Do our systems influence the types of music we listen to?

LL21 said:

I would say for myself, that my system never stopped me from listening to any particular music...but it certainly ENCOURAGED me to to listen to certain kinds of music more than others because the system was better able to cope with it...mainly i speak of extremely dynamic range, complex music. I had Symphonic works in my collection but did not take them out as often...that is, until i got the big Wilsons.

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Interesting. Even though I obviously don't have big speakers, I have always listened to symphonic music of extreme dynamic range. In fact, one of the main reasons I bought my system was precisely the great dynamics that it is capable of.

Suddenly, i 'randomly' decided to try Beethoven's symphonies and was stunned to feel far greater layering, understanding of the musical complexity and really enjoyed the music more. In live performances, i find that i 'get' nuances, contrapuntal themes, etc better...and was amazed to find myself hearing some of that with the big Wilsons. That has only increased as i have sought to push down distortion by isolating components from the floor (which transfers a lot of vibration)..

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Yes, I now also get an unraveling of simultaneous musical strands and layers with an ease that in many cases comes quite close to what I experience in the concert hall. I didn't have that before at all, even though I didn't change my speakers. What changed? Some electronic upgrades, but it was mainly the room. Acoustic room treatment got rid of the unwanted reflections that blur and smear the sound -- think about it, you mostly don't have those in the concert hall either, which is a main reason why it sounds so clear. I noticed huge advances in this aspect of system performance even when I still had my 20-year old Wadia 12 DAC.

And by the way, while digital room correction undoubtedly can help greatly in uncluttering the sound, nothing beats the physical removal of unwanted reflections by proper acoustic treatment.

ddk said:

Im not letting the system overtake anything, haven't you had bad sound days or even a bad system ever? There are also live venues that are really bad and kill the experience, at least for me. Madison Square Garden, NY is one such space. Both times left less than halfway through concerts that I was waiting most of my life for... Elton John & Jeff Beck!
david

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Luckily I haven't had too many bad days with my system, but yes...I have had them. The problem is that I don't know what to attribute it to. Is it a bad electrical signal? Has my system not been warmed up enough? Is it my mood? When this happens it hits me immediately and I don't have to wait a half hour before I realize it. I generally walk away at that point.

I got the impression (wrongfully perhaps) that you were almost looking for fault and analyse the sound of the system before you get settled.

I stopped going to arena concerts years ago. The last one was Bob Dylan at the Air Canada Centre some 10 years ago.

Rodney Gold said:

If something sounds amazing on my system and I like it, I tend to explore the artist or sub genre etc more than just for the musical content..
EG My system does stunning bass and scale , so recently been delving into electronica and loving it .. finding new artists and performances as I go along ..

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I was about to write something very similar. As my system has gotten better (e.g. more resolution which creates more lifelike musical experiences), I've realized that genres I'd largely ignored like big band jazz with lots of swing and electronica sound fantastic. Now I seek that music out.

Honestly, I feel like musical exploration is the entire point of building a HiFi system. If I thought my system wouldn't open new musical doors to explore, I'd find another hobby.

spazmatron said:

hi
this is interesting and i suspect music and the sensation of sound has come to us all in many ways. i started out being more of a lover of sound rather than music. then as my system developed something happened to me. i started to hear people playing together.. i started to love music. the magic once you hear it stays with you but for some that magic is first herd live then relived through hifi but for me my real love of music humans exspressing them selfs through sound came when i bought my TAD D1000.

what is very intresting is now i love things i did not befor but i carry that love when listening on lower end systems too. put a £300 set of cans on my head with a dragonfly and i can still hear what i love.. even streamed mp3s on my mums all in one i enjoy.

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I'm with you 100%. While I would prefer to listen to my system, it is in the basement and I don't always want to go down there. Plus, when I cook I love to have music playing, so my little AM/FM/CD player does the trick. And I enjoy it just as much!

I find that I run the gamut from small scale jazz and classical to large scale classical. Electronic music also works well (Moby, Bjork, Orbital etc. ). Well recorded rock music is also well served but the more highly compressed stuff from the late 90s onwards less so...I reserve that for the car.

As a example of a listening session:

Ralph Towner Solstice
Beethoven Piano Sonatas
Stravinsky Petruschka and Rite of spring
The Police Ghost in the Machine (great rock recording actually)
Al Di Meola World Simfonia "Hearts of the Immigrants", which is basically an Astor Piazolla tribute.

Many are variations on those themes (a Jazz or two , a classical and then a rock/electronic recording).

I also very much like Tori Amos "Boys for Pele" and then something like Sonny Rollins "Way out West" then Tchaikovsky "Swan Lake" or Symphony No. 4.

Rock music from the likes of ZZ Top (love the pre 80s heavy blues/rock boogie stuff), Dire Straits, Steely Dan, Rush, King Crimson (love the 80s lineup with Adrian Belew and Tony Levin, Discipline, Beat and Three of a Perfect Pair) and even Iron Maiden

I might end with Jazz as well like a Pat Metheny "Water Colors" or Jim Hall direct cut "Impressions of Japan". Acoustic and electric guitar sounds very realistic on my system.

At the moment, my system does not seem to be too biased towards any one type of music or scale of music. I do probably listen to more smaller music though simply because I can rarely put the system at a volume level to do it justice and so for quieter listening the small stuff and more compressed stuff works better.

When I have the house to myself though I will pump the volume to more realistic levels and then out come the bigger works and hard rock music.

In some cases yes, as placing the system in a larger room 14x20 has enabled me to optimise the lower frequency performance. I have been playing pipe organ,dynamic orchestral,and rock the last month,just to enjoy the "low end on the system. I have always played almost every type except a few types I don't like. I think it is better to play what you like no matter and I think most do that. A varied musical menu allows me to stay grounded and create a more realistic level of reproduction, though that can a challenge.

My answer- absolutely not