uncl_nigel
pfm Member
Fully agree on both points.
How have others kept their music habit alive while also having kids?
- Thread starter geetee1972
- Start date
MichaelC
pfm Member
Haha! I resemble that remark.
I bought a pair of HD565 Ovations for sim reasons, when Jess was about 4 1/2 ( and because my old pair of Beyers - 531? something like that - had given-up.)
By the age of six, she'd already discovered my end of the albums shelf, via those headphones, and at that age - The Breeder's Last Splash and Primal Scream Screamadelica was her favourites, utterly of her own choosing, playing on her own (Lis tried very hard at scowling hinting my influence there, while utterly-failing to suppress a smile.)
And time passes, and coming home to find your nascent Uni student has come by for some 'quiet study' time but not least to raid & play dad's albums, loud enough to be rocking the block* - an utter joy.
Jess is now 27; The Breeder's Last Splash and Primal Scream Screamadelica remain right up there for her... and I still have & enjoy the Senns.
All is good.
* well I couldn't not take the pic...
My eldest is a touch younger, by the time she was in to her later teens she was very much into the then indie scene and was a regular at live events. Whilst I wasn’t necessarily in tune with what she would go and see/hear I couldn’t ever fault the fact that she simply loved the live music scene.
On the other hand my, you her, son rather likes Ugly Kid Joe and Porcupine Tree...
geetee1972
pfm Member
Ha!, I read the thread from the start and now see the reference from your recent thread bout finally getting a hifi system set up for listening pleasure after years spent wandering the aurally challenged wilderness. I noticed the quote bout “6 or 7 years” and noted how prescient it was.
Shame it had to come to such a conclusion to enable you to indulge once again but from what you wrote the relationship sounded quite toxic from the off, anyway....hope the kids are ok and a semblance of civility is returning to your life.
And......fwiw, I woulda kept the room as it was and either got an “expert” in to sweep the room and recommend possible treatments/let you demo items for a final choice - probably cost you the equivalent of a decent cable£5k for professional advice as they’d probably build activated carbon helmholtz tuned traps and artistically functional diffusers or I’d do what i did and go cheap GIK.
Your speakers set up where they are in front of the bay window gives me an itch in my ear
Go on.......you know you want to, you’re single, live alone and can do whatever the feck you like
Hey buddy - you know I've been listening the last few nights with the new arrangement and it's been niggling me. While there have been a raft of improvements overall to things like sound stage depth, imaging and clarity and bass response, it's also bothering me that I've lost something or perhaps added something that is unwelcome. The music is not quite as engaging or intimate and, dare I say, perhaps a little harsh and fatiguing. I don't know if that's confirmation bias though
(as it clearly must be with cables), and the fact that I am sat looking at a large glass window is making me feel the music is somehow more brittle. I've noticed this before when talking about the surface your equipment sits on; people always used to say 'don't put you're equipment on glass shelves, it will make the music sound harsh and brittle'. We tend to transfer the adjectives we associate with the materials to the sound of music thus: Tubes glow = warmth in the music
Wood is soft = rounded and smooth treble
Metal is hard = harshness in the treble
Glass is brittle = brittleness and harshness
Anyway, your comment is making me rethink the layout all over again, which is fine, it takes time to find the right approach and while this rearrangement was a monstrous exercise, it's worth it. The system you see is a little more than the budget you allude to (well quite a bit more actually), so yes, worth getting right. I will absolutely invest in room treatments, probably GIK as the budget, handsome as it was, is now spent!
As for the situation regarding my return to audiophillia, yeah, it was a toxic relationship for sure. I'm not sure if you were party to any of the spat I got involved in over on STW but a lot of what I was saying, apart from being grossly miscontrued and misrepresented by the ignorance and bias of some posters and the general fear and ambivalence of others, was coming from the fact that I was existing in such an abusive situation. It really took me to the very edge and in the end I did indeed get help. I spent a year on SSRIs and finally when the marriage ended and I moved out, I realised I no longer needed them. Things are so much better now - it has been very hard on our boys (our youngest especially still now two years later is desperately trying to reconcile us), but my ex and i are now in a very positive place with each other, collaborating and understanding each other in a way we haven't done since we first met. It's taken a lot of emotional turmoil to get here but the place we are in now is, as you suggest, a paradigm shift on from the toxic place were in previously.
Somafunk
pfm Member
Glad to hear it, stress does untold damage to our bodies.
Big Tabs
looking backwards, going forwards
I have had 3 kids. All grown up and left home a while ago.
Back in the eighties when they were young I put the hifi on high shelves, the speakers (large Leak summats) were floorstanders and I kept the grills on. The stereo got used more than the television, so the kids grew up with music as a constant.
I never considered having it any other way. It was never a problem.
Back in the eighties when they were young I put the hifi on high shelves, the speakers (large Leak summats) were floorstanders and I kept the grills on. The stereo got used more than the television, so the kids grew up with music as a constant.
I never considered having it any other way. It was never a problem.
uncl_nigel
pfm Member
My options too (not the Leaks) - floor standers and grills even today, preferably with no visible ports for little arms to explore with or without toys or parental car keys
Big Tabs
looking backwards, going forwards
My options too (not the Leaks) - floor standers and grills even today, preferably with no visible ports for little arms to explore with or without toys or parental car keys
shiny tweeters are just begging to have a finger prodded into them.
