MISSING THE POINT?

I definitely spend more time in music stores than I do thinking about the equipment. I don't think I've come upon a genre of music that hasn't held some gem for me. This is a blessing as there is almost always something new that I like and have never heard of before. It's a curse because I have to listen to a lot of barely worthwhile music to find the gems. Fortunately, all of my friends are into music as much as I am (although none of them are into equipment at all), so they help trim the fat. I don't know how you define conservative tastes, but ECM is a goldmine of new, excellently recorded music. Matador is pretty good too.

I think its a balance issue. It is easy to go overboard and focus almost entirely on the equipment. Personally, I can't really tell from the threads on this site if most "audiophiles" spend more time tweaking/upgrading equipment rather than listening to music. After all, this site is really geared toward electronics. And what is the goal of all this tweaking? To come closer to the music. Some people have the money to spend, others don't. What you might be seeing is a reflection of the fact that this site is mainly about equipment, and therefore most of the threads concern tweaking/upgrading, and people who have the money to invest. I spend a great deal of time reading about and auditioning equipment. But I also spend a great deal of time listening to music. For me, both are important. However, I don't generally talk about music on this site...it doesn't mean I've missed the point, it just means I don't participate in discussions about music.

i search nearly every day for "new music," rock, folk, blues, classical or any other genre that sounds interesting. i typically buy or otherwise obtain (my older son and his wife are both in the radio/entertainment industry & pass on lots of demos-lucky me!) 5-10 cd's or lp's/ week. i find lot's of interesting stuff reviewed on npr (you can get lists @ npr.org or from my state: cpr.org). i also rely on fellow 'philes, dealers and manufacturers' reps for recommendations. with some notable exceptions (grammy winners are generally not voted on by audiophiles-indeed, most recording artist i know couldn't care less about playback equipment), most recent cd's are head and shoulders better sounding than stuff put out in 1983-95. i'm rambling here, i know, so let me summarize: I am a long-time 'phile with a verrry highend system who searches for new recordings as a means to enjoy that in which i've invested my $$ and time. i know i'm not alone in this endeavor.

If it's got an ECM number I buy it. It's like putting oneself on a subsription - and almost like stamp collecting haha. In so doing I've been turned onto lots of interesting stuff. And believe it or not 'classical' music is still being written by 21st century composers. But I can dig the idea of hearing familiar 'old' pieces in new ways. Good art is timeless. When I crave pop I only buy it used because the shine wears off pretty quickly.

When I put together my first decent system that's when I started to be much more particular about what I listened to. Before that I had my preferences to classical but would give anything a listen. Now over the last ten years I find my tastes growing . I'm much more particular about what I play. I have to watch that I don't get into the habit of just playing ''off the favorites shelf'' . Sometime I pick out a piece at random and if I dont care for it any more and don't think I'll hardly ever play it, it will go to the trade in shelf. I dont like keeping dics that will never get played. Ive recently been buying a lot of latin jazz but probably because its a trend and lots of good pieces are available. I used to browse the record stores and buy what might be good based on intuition from the cd cover. However,I collected lots of duds. Now my favorite store has really good sampling stations with nakamichi cd players headphone amps and acceptable phones. I listen to everything before I buy now. I rarley have a dud and found myself having to set a limit of how many I buy. But I also listen to lots of stuff I have no intentions of buying but just exploring. If I' patient enough I always make good finds. Recomendations are good but tastes are very particular. We have a very good radio station here in Alberta that brodcasts province wide and the have a web site with posted play lists. So if you take note of what time you heard somthing you can look it up. In fact they brodcast on the net . www.ckua.ca I think. In a direct answer to your question ben campbell I limit myself to two a week. I am more carfull about what I buy and my life is busy with young kids so my listening time is limited. FYI I made a find this week Patricia Ocallghan. On Marquis distribued by EMI called Real Emotional Girl. One of the best voices I've heard in a long time. Very modern, classicaly trained and a little bit of cabaret in her style. Im totaly in love. cheers steve