My six year-old and I enjoy listening to music on the living room hifi and I decided it was time to set up a small system in her bedroom.
This system had to provide good quality sound, but be able to withstand a wild playdate.
The speakers would possibly be the most vulnerable element of the system and I did the most research on those.
The Audio Engine 2 speakers that we ended up with are a perfect fit. They are small enough to fit anywhere, have a BIG sound, are self-powered (which solved the issue of finding an amp)and the drivers are virtually indestructible.
The Ipod, Arcam dock and interconnect were salvaged from my system and completed our little budget start-up. It all sounds great with lossless files.
We enjoy listening to Ella, Sharon Jones, Joni Mitchell and lots of other music by people not named Hannah or Justin.
This was one of the first docks that was built to exploit the Ipod's hifi potential. I enjoyed it in my main system for a couple of years before giving it to my daughter.
Audio Engine AE2 self-powered speaker
The reviews on these are right; amazing quality and big sound for small dollars.
Audigon cables unknown
Purchased a few years back on Agon and enlisted for the bedroom system.
You can't fault your daughter for not being a hifi nut, Wideload. Maybe she's better off (certainly more financially secure!).
It's funny hearing kids sing this stuff. My daughter belts out Sharon Jones songs about scorned lovers and it cracks me up. Hearing your kid scat must have been a hoot.
After pushing Bill Evans, Nina Simone, Copland, Ella and a whole host of musicians that I think are timeless, I asked my eight year-old if she enjoys the music we listen to.
After a moment of reflection, "Sure, but I think I would like to listen to some famous musicians now."
I can't believe it, but I just RIP'ed Katy Perry to my server.
Bigshot, I've been pushing some Marvin Gaye and Bill Evans lately with mixed success. There's a lot of Hannah Montana pressure from school friends, which is fine (I'm just not buying it!).
However, I'm thrilled when I hear her singing Neko Case's "I Wish I Were the Moon Tonight." I've been playing that for her since she was a baby.
Is your daughter still a fan of motown and jazz? I'll be curious to see how my choices of music effects my daughter's adult preferences.
So far the system is intact after numerous brutal playdates that have included boys with light sabers. I think that these little Audio Engine speakers are just about bullet-proof.
Our interest in music has extended to live music. Living in NYC provides lots of options and recently we saw the Clogs at Merkin Concert Hall (an incredible bunch of musicians) and Dan Zanes at the Metropolitan Museum (I didn't know they had a concert space there!).
I think the next thing is music lessons and hopefully, exposure to live music will make the whole equation obvious to her.
I'm curious how other parents have introduced their kids to hifi. I think it can be a great way to let them channel creativity and learn to be responsible.
There's a tricky balance of supplying your child with something of quality without trusting them with something so valuable that you're losing sleep.
Not to worry Slowman 61, we're a lossless family. As shameless sensualists, we're also all about slow food, live performances, reading out loud and biodynamic grower produced wine (well, me anyway).
Yes, death to MP3's, but let's also remove all the other nasty shortcuts that get in the way of a quality experience.
I hope my kid will learn to enjoy the finer things in life. This doesn't mean the most expensive things, which I hope our little hifi experiment exemplifies. Just a means to stretch our senses a bit and experience something in a more deliberate and considered way.
I would be interested to know what other A'goners pursue in their spare hours. Is there a common interest in exploring the limits of our senses? Are audiophiles better cooks?
