What genre of music is my system best suited for?

[Johnny Vinyl]

I've read the discussions about systems and voicing them for a particular genre of music if that genre is the vast majority of music one listens to. I suppose that makes sense, but I've never considered that when buying gear as I'm not married to just one or two genres. I'm also not as deeply involved with gear, preferring instead to focus on the media itself. It's a choice I've made and am happy with. I'm also limited by finances and I would think there are fewer options out there to do such voicing properly, but I'm only guessing at that.

Most of you guys have awesome, killer systems that I can only imagine to own in my dreams and you're also very knowledgeable. I'll say it again....I have learned so much about audio since joining WBF, and I want to thank you for letting me chime in now and again. Having said that, I would like you to put on your thinking caps and have a look at my system (it's in my signature), and then try to figure out what genre of music should sound really good on it? Is it good enough for classical large scale? Deep rooted blues? Female/male voices? Hard-driving rock? etc........

I want your honest opinion! Pats on the back for what I've assembled are not needed, nor is it what I'm looking for. I'm quite happy with what I have and don't plan an any changes for the time being. I listen to vinyl 90% of the time.

This is meant to be a very light-hearted thread and request, but I thought it would be fun to do.

 

[JackD201]

Hi Johnny,

Your system should be able to play any genre well. The caveat is that anything you play should be played at levels within your system's limitations. Here I think it gets a little dicey because lets face it some genres really ask to be played LOUD and others don't. When I was condo living my system was pretty similar in make up to yours. Nobody wants to get evicted right? So, I developed a little mental trick. I waited until everybody was asleep and I sneaked up on the volume control. You'd be amazed at how loud a mere 70dB peak might sound when you've put your brain on stealth mode. LOL. Oh crap! Did I wake the baby up? LOL. A follow up trick was to move my chair closer to the speakers, okay I'm a geek so I also had tape markings on the floor for late night rockin' speaker positions. Call it acoustic loudness control since I had no EQ and no loudness button on my integrated (none ever sounded right anyway). I set up so at the listening position I created a rising midbass, same thing as a loudness button yes? Net effect sounds loud, wasn't loud. All genres A-Ok.

Now, if you really want to actually play realistically loud or close to it then that's another story and that's where people fall off the deep end and land in the realms of big speakers, DSP, lots of room treatment, specialty power products, vibration isolation yada, yada, yada. In other words, be careful what you wish for territory.

In the end, you can't cheat physics but you can use physics to cheat!

 

[garylkoh]

I could come visit with an armful of vinyl and we'll see if your system can take it

 

[amirm]

I could come visit with an armful of vinyl and we'll see if your system can take it

I hope that happens so that we get some vicarious enjoyment and a playlist to steal.

 

[Rodney Gold]

I recon the key to the system and music , apart from the ususal suspects like imaging and sweet treble etc , it's about how loud the system goes cleanly , linearly down to low bass levels
If your system can play as well real loud as soft , you can play any music on it.. from chamber to death metal..

 

[rockitman]

I'm with Jack...your system should play any genre well.

 

[DaveyF]

