... I am a huge music fan - but I mainly come from a subcultural background. I like Ska, Punk, Rockabilly and Psychobilly, some Country/Folk and so on... I do not listen to Classical or Jazz and certainly don`t buy music because it`s "audiophile". Still I enjoy my system (suppose it`s entry level for most here but still above average for most) and I do like what it does with most albums. On the other hand I sometimes wonder if it actually makes sense considering my musical preferences or if it`s basically just wasted potential... any thoughts on this? Anyone else care for the hobby but mainly listen to non audiophile music/recordings?
Expensive system for non audiophile listeners - is it worth it?
- Thread starter skinnyfla
- Start date
Uhm I don't get this? Why not try and hear your music interpreted awesomely?
Music is music, no need to conform to some supposed rhetoric of what to Like.
I listen to damn near every genre
many listeners prefer non audiophile music, and appreciate that music sounding it's best. you will find you have plenty of company being a non jazz non classical audiophile. many like to explore the outer reaches of music.
being an audiophile is simply appreciation of better sounding music reproduction, not anything to do with what that music is. if you appreciate that your preferred music sounds better with your system than more pedestrian ways to hear it, that is all that matters to justify you having it.
being an audiophile is simply appreciation of better sounding music reproduction, not anything to do with what that music is. if you appreciate that your preferred music sounds better with your system than more pedestrian ways to hear it, that is all that matters to justify you having it.
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I don't know whether I qualify as an audiophile. Sure I construct my own equipment, and I care about the quality of components, various measurements and room acoustics. However, I can't bring myself to take seriously expensive cables, tweaks and other audiophile traits. And most important of all, when I listen to music, I don't even think about the sound. What a good system will give you, however, is more musical enjoyment. It can make your music come alive, enable you to get more emotionally involved by revealing subtle nuances of musical expressions that would be buried by a less competent system. The illusion of live music, which is highly dependent on micro-dynamics, tonal balance, soundstaging and imaging, is what gives you the emotional connection with the performance.
if the mixing/mastering is not up to snuff, which in my opinion happens often and you have a highly resolving (micro dynamics and so on) system, which tends to highlight the mistakes of the music mix/mastering, what then?
Then it will sound better on a boombox or car radio.
1. If your system is entry-level then mine is two cups connected by a string.
2. I listen to metal mainly, with extreme black metal being a healthy portion and it sounds great and brings me overwhelming joy
3. Most importantly a hi-fi's sole purpose is to wring out as much enjoyment from the music you love. That's it. If it needs to be fed a narrowly curated collection of narcolepsy-inducing audiophile wank then it has failed at the first hurdle.
Listen to what you want and feel no guilt. A hi-fi serves you, not the other way around.
2. I listen to metal mainly, with extreme black metal being a healthy portion and it sounds great and brings me overwhelming joy
3. Most importantly a hi-fi's sole purpose is to wring out as much enjoyment from the music you love. That's it. If it needs to be fed a narrowly curated collection of narcolepsy-inducing audiophile wank then it has failed at the first hurdle.
Listen to what you want and feel no guilt. A hi-fi serves you, not the other way around.
This is an odd question. Without getting into the specifics of your system and the alternatives you would consider, I don’t know if any answer would satisfy you. I am not sure that recording quality is relevant here.
Be careful with a lot of the advice you get in this forum, it is dominated by people primarily listening to very limited types of music. Classical for a lot of the horn and SET tube amp lovers. A lot of flow and tone and little emphasis on rhythmic abilities.
I'm guessing but I'll bet more then 50% who own exp audio systems own for pride of ownership
going with pride owners it's what your style is , me I'm all over hours a day background while I work at my desk . Xmradio dare I say . Tidal as well off my server .
Now would a better system be good for you, I'll say yes but know it's slippery slide once you commit to a better system .
going with pride owners it's what your style is , me I'm all over hours a day background while I work at my desk . Xmradio dare I say . Tidal as well off my server .
Now would a better system be good for you, I'll say yes but know it's slippery slide once you commit to a better system .
I know a guy with a very nice horn system and all he plays is punk. And it kicks butt at it.
At one time I had some Sonus Fsber Luito and a old CJ premier 140. I had a basic Rega RP6 and a music server on the level of say a basic all in one streamer. That stero kicked but on Skynrd, Rega, Sex Pistols. It rocked the living room.
