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How have others kept their music habit alive while also having kids?

How do you get the time to listen...?
I normally collapse around 9pm for an hour or two's telly and off to bed.
If I play my music at a decent volume it's always considered too LOUD. We have a big house but it still doesn't work.
I then have to put up with frigging Eastenders at ear splitting volume..

Last Sunday afternoon, I tried to sneak into the bedroom to listen to a BBC iPlayer thing on Clive James on my phone + headphones for an hour and she was onto me within 15mins...."What are you doing"..."that's a bit weird" the usual and kept coming in and out and leaving the door open on purpose so I could hear the kids.

I can see why some rich couple have separate houses sometimes.
 
I'm not sure your problem is really for audio forums but perhaps more for marriage guidance!!

In all seriousness though, your time is very, very important and a new child in the family can often mean having to defend it. My best advice is don't be "aggro" about it but if you want to enjoy your music then go ahead. After all it's not unreasonable that you relax in your own home.
 
Acoustic space is difficult to share. The best thing I ever did in my previous marriage was to build a separate lounge for my hifi. My second wife loves music, but she does not like all the music I do. So I've again incorporated an even better dedicated room for the hifi in our new house. It's my private sanctuary.

James
 
I left the hi fi in the family room & just told mine they'd get an electric shock off it. They never touched it. Mind you, had there been an earth fault they might well have done, as my all steel racks had an earth wire attached as was the fashion then! The only damage the hi fi sustained was a pushed in Credo tweeter by my daughters' friend. The grilles were on, but she still managed to find it with precision though! I gave it the suck of life, and it popped right out. Never had a fire guard or a 'Baby on Board' sticker either...

My ex wife was pretty cool about my hi fi. After all, it was there before she was! However as the years rolled on, and with the arrival of kids, I found myself pushed in to a low volume, late night musical ghetto. Then of course, in her mind, I valued my hi fi & music more than her & the kids, because I didn't want the kids all over it & I actually wanted to listen to some music and not watch telly in bed! The good news about her pissing off is I get to listen to music whenever I want. Even Nick Cave.

Anyway, my kids no longer fear electrocution and are forming their own musical tastes. My daughter, favours indie, rock & Marina & the Diamonds. My son likes some indie/dance stuff but prefers X Box, even though he has access to my entire music collection via Softsqueeze & some decent speakers. Kids these days, eh? All I had was music...
 
dave said:
LOL...never thought I'd read the phrase "uppity music" on a Brit forum Teddy;-)

How's the beach? A friend sent me a shot from a pier at Holden beach around sunset. Looked like a storm front and rain directly.
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ALways beautiful, brother! Rain last week but back to normal now

I had a Brit from the 'Wam here at my house last weekend actually. :)

Holden Beach is very very close to me. maybe 20 minutes tops

You should visit!
 
ArtK said:
My audio system and the music that I keep is not something I can run out and replace as I simply don't have the means. Were I wealthy I might be less protective, but I am not. It may not be the Ark of the Covenant but it has more meaning in my life than any ancient relic.
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my point was that it isn't delicate..speaker cones sure, but amps? likely more chance of them hurting the kids than the other way around.

my little girl touched one of the EL34s on my mastersound after it had been on for a couple days. She did that once. :D Not a problem anymore. obviously they shouldnt be prodding the internals with a steel rod or dumping water on it... but normal , every day use? all my amps are public property! Of course my "big" system(s) and my other one are in two seperate residences(one at the studio one at my home) so they arent around that much...but when they are I dont put any restrictions on them. theyll learn soon enough.
 
Mr Pig said:
Na, my wife's not like that. Don't get me wrong, she's a woman therefore, does your head in at times, but that's a two-way street! But she's not a nag, unlike a lot of women, and she doesn't talk drivel, unlike a lot of women...
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On the hole guys talk more crap than women. Women are more wised up.
 
I don't know what you're all whinging about. My father spent the maternity grant he and my mother received for my birth on a Leak Stereo 20 and a pair of kefkits.
 
a) Get some speakers that sound great at low volumes. eg. Harbeths.
b) I put a few potted plants in front of my amp/dac/cd player. Only use the remote on the iPad to control it. That does the trick.
 
johnhunt said:
never let the kids see the speakers with the grills off
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I agree. The first thing my 16 month old did was try to push the woofer in.

Same goes for my 55 year old father in law. argghhh..

I've bought a beat up pair of Rega RS1s for when I've got guests or family over for an extended period of time now. Luckily I got them for free. The shipper damaged them a little so I get to keep the speakers as well as how much I paid for them.
 
Make listening inclusive with your kids. I had a dedicated hi Fi room in house I have just moved out of, and whenever I put on music to kids would want to come in too. It does mean you can no longer zone out while listening, as my girls want to dance and play to the music, but it has meant they come and ask me to play music :)

This is my 7 month old's 2nd listening session :)
4d3a4115-7b7f-4b83.jpg


I mounted sources and pres on wall shelves - power amps are at their height, but one touch of valve while hot was all it took to keep them away...

In my new house tv and hi Fi room will be combined I guess.

Richard
 
andyoz said:
How do you get the time to listen...?
I normally collapse around 9pm for an hour or two's telly and off to bed.
If I play my music at a decent volume it's always considered too LOUD. We have a big house but it still doesn't work.
I then have to put up with frigging Eastenders at ear splitting volume..

Last Sunday afternoon, I tried to sneak into the bedroom to listen to a BBC iPlayer thing on Clive James on my phone + headphones for an hour and she was onto me within 15mins...."What are you doing"..."that's a bit weird" the usual and kept coming in and out and leaving the door open on purpose so I could hear the kids.

I can see why some rich couple have separate houses sometimes.
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I'm afraid you may have married someone a tad strange, Andy. My commiserations.

Chris
 
My system survived my son, and my son survived sleeping above active isobariks. He didn't do anything stupid until he dropped the puck of my CDS inside the player - but he was 18 by then. Never turned it down, don't train your kids to only sleep in silence, the world can be a noisy place. He used to find it amusing that the bass could shake stuff off his shelf into his cot. He also came to music festivals with me from the age of 5 and is now a competent guitarist and performer.
 
This thread makes me very sad. I can understand the need to 'protect' the hifi from young 'uns but why are spouses otherwise generally so inconsiderate and unsupportive of a healthy and pleasurable hobby?

FFS, it's not drugs or whores!

If it were me, I'd seriously consider divorce since I think the general intolerance is symptomatic of other deeper underlying shit going on.
 
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