Columns Retired Columns & Blogs |
I am 41 .
Reader "craig" writes: "Okay, let's get right to it. What is the age of <I>Stereophile</I>'s readers? The reason I ask is the choice of 'favorite music' in a recent Vote question." So how old are you?
It's not really a matter of age, but of one's exposure to truly fine-sounding music. In college and even before that, my professors cultivated such a love of music in me that I just couldn't help becoming an audiophile. Everyone should have the opportunity to be exposed to music's best.
I'm 20 years old and have been reading Stereophile for around 7 years now. Have been an avid high-end buff for a while but only recently had the cash to buy the stuff that gets reviewed. (Recently completed assembling a C-Jdriven B&W Silver Sig. setup.) Interestingly, I was introduced to the high end through home theater. It seemed all the REALLY good stuff was two-channel-only gear.
Even though I am fairly young, I have always loved music of all kinds. I don't have enough money for the Maggie,Kimber,Nagra,Mana system of my dreams, but I make do with what I have. And I love jazz in particular, a great, fairlt hard to find dics is Garry Dial Trio: Never Is Now.
I contracted audiophilia when I was about 17. How did I get into it? My parents are technophobes, so I started visiting a local hi-fi/home-theater shop (Bjorns of San Antonio) and wanted to listen to the best stuff. Part of the reason I decided to major in EE at school was due to the audiophile within.
I'm 38 years old and I'm for about 23 years an audiophile, first with hi-fi, later real high-end products. No other hobby I ever had is on such a long period. I believe, this will stay on for my whole life. I hope, that lot of you would be with me. Stereo forever!!
To those my age (early 20s) who are tired of being mistreated by snobbish audio shops, here's a list of shops that are kind to younger audiophiles: Alternative Audio, Dundas, Ontario (congrats; they win my best shop award!); Audio Den, Long Island, NY; Island Audio, Long Island, NY; Stereo Exchange, Manhattan, NYC. I hope you have better experiences than I have had, and that you will visit and support the friendlier shops. We need more of them.
I am not only an audiophile, but an aspiring high-end loudspeaker designer. I am a 19-year-old mechanical engineering student at the University of California, Berkeley. Hopefully, I'll be able to contribute someday to the audio nirvana that is hi-fi!
I'm 22, and have been completely warped by the high end. I changed majors to EE and hope to be working in the industry real soon! I've tried to "enlighten" my friends, but they show only moderate interest. I won't give up on them!
i think young people are just as interested in good music and good sound as older people; it's just that we're all broke and too deep in student loans to buy groceries, much less high-fidelity equipment. In a few years, when people my age have a little cash, we'll join the audiophile community.
I have always been interested in music, and I got into quality music reproduction around age 14 with the purchase of my first system of seperate components. I find that today, very few people of that age are concerned with quality music reproduction or even music at all, unless it's shaking the street coming from their multiple 12" car subwoofers. I think there is a lack of education today about music, and kids aren't being exposed to anything unless it's on MTV. When I mention artists or music styles that aren't in the pop 100 to the younger people I work with, I get nothing but a blank stare. Without any interest in music, I feel there isn't going to be any interest in quality music reproduction either.