Has audiophilia changed your music taste?


Before I got into this hobby, I was big into heavy metal. I am very much into progressive bands like Dream Theater and Queensryche. My collection consisted of rock 90% and classical/jazz/other at 10%. Ever since I started getting into audio, my listening has changed and so has my music collection. What used to be 90/10, lean to rock, has changed to about 70/30 and changing weekly. Lately, I can't keep Patricia Barber off my system. I absolutely love her. The thing is, the other day I put on some Pat Travers and the listening only lasted about 30 minutes before it was back to Patricia Barber. For some reason, rock doesn't sound as good as it did before. Maybe it is my system or maybe it is me.

Anyone else like me?
matchstikman

Showing 3 responses by sean

Well, kinda sorta. My tastes have not so much changed as they have expanded. I found myself listening to more "audiophile type music" for a very short period of time, but then i fixed my systems : )

Honestly though, if you find that you can't enjoy the music that you used to absolutely love after upgrading your system, your system probably sucks and is limited in what it does well. Chances are, the system is lacking musicality and prat but excells in detail. The key to having a truly enjoyable and "good" system is one that allows you to hear all the detail that you want to, but not wanting to because you are too emotionally drawn into the rhythm of the music. If you find yourself being drawn into listening to "detail" all of the time, it is probably due to having a system that is overtly analytical. As such, you end up listening to the characteristics of the system and NOT the music. Finding a good balance between resolution and musicality is tough, but it can be done. Once you find that point, you'll know EXACTLY what i'm talking about and will wonder "why didn't i try that sooner" ??? : ) Sean
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Rsbeck: I'm not saying that one type of music or system is better than any other. Nor am i saying that people's tastes and attitudes don't change with time. What i am saying is that a good system should allow you to listen to whatever you want, whenever you want. You should also be able to enjoy those recordings AND listen as deeply into them as you would like.

Obviously, we all place different values on music reproduction. Some may prefer very specific imaging, some may prefer impact / dynamic range, others may value harmonic and timbral accuracy, etc... I think that as one builds a system that highlights one of those specific areas, the natural inclination is to select discs that allow that virtue to shine through, possibly at the expense of other areas of performance / enjoyability. As such, it is a fine line / balancing act that is required to obtain a well rounded system that works well with a variety of recordings and types of music. Limiting yourself to only top notch recordings and / or a very select range of music that highlights specific aspects of system performance would be pretty boring in my opinion. Variety ( especially in music ) is one of the great joys in life. Why limit yourself through the use of a limiting system or musical selections ? Sean
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Thanks Rosstaman for summing that up so well. You did forget to mention one thing though. That is, she and her band can deliver everything that you want or expect when you see them live. They are not like some of these "studio effect" singers / performers that can't stand on their own two feet when they need to. When it comes to live performances, you've either got it or your don't. She and her band have it in spades. Sean
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