Are systems genre dependent?

I think your right, I like my music to sound my way. I’m with you, my system is better with classical, BUT it only take a flip of switch or two to really get after some ZZ Top.. That’s some Blues and Rock and Roll! Love them Texans.

Regards

rvpiano...followed you from the other thread. I think it's obvious that speaker manufacturers design their speakers to target the tastes of listeners. I agree with you that good speakers will play all genres well, but my speakers for example only go down to 40 so if I was looking for speakers to play heavy metal the Harbeth HL5 Plus would probably not be a good choice. The Harbeths are renowned for their midrange and treble (has a super tweeter) which is where my classical music mostly resides (except maybe pieces like Debussy's "La Mer" which goes very powerfully low. I feel I made a good choice and purchased speakers that suit my taste in music. 

rvpiano...I forgot to mention my previous speakers were Tyler Acoustics Decade D20s. Total of four 10 inch woofers. They would rock. Very good speakers but too much for my 15 X 15 listening room. The Harbeths, to me, are better at solo instruments, chamber music, and concertos.

you bet

but like many other product categories, some are more specialized than others w.r.t. musical genres, some are more ’generalists’

I agree with you. More often than not I have indeed found different systems and components to be somewhat if not grossly genre dependent.  To my ears my system delivers lovely sound in whatever genre I venture into, but I'm sure any true heavy metal head or hip-hopper would call my system hopelessly tame.

Me too!

mmhmm,,,and that is exactly why i have 3 different/different sounding systems (mix of speakers and electronics) at home. If you have an eclectic taste in music, there's no way around it.

For the guys who like to listen to their "gear" with a limited 3 or 4 audiophile quality recordings on repeat (and if that's all they listen to), one great audiophile system should be sufficient, i suppose. Believe me, there are guys who do this and one of them is my sibling! But, for a "music first" audiophile with an eclectic taste in music, 2 catered systems may be a minimum. 

 Just, that for ultimate performance  systems do vary in presentation.
What do you think?

I think yes of course they do. But not because they should, but because they fall short. 

There's every bit as much need for extension, dynamics, and thunderous bass with classical orchestra as with rock, rap, or electronica. At least if we're serious about "ultimate performance." 

Which I think we are not. What I think we are talking about instead are making intelligent trade-offs. Then yes of course the guy who listens to chamber music, folk music, whatever like that, will be smart to trade off high volume earth shaking bass for believable natural midrange and imaging. 

But don't kid yourself. There is tremendous dynamic energy in even solo violin. Come over and hear for yourself. Just because all we have is Doug MacLeod on guitar doesn't mean when he taps his foot or slaps the guitar body its not making bass you have to experience the feel of to believe it. Yes you can get by just fine without it. But man oh man when you have it all, you know it was worth the trouble. 

So at least in my view the ultimate performance systems will all sound exactly the same. Because they will sound exactly like whatever was there in the first place. But that's only because that is my definition of ultimate performance. If your definition of ultimate performance is more like what I would call ultimate satisfaction then it could be anything.

“So at least in my view the ultimate performance systems will all sound exactly the same.“

I don’t think I can agree with that.

I can relate to this thread. Back years ago when I decided to really upgrade my system I bought some rather expensive, at least to me, Dynaudio speakers that sounded simply wonderful with about anything BUT rock.

Problem was, I was still into rock for the most part and learned and an expensive lessen and didn't keep the speakers a real long time.

Fast forward to now and rarely listen to rock unless it's on the motorbike.

The only sound that matters on my motorbike is the musical tone of a set of Norman Hyde Togas.

Anyone who thinks good home hifi rigs are "music specific" seems to me to be unaware of the nature musical dynamics, or the limits of design on output level. Obviously a small speaker won't play as loud or produce low frequencies as well as something larger, but so what? I have extremely powerful live sound gear that could move a building but also can reproduce a string quartet with astonishing intimacy, and I was throughly entertained one afternoon in the early 70s by a European friend's tiny LS3/5As playing a new Jethro Tull album, albeit minus low bass (made up for by sheer astonishing musicality hinting at bass). If the TONALITY of a system is bad with solo violin it will be bad with a '52 Telecaster, and it's just bad. Period. Any well sorted full range rig will play any music, period again.

"If the TONALITY of a system is bad with solo violin it will be bad with a '52 Telecaster, and it's just bad"
Truth^^^^
But I really think a flea watt amp was never meant to do justice to heavy metal for example.But can be fabulous with BB King on the other hand.

My MAGICO based system sounds great with every kind of music as it should be.