Millennials, Please Check In!

Bobvin

VIP/Donor
Jun 7, 2014
1,659
2,930
615
Portland
www.purewatersystems.com
iGen: 2001-? (started with invention of iPod)

Funny that... I left Microsoft in 2000 to join a little startup. We made a chip down in Bay area, did the firmware development in Kirkland, WA. A little outfit named Apple noticed what we were doing and the first four generations of the iPod used our chip. Had quite the little skunk-works development on-site for about 8 months, all very hush-hush and secretive.

I guess maybe I'm a father after all, if we gave birth to a whole generation!
 
  • Like
Reactions: marslo

NorthStar

Member
Feb 8, 2011
24,305
1,323
435
Vancouver Island, B.C. Canada
Many of us have children in their 40s, 30s, 20s ... ask these children (adults) what they find attractive @ WBF and if possible to share it right here by registering.

The audio high end expansion is a good thing done well ...
Because music matters.
 

marmota

Well-Known Member
Feb 3, 2016
260
247
175
Hi Marmota!

Thank you so much for introducing yourself!

Your written English is amazing! I started learning Dutch four years ago, and all I can say today is "cheers" and "thank you" and "please."

Like many of us you were hooked by the audio hobby early on. It is great that you are able to make time to go to audio shows!

Congratulations on starting the electronics engineering degree! (That means straightaway that you are smarter than most of us on WBF!)


Thank you very much for your kind words, Ron!
I don't think I'm smarter than most WBF members, I'll do my best to be at least 50% as smart as the dumbest member, knowing me I have a long way to go haha
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ron Resnick

ack

VIP/Donor & WBF Founding Member
May 6, 2010
6,774
1,198
580
Boston, MA

spiritofmusic

Well-Known Member
Jun 13, 2013
14,606
5,415
1,278
E. England
Happy birthday to both of us. Don't tell me you are in May too!?!?
Nope. St. Georges Day in April. A fine month in a fine year, my mum and dad were very proud of me.

I have a month's wisdom on you.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ack

DSkip

Industry Expert
Aug 26, 2013
442
194
350
Arlington, TX
www.audiothesis.com
I am a millennial - will be 35 this month - and could share thoughts but I'm not sure how they would be received. They are not negatives, just differences in where we are all at in life and in careers. Even though I've been through a fine gamut of gear for any audiophile, I find it difficult to comment on many topics here, not just because of the dealer aspect, but the generational gap. I tend to have this issue at audio shows as well at times given the median age of our hobbyists and the relative 'baby' I am by comparison. If I were 20 years older, I have a feeling I'd be taken a little more seriously. There are quite a few guys who take exception to learning from someone so much younger.

As for the forum, it is what it is and I still enjoy reading what members here have to say.

If there are specific questions, I would be happy to answer openly. I think the biggest issue this forum faces with younger generations is the founding principle of the forum itself - the BEST. If you want to attract younger, you should not focus on budding audiophiles who are already passionate, but on young money who have not yet experienced what true stereophony is. Budding audiophiles simply don't have the resources to chase down gear that is common topic on these airwaves.
 

spiritofmusic

Well-Known Member
Jun 13, 2013
14,606
5,415
1,278
E. England
Neither does this Boomer.
 

Al M.

VIP/Donor
Sep 10, 2013
8,685
4,474
963
Greater Boston
If there are specific questions, I would be happy to answer openly. I think the biggest issue this forum faces with younger generations is the founding principle of the forum itself - the BEST. If you want to attract younger, you should not focus on budding audiophiles who are already passionate, but on young money who have not yet experienced what true stereophony is. Budding audiophiles simply don't have the resources to chase down gear that is common topic on these airwaves.

I cannot afford the super expensive gear either, and I don't have the large size room for it that would be needed.

The "Best" is not necessarily the most expensive gear, but what you do with it. I take a modestly priced, well sorted out system in an acoustically excellent room over an expensive system in a problematic room any time of the day.

Also, some modestly priced gear pulls far above its price range. You just have to find it. Two friends of mine with considerably more expensive systems than mine now have the same $ 2,400 DAC that I have, and we all three love it. In all three systems it feeds a preamp that is between six and twelve times the price, and in each case it makes total sense.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ctydwn

DSkip

Industry Expert
Aug 26, 2013
442
194
350
Arlington, TX
www.audiothesis.com
I agree Al and that’s why I decided to share the review of the Elba here in another thread. I just didn’t expect it to get much traction here and that’s not a knock in any way.