We had friends over a couple of years ago, and they had two young kids (about 7 and 9 yrs. old)
The youngest (a boy) went into the music room and headed straight for the pmc speakers with his finger pointed out.
He actually looked me in the eye and slowly moved his outstretched finger to the tweeter...
I gave him clear instruction to stop and move away, which he did. Not sure that his parents had ever said ‘No’ to the boy.
I then ushered him out of the room and closed the door. Little shit.
chartz
If it’s broke fix it!
My kids are now all grown up, and keen music listeners.
We more or less like the same things, and like me they don’t like rap, metal. Why?
I just played the music, at home, in the car, all the time.
Obviously I played music for kids, but also tried to educate them to what I like myself, from jazz to classical, pop, rock, the Beatles and Pink Floyd!
I bought them a Playskool cassette recorder to play with and got them to sleep with some music every night when they were babies then toddlers.
I found they kept wanting more music.
What you need is to share everything with them from day one.
There.
We more or less like the same things, and like me they don’t like rap, metal. Why?
I just played the music, at home, in the car, all the time.
Obviously I played music for kids, but also tried to educate them to what I like myself, from jazz to classical, pop, rock, the Beatles and Pink Floyd!
I bought them a Playskool cassette recorder to play with and got them to sleep with some music every night when they were babies then toddlers.
I found they kept wanting more music.
What you need is to share everything with them from day one.
There.
Big Tabs
looking backwards, going forwards
My kids like all music, including Rap - Hip Hop and Metal.
Not that much Floyd though, they do have some standards.
Allaboutmusic
pfm Member
Its tough, we recently moved to a new house and are fortunate to have two sitting rooms. One is now the Day Room so kids, mess and TV. The other is the lounge with the stereo and is the good room so no kids without adults. At least until they are a little older. This protects the stereo, challenge is finding time to listen, generally an hour a night before bed and at the weekends when i get a lie in the next day. However can't go very loud as our bedroom is above the lounge, so the Mrs compains when it goes to a decent level - very frustrating and we argue frequently about it. I am now looking to see if there is any way of adding some sound proofing between floor and ceiling, thinking maybe fibre glass insulation between the joists and thicker carpets and underlay?
chartz
If it’s broke fix it!
Not what I’d call music anyway.My kids like all music, including Rap - Hip Hop and Metal.
Big Tabs
looking backwards, going forwards
Not what I’d call music anyway.
A closed mind is a closed mind. I guess I am lucky that I appreciate most types of music.
linnfomaniac83
I bet you can’t wheelie a unicycle!
Time is the hardest thing to get around really, I always had music on in the background and from when she was a toddler until more recently, she’s cuddled up on the sofa before bed and listened with me. Kids come before music when prioritising time, but if you can make it a part of their lives, that’s a win.
geetee1972
pfm Member
I took your advice and have moved everything back to its original position. You were right; the window was playing havoc with things. The extra space solved other challenges but the impact on treble brittleness was too great.Ha!, I read the thread from the start and now see the reference from your recent thread bout finally getting a hifi system set up for listening pleasure after years spent wandering the aurally challenged wilderness. I noticed the quote bout “6 or 7 years” and noted how prescient it was.
Shame it had to come to such a conclusion to enable you to indulge once again but from what you wrote the relationship sounded quite toxic from the off, anyway....hope the kids are ok and a semblance of civility is returning to your life.
And......fwiw, I woulda kept the room as it was and either got an “expert” in to sweep the room and recommend possible treatments/let you demo items for a final choice - probably cost you the equivalent of a decent cable
Your speakers set up where they are in front of the bay window gives me an itch in my ear
Go on.......you know you want to, you’re single, live alone and can do whatever the feck you like
Del monaco
Del Monaco
I tried to engage my son in hifi.While he was away we decorated his room and I set up a stack for him. And old Nad C320, Rega Elas, a Cambridge CD player. He loved it ....for about a month. Then it slowly made its way back to the garage and he replaced it with a Logitech Boom. Oh well. He builds his own computers now and plays music through those. He’s got good taste in music though and he got this from me! Oblivious to conversion!
htm_1968
pfm Member
When we lived in Melbourne my eldest went for the tweeters on a pair of Neat Motive II SEs when aged about 5.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Your older brother did that" quoth I
"I don't have an older brother" came her reply.
"Exactly!" said I with an evil grin....
Casual death threats are very effective, nobody ever broke my Hi Fi. The kids all use it now too.
The eldest, now almost 18, tells this story with some aplomb.
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I've a couple of kids who turn 5 and 3 this month. They both know they're not to touch their da's stereo. The little lady, on occasion, will push boundaries and I've to keep an eye on her and do a bit of scolding every now and again but all in, they're both okay.
Had the grills on the speakers for a few years just incase. Another kid was in the house before we had our own kids and he managed to pull both speakers from their stands. I came home from work terribly annoyed but I was glad the little shite didn't pull them down on himself because he could have been really hurt. I've got them fixed on with blu tac now. The good lady of the house wanted floorstanders until I showed her the strength of the blutac.
Had the grills on the speakers for a few years just incase. Another kid was in the house before we had our own kids and he managed to pull both speakers from their stands. I came home from work terribly annoyed but I was glad the little shite didn't pull them down on himself because he could have been really hurt. I've got them fixed on with blu tac now. The good lady of the house wanted floorstanders until I showed her the strength of the blutac.