nakamichi, and McIntosh gear I've since owned, so it didn't take me long at all to recognize that audio was (and will always be) an important part of my life! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssh Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 neo, Like many others, it wasn't a question of importance when I was young. I had what I could afford. Now that I'm older, what I have, I can't afford, but have anyway. SSH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 no, only higher priorities first, house, car, kids, more education, RT funds, then spend on hobby.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skonopa Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 I must be one of the youngest ones around here at 34! But then I go down into the ProMedia section and I sound/feel downright old. But as many others put it, alot of it was just simply finally getting enough money and resources and even space to be able to afford such a thing. Even for me, I did have the money to afford alot of this stuff even at 23, but I had no place to put it when living in an apartment. I can't imagine putting something like my current Reference 7 and B&K amp in that apartment I had, with the paper-thin walls (I could even hear my neighbor's TV with the regular TV speakers). Also, I wanted to sink my money into getting a house before getting what is essentially a luxury item, such as a good audio system. Now that I have been in this house for over 8 years and pretty much have all the basic necessities that I could ever need, it was time to indulge a bit in a fine audio system. Since I am into HT as well as the two-channel aspect, I did get a full HT setup, which I enjoy very much. To digress abit, I found the HT does add an added dimension to the movie and even TV watching experience. But at the same time, I do enjoy the more "intimate" feel of listening to music on a good two-channel set. But I digress... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 Parents had a $600 Motorola HIFI since the year before i was born in 1959. At age 14 I became a high school "roadie". Heard my first Hereseys at 16. In 1996 or so i bought my KSB 3.1 Klipsch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 I never have been into audio for the sake of the gear--I just love listening to records and with very little money back in the 1970's started buying used American tube gear and found that it sounded better than anything else I was hearing. Maybe it's because I grew up in a house with a single corner horn powered by a McIntosh 60. Dad was a classic 1950's "hi-fi nut" and perhaps I was just conditioned to that sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubai2000 Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 SSH, couldn't have said it any better.... but it's indeed all about music! Plus it takes a while to collect listening experiences as well. Wolfram Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ctiger2 Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 I have always wanted nice stuff, but have only recently been able to afford it. Bought my first Klipsch (KG 4.2) when I was 20. I wanted the BIG Klipsch but could only afford the 4.2's. Ran them for the past 12 years with solid state Yamaha. It's nice to be making some money to afford some decent gear. Music has never sounded so good! I don't have time or the desire to watch TV since I've upgraded my system. I have my system configured so depending on what I am listening too, I can choose the La Scala's or the Tannoy 15" Monitor Gold's. What a treat! At 32, I'm happy I finally bought some good stuff that I can keep for the rest of my life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gullahisland Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 I'm 33 and have been into this hobby as long as I can remember. Like Alan, it's not so much the gear as the music. The gear is just a means to an end. My first "real" system was decidedly "high-end" for a kid in Junior High. I had worked all summer after 8th grade and saved my money to buy a stereo. During that summer, my dad had upgraded his speakers to Thiel CS-3s. I asked him if I purchased the associated electronics if he would give me his old speakers as my Christmas present. That year, he gave me his Ohm Walsh 4s and we went shopping together for the electronics. I bought a Sony ES integrated amp, a Technics dual cassette deck and a Scott CD player. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven! I've had innumerable systems over the years since then - most of them of the boutique "high-end" variety, but only recently discovered Klipsch. I had always looked down on Klipsch as speakers for head-bangers and poor saps who didn't know any better. The joke was on me. The incredible dynamics and sheer "presence" that these big speakers (Belle, LaScala, Klipschorn - I'm sure Cornwalls, too) create is nothing short of amazing. You see, I'm also a former musician (does one ever cease being a musician?) and have been in pursuit of the system that best recreates the sound of a live performance. Sadly, there is NOTHING that sounds like the real thing, but to these ears Klipsch is the best compromise I've heard yet. There's just something very RIGHT about the sound of those big K-horns driven by a moderately powered tube amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IB Slammin Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 ---------------- On 5/16/2004 11:50:30 AM Colin wrote: no, only higher priorities first, house, car, kids, more education, RT funds, then spend on hobby.... ---------------- IT's MY MIDLIFE AND I'II CRISIS IF I WANT TO. Colin was a little more responsible than me. The "tunes" were my number one priority. At 18, Bastard Mod-H (LaFayette 12' / Jenson 1000cps two-way) At 21, unfinished Cornwall 1 (wife, child, and unemployed) ordered them and somehow came up with the $ when they arrived. +/- $350.00, huge money at the time At 23, (employed) told the wife that I would sell the unfinished set and apply the $ to a pair of walnut CW's.....kept all four naturally Two pair of Heresys...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmikid Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 I am 36 and have upgraded from an ultra low-fi mono cassette player to where I am now. I have always kept my love for music and the joy , yes extasy that it can bring. Good equipment helps as we all know. Many things made with love are pricy, and there is no contradiction in that. I,m glad that I'm not near the final upgrade. Next to listening to great music, there's this magic in our secret little boy's laboratory, with spinning wheels, mysterious fumes and red glowing bulbs, isn't there? Tim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chops Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 Even in my very early teens, (10-12), I was taking old speakers apart and modifying them in an attempt to improve the sound of them. Or I simply built my own. Either way, I've always realizes and loved music right from the beginning. Like I stated on another thread, I was literally born into music and stereo equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 I've been into audio since my early teens. I bought my high-end mid-fi gear in my teens and my cornwalls when I was 20. I then put my wife through law school and my kids through private school and now college. I did take a 23 year break with audio purchases and it's nice to be back in the game. We'll be empty nesters in about a year. That's when I'm hoping to get khorns for my downstairs system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rckpls Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 ---------------- On 5/16/2004 10:44:36 AM neo33 wrote: As I browse through the members profile, I notice that most of us are well into the mid-40s (and beyond). Why does it take that long for us to recognize that audio is an important part of our life? ---------------- HOLY CRAP!! You're right!! I just check my profile and it says I'm over 40!! When did that happen!! .....I need to get a life before it's too late. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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