It can be quite intimidating to come to a forum and see intense discussions about $200k speakers and $50k amplifiers consistently. You kind of feel like a tadpole in the middle of the Pacific. I steered away from here and a few other forums for a while until I felt I had the knowledge base to actually contribute.

What’s best forum is a fantastic place. There are a lot of things in its DNA that make it difficult to attract the millennial audiophile though, for better or for worse.

I also see a growing trend in my generation to completely dismiss such things as cables even when differences are heard. Maybe it’s the information generation, but it seems like most of them don’t know how or don’t want to actually trust their ears.
 
  • Like
Reactions: marslo

cjfrbw

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
3,325
1,316
1,730
Pleasanton, CA
Believe me, Millennials, you don't want the pot bellies and shaved years in exchange for the flash. If you are devoted to sound quality rather than just accumulation of costly totems and monoliths, you are always on good ground, and good sound can be found in many echelons.

I always had a strange notion that the best sound was probably in some weirdo's basement in the middle of America, never to be heard except by himself, alone. He presided over it in a bowling shirt but with a deep, intricate knowledge of electronic tech and DIY craftsmanship.

I remember an article a while ago about a Cal Tech astronomer of ultra genius stature. They said he had a completely unique if not bizarre non-commercial stereo system that he built more or less customized to himself. It looked a mess but sounded great to the writer.
 
  • Like
Reactions: NorthStar

adamaley

Well-Known Member
Apr 15, 2016
581
541
228
Minnetonka, MN
I was born in 1981. I guess that makes me a Gen Xer. However, these classifications don't translate across socio-economic strata, so I never felt they applied to me.

I feel that I identify more with the silent generation. I was born in Ghana, a third world country, during a prolonged drought, and under dictatorial rule.
 

the sound of Tao

Well-Known Member
Jul 18, 2014
3,620
4,838
940
I was born in 1981. I guess that makes me a Gen Xer. However, these classifications don't translate across socio-economic strata, so I never felt they applied to me.

I feel that I identify more with the silent generation. I was born in Ghana, a third world country, during a prolonged drought, and under dictatorial rule.
Absolutely agree generation can’t be just generic, who we are is about our time but its also is about the context of our place and life journey and it’s circumstances... celebrating diversity and sharing in our cultural richness is very much a source of connection for all people and all ages.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: rando and adamaley

cjfrbw

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
3,325
1,316
1,730
Pleasanton, CA
Money doesn't always buy audio nirvana?:

Nice there was a fixit.
 

marslo

VIP/Donor
May 2, 2014
953
673
605
64
Poland
If the thread is about money and hifi then here are my 2 cents.
My first turntable which my Dad accepted tu buy on installments was a mono Telefunken simple design with an amp built in, it was around 71 or 72 in a poor country under communist regime.
My first salary in 83 after the college in the country where meat was distributed on coupons was 30 usd. 2 years earlier we got married with my wife, I have met her 5 years before in the high school. She accepted to spend most of money we received for wedding for stereo - it was Radmor , famous under this time and on coupons of course. Then I had Daniel turntable and Finezja casette deck.
In 88 before even transition of Polish economy begun we started with friends a private coffee business with some 300 usd. I was 29.
In 94 when the profit of our company counted in mln of usd I purchased the first real audiophile gear , I still keep and enjoy the speakers in my 2 nd system - JM Lab PS 5.1.
In 98 I sold my shares in coffee business to the multinational holding and became financially independent. We started with my wife a new business but with less pressure.
Only 10 years later I bought more expensive speakers.
Ked is right about his recommendation to Marmota -to make money and pay back the mortgage is not a bad thing;), buy a simple system and enjoy the music.
And my sons , born in 82 and 86 have their stereo too, partly my old stuff.
They care about music, my oldest grand son is 11 and recently he asked my advice to buy his audiophile headphones:)
 
Last edited:

Folsom

VIP/Donor
Oct 25, 2015
6,024
1,490
520
Eastern WA
On whose list does Baby Boomer end in 1962 and Gen X begin in 1963?

As I said before there’s a lot of debate, depends where you look. So why would GenX start in 1963? The simple answer that fits most of the generations, around 20 years since the last, and a significant part of history. In this case anyone born in 1963 would have never known a world without the Vietnam war.

Btw so far I count that there’s 5 of us. Not a high number, but higher than I would have out money on.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ron Resnick

marty

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
3,025
4,173
2,520
United States
I agree Al and that’s why I decided to share the review of the Elba here in another thread. I just didn’t expect it to get much traction here and that’s not a knock in any way.

