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Audiophiles & music-have you got it wrong?

This thread is partly inspired by comments on "would you refer this to all the interested parties" but also by general comments made on a regular basis.

Of course each person to their own, I do not advocate my views are the definitive ones and I do consider myself a music fan who takes an interest in high end equipment rather than being an out and out audiophile.
However despite some reservations about certain audiophile beliefs I don't come on these forums and say burn in it doesn't exist,interconnects are a rip off and exhibit little more than fine tuning etc.etc.
Why?
Because I don't feel I've explored these issues fully nor do I really wish to therefore my comments would be largely uninformed even if they are accurate from my point of view.
And yet some audiophiles seem to make constant negative remarks about the price and quality of music currently available-are they right?

First up the price of music-this is not to say greed doesn't exist within the record companies but are CD's really that expensive when we compare them to how much we spend on our equipment?
My collection is now worth close to double what my equipment is.
Am I nuts or do I have things in perspective?
I consider I am probably at the extreme end of things with regards buying music but aren't some of you at the other end of the extreme?

Is it the quality of the recordings that's an issue?
Ok-I can't say sometimes that recorings don't disappoint or indeed the fact that older CD's can be badly mastered.
However is it possible that some have attuned their ear to a level of perfection that only exists in a limited number of recordings?
Nothing wrong with that but should our hobby be about matching that ideal or should it be more like how I see/hear things-getting the best audio reproduction possible but accepting that recording will always be flawed or indeed subjective?
Is Robert Johnson any less powerful despite the primative nature of the recordings?

Finally there's no new good music.
I read that endlessly here on Audiogon.
And I ask one question-how do you know that?
Do you read about new music?
Have you the interest to search it out the way you tweak or try to perfect your system?
Do you know what's been remastered recently?

There is plenty of new music that is good but even ignoring the new stuff,there is an endless supply of music already existing that you've probably never heard.
Do you try to expand your tastes?
Does it even interest you to try?

If your relationship with this hobby is about the equipment then fine,that is as valid as any music lovers quest however please refrain from these glib criticisms if you haven't taken the time to make sure you know what you are talking about.

ben_campbell
pragmatist
336 posts
 
Remeber when you were a teenager? As a matter of natural selection,you rebeled against your parents,so you would leave the nest while,at the same time,being expected to conform to their expectations about whom you dated,what school you would attend,and so forth.

You mirrored your rebellion against both facets mentioned above. You rebelled against their conformity by dressing and acting the same way others your age did.

It might have been long hair,tie dyed t shirts,and a marijuana habit. It might have been dressing and talking as you believed an urban ganster talked.(Remember that Tupoc and P Diddy are middle class suburban kids.) If you were female,it was dressing in a way that pissed off your mother.

Your music was designed to annoy and piss off your parents. It was loud with sexual and drug references.

What is aimed at these adolescent consumers was and is more entertainment than music. I suspect that Brittany Spears knows she can't sing and that she is actully a geisha act(in a larger sense.)

So of course,those of us who have outgrown it think it sucks and is overpriced.

There are so many good jazz and classical players out there,it's tough to keep track of them. There are places to find their recorded output at reasonable prices. One place to look is the Naxos label.

Pro Musica.
newbee
4,780 posts
 
Good posts by music loving audiophiles.

I alway thought that music (I'm performance orientated, not recorded sound orientated) was all that really counted and that I'd love it as well on a boom box. Well, I got my wish, so to speak...............

I work on the computer in a room accross the hall from my system in which everything is tubed - on 16 hours a day! Got frugal and bought one of these generic mini systems for my desk figuring I'd save the cost in the 1st year on tubes alone. By now you've guessed - I'd rather hear my music from the main system accross the hall than on the mini system on my desk..........

But (here is the big however) I'd still rather hear the music over the desk system than not at all - my imagination can still fill in the blanks. I couldn't imagine life with out it. I'd guess that I am an audiophile after all but I'd still rather talk about, and listen to, music than equipment, or work for that matter.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,263 posts
 
I think it's really sad when otherwise intelligent people use the "there's no good new music" excuse. More music is being produced today than ever before. That means that there's tons of bad music being made and and also tons of good music being made. There's absolutely nothing new with having to wade through the crap to find the isolated gems. I think what some people are really saying is that they don't want to take the time and effort to find the new good music. That's their choice, but they are not really being honest when they blame today's music. Sometimes the music evolves and it's the listener who is left standing still.
ben_campbell OP
1,169 posts
 
Pragmatist I'm afraid I never listened to music to piss off my parents-I took music in at a much deeper level than that.
On such a weak foundation it's no surprise that you view certain styles of music as throwaway.
rufusfolk
18 posts
 
I think that a lot of the music I enjoyed as a teen and young adult was heard on inferior equipment. I enjoyed it and I got used to the way it sounded on that equipment. I remember that A Ertegun said he did the final mix of Aretha Franklin's music over car stereo speakers. I still think that Bell Bottom Blues sounded the best over an old Dynakit tube amp through AR speakers and a Garrard turntable. Most of the old rock and roll I play on my system doesn't sound as good as I remember. That may be my system, not enough power in my Pass Aleph 5 for my Talon speakers, but I think it is my memory and the way I heard the music first.

I do own around 1000 CDs. However, I usually try out CDs when I find them at a Half Price Bookstore (especially their sale rack at 1.00 or 3.99). There are a few artists which I will pay the full price for Richard Thompson, Chris Smither, Rosanne Cash, Johnny Cash, Tom Waits, Delbert McClinton, Buddy Miller, Karrin Allyson,Scott Hamilton ... Recently, I found both Greg Trooper albums for 3.99 at Half Price and I have added him to my list. I think you can get a good music collection if you are patient and shop.

My son listens to Rockabilly and I actually think there are a lot of good Rockabilly players like Southern Culture on the Skids, etc.... I find that there is a lot of good music out there for youth to enjoy and for old folks like me. I think I just enjoy folk, jazz, and alternative country more that I enjoy rock and roll anymore. Some of the more thoughtful rock and roll, Bruce Springsteen, John Hiatt, Van Morrison, Billy Joe Shaver, etc., still sound good on my stereo.

I agree that most big time music is more about entertainment than the music. This is probably the result of music videos and MTV. However, I still like a lot of the music out there, especially the less popular music.

Live music still is the best if the soundman is good. I used to see a lot of music live at the Caravan of Dreams, but they closed it down. In my area there are hardly any venues for live music that are small with a decent sound system left.
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