At one time I had some Sonus Fsber Luito and a old CJ premier 140. I had a basic Rega RP6 and a music server on the level of say a basic all in one streamer. That stero kicked but on Skynrd, Rega, Sex Pistols. It rocked the living room.
What does "subcultural background" even mean?
I listen to a lot of classical music and know as much about it as few do, and I also listen to a lot of jazz (which I am not an expert on). Yet I also listen to a lot of music that is probably not "culturally approved", at least not in the traditional circles, such as modern classical avant-garde music, which is often dissonant as well. I also enjoy a lot of rock.
Right now I am enjoying the latest album by Green Day, "Saviors" (released 2024), which is "subcultural" punk rock, albeit of the more melodic kind when it comes to the vocal lines. I love how viscerally intoxicating it is presented on my system. It is also great to hear this music full of heavy distortion (especially of course in the electrical guitars) presented so cleanly. I know this may sound paradoxical. Yet it sounds much better when you hear just the distortions on the recording, instead of the system adding its own distortions (as mine did in the past). You hear the difference. Some systems do go further and sanitize such music into blandness. Mine doesn't, the music sounds brutally raw, as it should.
I also currently enjoy "The Power and the Glory" by Gentle Giant, which is prog rock of extreme sophistication. This music, which was never popular, even among "regular" prog rock fans, is hardly mainstream "culturally approved" as well. It is a treat to hear all the simultaneous and densely layered musical lines with such clarity and articulation, also in the bass. A good system will do this for you.
Like you, I hardly listen to any so-called audiophile music. Even my classical recordings mostly do not come from the audiophile approved so-called "golden age" of recording (whatever that may mean in audiophile circles).
Be careful with a lot of the advice you get in this forum, it is dominated by people primarily listening to very limited types of music. Classical for a lot of the horn and SET tube amp lovers. A lot of flow and tone and little emphasis on rhythmic abilities.
Great rhythm & timing is essential! I closely scrutinize for it every component that I consider.
Rhythm is just as integral to classical music as any other genre.Be careful with a lot of the advice you get in this forum, it is dominated by people primarily listening to very limited types of music. Classical for a lot of the horn and SET tube amp lovers. A lot of flow and tone and little emphasis on rhythmic abilities.
I agree. I’ve asked in another thread what music folks mostly listen to and I pretty much got crickets. I would love people to include their listening preferences in their signatures. I honestly don’t have much in common with WBF members who almost exclusively listen to classical music.Be careful with a lot of the advice you get in this forum, it is dominated by people primarily listening to very limited types of music. Classical for a lot of the horn and SET tube amp lovers. A lot of flow and tone and little emphasis on rhythmic abilities.
Usually I see pink Floyd mentioned ad naseum.
While I like it, there is a lot more to choose from.
A fe off the top of the head…
Oingo Boingo / Violent Femmes / Phil Ochs / Bad Religion / Social Distortion / Doug McLeod / The Jam
I listen to all sorts of genres but my favorite and most often played is metal.
I know some people say they like metal and by that they mean a little Metallica once in a while (usually a newer album), or even AC/DC. Which is fine, I'm not a snob and I'm glad for anyone who ventures out beyond their usual Diana Krall or whatever.
Checking my recent Roon history shows I've been listening to Gorod, Meshuggah, Ne Obliviscaris, Vola, Beyond Creation, First Fragment, Inculter, Be'lakor, Aluvial, Inferi, Municipal Waste, Archspire, and Spawn of Possession. So lots of very technical death metal mixed with some progressive death, thrash, melodic death, etc.
Some of these are mediocre or even bad recordings, while some are actually quite well done. Either way, I build my system with the goal to extract the most I can from them. Even if they don't sound like a Norah Jones record.
I know some people say they like metal and by that they mean a little Metallica once in a while (usually a newer album), or even AC/DC. Which is fine, I'm not a snob and I'm glad for anyone who ventures out beyond their usual Diana Krall or whatever.
Checking my recent Roon history shows I've been listening to Gorod, Meshuggah, Ne Obliviscaris, Vola, Beyond Creation, First Fragment, Inculter, Be'lakor, Aluvial, Inferi, Municipal Waste, Archspire, and Spawn of Possession. So lots of very technical death metal mixed with some progressive death, thrash, melodic death, etc.
Some of these are mediocre or even bad recordings, while some are actually quite well done. Either way, I build my system with the goal to extract the most I can from them. Even if they don't sound like a Norah Jones record.
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