It can be quite intimidating to come to a forum and see intense discussions about $200k speakers and $50k amplifiers consistently. You kind of feel like a tadpole in the middle of the Pacific. I steered away from here and a few other forums for a while until I felt I had the knowledge base to actually contribute.

What’s best forum is a fantastic place. There are a lot of things in its DNA that make it difficult to attract the millennial audiophile though, for better or for worse.

I also see a growing trend in my generation to completely dismiss such things as cables even when differences are heard. Maybe it’s the information generation, but it seems like most of them don’t know how or don’t want to actually trust their ears.

I’m impressed with your thoughtful reply. You raised some very good concerns and although by no means do I want to suggest that my comments reflect those from all members in my age group (I’m 68), here are a few thoughts you might find worth considering.

Of course budding audiophiles most likely don’t have the resources to pursue some of the uber gear that more affluent members do. I know I certainly didn’t when I was your age. But being able to afford costly gear is different than admiring great gear and aspiring towards improving my system as my resources allowed. I think that’s a worthy approach for any audiophile and in that context, reading about what others find to be good, better or even best, can be useful indeed.

When I was younger, I took apart almost all so called “audiophile” gear and tried to make it better with what were often low cost or reasonable cost parts modifications. It was what I could afford. It didn’t take me long to figure out that non-inductive Vishay resistors or Black Gate capacitors often made significant performance improvements to some of my gear over factory parts. Changes like this only came about because I would read about these improved parts from other hobbyists and soon learned that “the best” was often not outrageously expensive at all. The same is true of certain tubes in a given applications. Here, as in other contexts, the word “best” can often be a rather meaningless descriptor. More likely, it was learning what others considered the strengths and liabilities of certain component parts, and then try things for myself to figure out if they worked for me. The point is, aspiring towards “the best” (again, not necessarily a great term) did not necessarily mean buying something with a lot of zeros in the price. I suspect for many of us, similar activities of incremental improvement was the essence of the hobby (which complemented the enjoyment of the music we played on our gear, which was the “other” half.)

I would add that for me, frugality still reigns supreme. I can certainly afford fancy cable lifts that raise the cables off the floor and cost several hundred bucks for a set. But I prefer over-sized rubber laboratory stoppers that do it for about 75 cents each. "Best" does not have to cost a lot of money. I have seen that over and over from some of the tricks I learned on this forum.

Although I and others may be fortunate so afford some gear that indeed costs a lot of money, that is a clear distinction from aspiring to better gear and sonic improvement as one’s journey continues along the audiophile road. The aspiration part does not require unlimited resources. Neither does admiration. Seeking to learn from others who have a wide range of gear, experiences, and musical taste is not the province of any particular age or resource capability. To equate that with being a young audiophile with limited funds, which seems to be your premise, is therefore something I find troubling.

I do understand however that the millennial generation came of age with the tremendous benefit of having great music portability and access at the expense of truncated bandwidth (i.e. MP3) to enjoy that music, and perhaps this has unwittingly placed a burden in which their favorite medium is predisposed to the bias that you seem to suggest, which is that the goal and purpose of this forum is to aspire to the BEST but only at an expense that makes it hard for millennials to get there. Moreover, the idea that many of us would not take the thoughts of our younger members seriously has no merit as far as I can tell. After all, you guys probably have somewhat better hearing than we do, so why wouldn't we want to hear about gear according to what you folks think?

I hope you and other young audiophiles will continue to be enthusiastic participants on the WBF. We all have much to learn and share.
 
Last edited:

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
12,308
1,425
1,820
Manila, Philippines
DSkip, my partners and I were 34, 34 and 35 when we entered the industry. You are doing fine. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: the sound of Tao

Gregadd

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
10,517
1,774
1,850
Metro DC
I do think young people like good music and high fidelity.
They spend their money on cell phones and laptops. Digital allows them to incorporate thier music into that. Combine that with music services like Pandora,Tidal,etc. you have something special.Surprisingly they are into vinyl ,I think.
To keep them interested it has to be affordable and mobile.

I posted it before. Magnoila offers an excellent SONY based dac,headphone,and server for under $3k. If it ever takes off comperition could bring that price down. I have it on my radar. Sony does tend to be a bit snobish.
 
Last edited:

marslo

VIP/Donor
May 2, 2014
953
673
605
64
Poland
I have in our holiday house very simple system with active Fram Maxi speakers , Auralic Aries Mini with 1 TB HD of my prefrerred hires and Tidal for streaming ( including MQA ) , with improved power supply for Auralic , all together for less than 3 k euro. I guess this is a kind of system you are talking about Gregadd, even if I am not millenial though;)
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: bonzo75 and Gregadd

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing