What Do Kids Listen With These Days?

[Doink]

After being out of recording for a few years, I now find myself knee deep in the biggest, and most expensive, project I've ever done.

Now armed with the UAD-1, my new (old) Tannoys, and the latest Sonar, I need some standards to check my mixes on. I figure a set of stock IPod buds are a necessity, as well as some stock car speakers, but what else do the kids use these days? Do they still listen on boom boxes? What about bookshelf speakers? I do have a pair of tall home stereo KLH speakers. Should I just get whatever's on sale at Walmart, figuring that many other people will be doing the same thing? What about computer speakers?

Also, when are they going to come out with the MP3 Gobblerizer processor? I'd like to be able to hear what mixes will sound like on myspace and itunes!

 

[lumstar]

If your primary market is kids (12-25 years old) I think that most listening happens on mp3 players and in car stereos. That's from my experience anyway. Now that is not to say you shouldn't be testing your mixes everywhere, but I think you definitely shouldn't miss these 2 important situations.

 

[VomitHatSteve]

Along with testing your mixes on mp3 players, I'd probably test it on your cell phone as well. A lot of cell phones function as (crappy) mp3 players, so that'll cover both the ringtone and off-brand mp3 categories. (As the owner of an off-brand mp3 player, I can definitely attest to the quality differences between good and bad mp3 players).

 

[eternalpayn]

Make sure you get an iHome, or find someone who will let you borrow one, and test it on that.

 

[VomitHatSteve]

Make sure you get an iHome, or find someone who will let you borrow one, and test it on that.

You might as well buy every Apple product out there and test on it.

 

[starbuck26]

You're forgetting a big one: Laptop speakers.

And it's no longer called a boom box. It's a Jam Box, or a Ghetto Blaster.

Get it straight.

 

[KJI]

Those various types of headphones stores sell (Sony, etc.)

I keep hearing how people like Skullcandy (headphones and earbuds), and most audiophiles swear by Sennheisers.

Some headphone threads at a random site I visit:
http://4-ch.net/music/kareha.pl/1215410087/l50
http://4-ch.net/music/kareha.pl/1193866282/l50
http://4-ch.net/music/kareha.pl/1137422763/l50

 

[Doink]

We have fans ranging in age from 13-45.

I do have some step-up ear buds, Westone UM-1's and UM-2's that we use with our IEM monitor rig. I have been checking my mixes in those, as well as my old AT headphones and my somewhat modern AKG headphones.

 

[rayc]

Don't forget to reference through the sound of chewing gum (as transmitted by the lower jaw) and television speakers.
Mix and master for the LCD wins again (lowest common denominator that is).

 

[mattr]

I'm probably a bit of an exception for the 16-year-old category (I got my first pair of Shure IEMs for listening-on-the-go aged 14 ), but I can talk on behalf of my friends...

Firstly, as has already been stated, for portable listening the iPod buds are pretty much the standard. However they break quickly, and most people I know replace them with the cheapest rubbish they can find at the local £1 shop. Its not they don't have the money, they just don't see it as a worthy investment (I've talked to many people who admitted they never thought earphones affected the quality in any way and so don't see why you would spend any more than £5 on a pair ). In that sense, iPod earphones are considered by many as top-range and quality. There are a few people I know with slight step-up canal-buds like Senny CX300s, but this is quite a minority.

Other things that us kids love to blast a mush of white-noise from... mobile phone speakers (can actually be very revealing of problems in a mix because they're mono and very limited in freq. resp), laptop and cheap computer speakers, cheap hi-fi systems, guitar amps, tv speakers, car stereos...