John, I think you have posted one of the most interesting and thought provoking threads on this forum.
I think the answer is extremely complicated...because it delves into not only your own personal taste in music and your appreciation of the various aspects of different music, but also into the perceptions that others have of your system and their own goals.
The reproduction of music in our homes is flawed....IMHO....I say again, the reproduction of all music in our homes is flawed...
Why, because the sound of 'live' instruments is not close to what we are reproducing in our home...IF we are truly honest about these things, and more importantly IF we have enough experience listening to the 'real'!
( I guess this is also IMHO).
So, having said that, does a system play better with a certain type of music? IME, that is absolutely the case, even with multi $$ set-ups. Take an example, who here likes to play RAP or Metal--the predominant sound of these genres is a) loudness with bass response and b) ability to portray 'drive' and rhythm. IME, having listened to a lot of metal and some RAP, the speakers and systems that do best with this kind of music employ large speakers in a very large room with large bass drivers and no real emphasis placed on imaging or the other fine details that we like to discuss in our hobby. The ability to move BIG air and allow the sound of the drums to be forefront is paramount. John, your system and mine cannot do this trick that well. Most members here do not have the gear to allow this to happen, IMO. What kind of speakers would be preferable...well, the more typical PA type of monitors...with multitudes of 12-15" drivers and horn compression drivers for max volume and 'drive'...along with a concert hall sized room. OTOH, take the sound of jazz and small ensembles, there I believe that the 'intimacy' of the venue and the 'closeness' of the instruments is paramount...the small details of the sound from the trumpet, or the stand-up bass are what typically thrills us...well it does me. So, a smaller room with speaker and gear that is highly resolving would be important. Can the big PA type system that is great for metal and RAP bring the same intimacy to the fore as the system and smaller room I have just described...I think not, at least IME.
Anyway, I think you may be getting my drift by now....
Plus, i'm sure most members will highly disagree with me, LOL. As they say-- YMMV.

 

[Rodney Gold]

I don't disagree with you .. some systems are definitely not suitable for some music.
Baroque quartets are not as demanding as full orchestral organ music and so on
The thing is that your choice of system has to mirror your music taste..very few systems can do it all.. you want the best reproduction of what you do like so you tailor your system around it
Never heard or done it the other way ..ie build a system and then play the music it does best.. regardless of taste

 

[GaryProtein]

If the shows are anything to go by, many high end systems are best suited for a solo guitar or solo female vocalists.

Pardon me while I throw up!

 

[Al M.]

I don't disagree with you .. some systems are definitely not suitable for some music.
Baroque quartets are not as demanding as full orchestral organ music and so on

I'd be careful with this. Geting the timbre, detail and intimacy right on small scale baroque music can in fact be extraordinarily demanding on a system, and few systems are up to the task. it's not just about volume, scale and bass, even though these indeed put their own high demands on systems.

 

[Al M.]

If the shows are anything to go by, many high end systems are best suited for a solo guitar or solo female vocalists.

Pardon me while I throw up!

And preferably with low dynamic demands on the female vocal part. I guess i'm now really going to throw up...

 

[Rodney Gold]

Yeh..I meant scale and volume , not the fine stuff...

 

[Groucho]

- Death metal: loud, compressed, has bass, but no one will hear or care about a bit of distortion
- String quartet: quiet even at realistic volume, no really deep bass, instruments all have similar 'colour' and only a small number of acoustic sources - not a great test for a system
- Symphony orchestra: Many acoustic sources so shows up intermodulation (and therefore harmonic) distortion. Because the sources are so different in character from each other, shows up colouration. Has to go loud to be realistic. Very wide dynamic range. Has very deep bass. If it can do a symphony orchestra cleanly and realistically, your system can do anything!

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

Thanks for all of your input so far. Although I already have a general idea of what sounds best, how loud I can play the system with certain genres, I'd like to do a little listening in the next few days and come back here with some more accurate observations. I'll try to remember to include a playlist.

FYI - My main musical interests are Progressive Rock, Rock (mostly old-school classics), Live (both electric and acoustic), Blues (old and new), Female singer/songwriters. I do play some Jazz and Classical, but they are not as frequently enjoyed.

 

[Atmasphere]

The idea that a system, and in particular loudspeakers, are best suited for a particular type of music is one the biggest myths in the world of audio.

The simple fact is that if the system can do classical right, it can do death metal right. Or jazz or baroque. Classical music has a wide dynamic range and I have seen metal recordings take a system to its knees in a heartbeat, just like some of the best classical. The fact of the matter is that the electronics simply don't have any taste on their own. That's up to you. Some rock recordings are terrible and so are some classical recordings. Another way of looking at this is if your system is mediocre at certain forms of music it will be that way with all forms of music.

I actually had one guy ask me if our amps were better or worse at 80s rock as opposed to 70s rock. Sheesh!

