Brand preferences and music styles

I like to listen to any type of music that involves real musicians playing real music. None of this Disney crap  that is all effects compression, and fake electronic sound reproduction. My go to is anything that is guitar driven. Can be clean if good but preferably loud distorted and run through a Marshall amp. Not a fan of layney or orange amp sound. Like a lot of the instrumentalists heavy guitar. All being said like what you like and enjoy the music!!!

It depends...I believe products are improving at a pace that can result in a new product having great sound and quality and some of the legacy brands can go up and down in terms of reputation as well as ability to produce.

I personally don’t buy musical styles impact the the equipment - I listen to a variety of music ranging from yacht rock, rap, heavy metal, electronic, blues, new wave jazz and I haven’t noticed any equipment I have owned or sampled sound good in one and not another but that’s my opinion and you may have a different experience.

I encourage you to listen and audition any manufacturer if you receive believable claims because it may suit your tastes.

If that’s the way you want to go, fine. A lot of people only listen a certain way to a certain narrow range of music. Or they find a brand or line of components that has a sound they like. I’ve been that way myself with Synergistic Research for a very long time now. Although in my case it is a little different than your question. My preference for Synergistic, and everything else for that matter, is in the ability to sound great with all kinds of music. That to me is a prime goal of any quality system.

But again, if you want a certain sound then fine, go for it. You won’t have much luck with the question you are asking however. Because even if a bunch of guys say OMG yes you simply must hear Harbeth with string quintet! So then some others are like No way Harbeth is too polite to get the bite of the string you should hear string quartet with Martin Logan! Then another, RU kidding ML cannot capture the full dynamic expression of even a single violin you must use horns!  

(They are all wrong of course, you haven't heard strings until you've heard them on Tekton Moabs.). 

Anyway, yes, all these questions have been discussed at length already. So what? This one you should be okay. Fuses, directionality, watch out you will be burned at the stake. This one, everyone loves to talk their own book, probably go on forever.