tgiencke
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Instilling the love of music in my 11 old daughter
linden518
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Wow, when I was younger, I couldn't imagine my parents hooking me up with a $1K system! You're spoiling her, man, but hey, all for a good cause. More power to you.

I have 2 baby daughters, so I'm concerned about the same issue, too. But I'm thinking at that age, such great gear won't help in really getting into music, I may be wrong. For me, when I was young, it was all about software. If I were you, I'd just get her something that makes the access of software the easiest. Since you're set on iPod + iTunes, why not just get her that B&W all-in-one Zeppelin thing? I doubt she'd need anything more than that, and kids that age seem to think that the more minimal it is, the cooler it is.

As for me, I bought my 3 yr old this pink record player from Crosley.

We have a bunch of kids' records, and she just LOVES playing them. She's probably one of the only 3.5 yr-olds who knows how to lower the needle onto the record. She eats it up. Loves the whole process of taking the record out (she sniffs the jacket!) and puts the record on gingerly... very proud of her. I gave her some of the 50 cent records that weren't in such great shape, so she's listening to Stevie Wonder's 'Innervisions,' the Temptations, etc., too... Best $50 I've spent this year.

tgiencke
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I thought about a iPod dock speaker but IMHO the sound just isn't engaging enough. The B&W Zeppelin is promising, but at $600 I rather spend the extra $30 and get the speakers & amp.

For finding music I just haven't found anything easier or more engaging than iTunes. It's not as easy on the iPod Touch as on a computer but still pretty easy. On the plus side she can take the Touch with her and all she needs is a wifi access.

-Todd Giencke

Jan Vigne
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I think there is a large contingent of audiophiles who fell in love with music when they experienced it with their parents or grandparents. While the i-Pod provides the ability to download and carry music with ease, it is a solitary experience that will not substitute for the enjoyment of sharing music with others. The i-Pod should be an extension of the music your daughter finds appealling but it should not substitute for; first, the real thing and second, the extraordinary sound of a good system, be it your's or something more suited to an eleven year old. She is certainly not too young to learn about quality sound and a small system of her own would be IMO an excellent investment. Once again just my opinion but the limited sound quality of the i-Pod will not engage her imagination as much as a system that reproduces all of the music in her room and not just parts of the sound between her ears. Then your job would be to take her to live performances and at eleven years of age introduce her to an instrument which will allow her to make her own music.

absolutepitch
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My folks were not into audio, but enjoyed listening to music. When I got interested, the bug bit very hard. Then I got good speakers, and they couldn't believe that sound reproduction can be THAT good. In a sense, I introduced them to high-end HiFi, but they first showed me HiFi. It goes around, doesn't it?

Good that you're giving that gift of sound to your child. It's a lifetime of enjoyment and hobby.

dcstep
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My three daughters are all into music, both listening and playing. I think the iTouch is a good idea. Don't try to be too controlling, but set some limits on what she can download. Suggest that she download in Lossless.

Is she playing piano or an instrument? It's not too early to start that and encourage joining the school band if she's at all inclined toward that.

Dave

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Jan apparently doesn't listen to an iPod through good IEMs or headphones. Also, he doesn't seem to understand the cultural pressures of young girls. Believe me, the iTouch will generate the most excitement and creds with the pre-teen crowd.

Mixing in live events and sitting with her in front of your own system can be sweet, but she'll want to spend most of her time with the iTouch. As I mentioned in my earlier post, encourage Lossless. My now-21 youngest daughter, plays flute and listens to a wide variety of music. Unfortunately she ripped most of it as mp3. She had a ephiphany when she heard my lossless files and cursed the fact that she now had a LARGE library of crap. (These kids keep these libraries and they get HUGE.) Hard drives are cheap. When the iTouch gets full (it only takes the equivalent of about 20-CDs) look to the 160 gig iPod Classic as a step-up gift.

Dave

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I have two humble suggestons:

First, maybe taking her to the local used CD stores for the following reasons:

1. Supports the local economy.
2. Can rip at higher resolutions including apple lossless. Also the CD is an automatic backup in case of computer Hard drive failure.
3. Used CDs are cheaper than album downloads from iTunes.
4. Encourages her to listen to albums instead of just songs possibly making her a music lover and not a music consumer.
5. You get to spend time with her and if you choose very closely monitor what music she purchases.

Second, Sennheiser HD 280Pro which are closed headphones that sound great, I've never heard a good thing about Skull Candy. The name doesn't inspire confidence in sound quality. Don't let the $199 price of the HD 280Pro scare you I've seen them much cheaper on line. http://www.sennheiserusa.com/newsite/productdetail.asp?transid=004974

tgiencke
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First off, Thanks for all of the replies!

-My daughter has started clarinet this year.

-I will be taking her to the CD store when she knows who/what she likes enough to start buying whole albums of.

-Most of you probably don't know so I'll add... When buying music on a Touch it kind of guides you to check out all of the songs of an album and not just what is popular. On the Mac it's very easy to have music blinders on and just listen to what's popular.

- I hate the name of the ear buds also. But they were recommended and if she goes through headset like I did with my walkman I don't want to spend a lot on them. Even my Shure's that I love have a bad nick in the cord.

-Todd Giencke

smejias
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Quote:
- I hate the name of the ear buds also. But they were recommended and if she goes through headset like I did with my walkman I don't want to spend a lot on them. Even my Shure's that I love have a bad nick in the cord.

Sennheiser also offers a nice set of in-ear 'phones at around the same price as the Skullcandies. If your daughter likes pink, you can get the CX300 PINK; part of the proceeds go to help fight breast cancer.

I don't know anything about the Skullcandy 'phones, but they are cool-looking.

This is a great thread, by the way. I think what you're doing for your daughter is wonderful.

tgiencke
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Here is the review that got me thinking of getting the Skull Candys in Playback Magazine.

(Hit the contents button on the top and select the skull candies.)

-Todd Giencke

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