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

The idea that a system, and in particular loudspeakers, are best suited for a particular type of music is one the biggest myths in the world of audio.

The simple fact is that if the system can do classical right, it can do death metal right. Or jazz or baroque. Classical music has a wide dynamic range and I have seen metal recordings take a system to its knees in a heartbeat, just like some of the best classical. The fact of the matter is that the electronics simply don't have any taste on their own. That's up to you. Some rock recordings are terrible and so are some classical recordings. Another way of looking at this is if your system is mediocre at certain forms of music it will be that way with all forms of music.

I actually had one guy ask me if our amps were better or worse at 80s rock as opposed to 70s rock. Sheesh!

I have a tendency to agree with you as voicing my system for certain genres was never something I entertained. It's an interesting idea for discussion though, which is why I started the thread.

You hear a good number of people in the HT community expressing opinion on speakers by saying some are better for movies than music and vice-versa. I never bought into that.

 

[treitz3]

You hear a good number of people in the HT community expressing opinion on speakers by saying some are better for movies than music and vice-versa. I never bought into that.

Hello John, while high end HT speakers may not subscribe to this, many speakers designed for HT are voiced differently than the same companies 2-channel counterpart. One fairly common example that I would think you might have heard in the past would be Polk Audio's SDA versus their RTi lineup. The SDA being geared toward the 2-channel crowd and the RTi lineup being geared toward the HT crowd. 2 completely different animals. I can sit back and enjoy a properly set up tubed SDA rig for 2 channel but you couldn't PAY me enough to sit and listen to the RTi's in a 2 channel set up no matter what is upstream or downstream. On the flip side, for HT? I would prefer the RTi's over the SDA's any day of the week and twice on Tuesday.

It is of my experience that once you reach a certain level of gear (like yours), the differences between 2-channel and HT come very close to one another or are diminished altogether. I would venture to bet that the good number of people in the HT community have speakers that have not reached the same caliber of speaker yet, so the differences still exist.

Tom

 

[DaveyF]

The idea that a system, and in particular loudspeakers, are best suited for a particular type of music is one the biggest myths in the world of audio.

The simple fact is that if the system can do classical right, it can do death metal right. Or jazz or baroque. Classical music has a wide dynamic range and I have seen metal recordings take a system to its knees in a heartbeat, just like some of the best classical. The fact of the matter is that the electronics simply don't have any taste on their own. That's up to you. Some rock recordings are terrible and so are some classical recordings. Another way of looking at this is if your system is mediocre at certain forms of music it will be that way with all forms of music.

I actually had one guy ask me if our amps were better or worse at 80s rock as opposed to 70s rock. Sheesh!

Ralph, I have to disagree here. I have heard many speakers and systems that can and do reproduce classical very well, but fall down with death metal or RAP.
For example, the Sonus Faber Amati Futura's are very good at classical...but listen to some hard driving metal or RAP on them...well???
I also believe that the room that the system is placed in has a LOT to do with the result. But even with that said, I have heard smaller speakers that sound quite good on classical in a large room, fall down with metal, etc.

 

[Al M.]

Ralph, I have to disagree here. I have heard many speakers and systems that can and do reproduce classical very well, but fall down with death metal or RAP.
For example, the Sonus Faber Amati Futura's are very good at classical...but listen to some hard driving metal or RAP on them...well???
I also believe that the room that the system is placed in has a LOT to do with the result. But even with that said, I have heard smaller speakers that sound quite good on classical in a large room, fall down with metal, etc.

True. I agree with your disagreement, Davey. Drive on rock and the like not only has to do with the ability to move air, but also with rhythm & timing. Many DACs suck at it (or used to suck in the early days of digital), some amps suck at it, and some speakers do too (oh boy, don't get me started on that one). Of course rhythm & timing plays a role in classical too, but often on a more subliminal level than in rock.

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

I can't think of a single reason why that system would be genre-specific. As others have said, clean volume is really the only limitation, and I expect your system gets plenty loud unless your room is huge.

Tim