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
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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start out with scorpion----------end up with miles davis,john coltrane,louis armstrong etc..
Your music horizon is just expanding! If you had given me Sinatra or Beatles cd/lp , prior to me turning 30 I would have looked at you like you had 3 heads.

I think it may have something to do w/ getting older too?
Audi & Volvo station wagons look really kewl to me lately as long as they are black, w/ tinted windows??? I can't explain it, I just have to get a grip & shake it off!
I don't think I'm kidding myself at all.
I'm not even sure as many point out how you can split the difference between your own tastes developing and a developing system.
I lot of what is described as Audiophile music puts me to sleep-Partrica Barber,Diana Krall etc. and even to a lesser extent Norah Jones-the free CD's given away occassionally with UK HI-FI mags just seem to represent a bland mixture of music for people who have descended into a safe listening zone.
Of course I listen to light music and would prefer it if everything was recorded decent.
Everybody has their own thing and nobody can be totally oblivious to information having some influence on them.
Even when I read the music reviews in the Hi-fi mags I've nearly always either got the releases I want or have read about the others.....
As a teenager I bought the music weeklies to learn and read about music,as an adult (lol) I buy at least 4 music monthly magazines a month-the reproduction is second to me and I would rather go back to a £300 mini-system than to stop discovering and buying new music.
I have found that Classic rock can sound it's best on vinyl.
When played on a great TT like a Thorens or Linn LP12 etc. Also MFSL CDS can be amazing. It is hard to listen to poor recordings on a great system but whats the point if you cant rock the house with Physical Grafitti. The Led vinyl reissues are great. Still pleanty of hiss but they have super fidelity! Tubes can also help tame some borderline material. Lastly a great CD player makes a big difference. I like the ARC CD2 very smooth and easy to listen to.