what system musicians prefer? Do they care?

I’ve been a professional musician since the 60s and also (or at least pre-pandemic) mix smaller venue concert sound. Among working musicians it’s pretty much like everybody else...most don’t care about having a high end sound hobby. That’s just how it is...I know a few who clearly are into it, but that has zero to do with how much time they supposedly have or don’t have, or how great they are. Example...Peter Washington is a first call NYC jazz bass player (Bill Charlap trio, etc, etc.) and is way into high end...loves it...tubes, big Tannoys...Also a lot of serious players have home recording rigs that put most residential 2 channel systems to shame, so there’s that.

Frogman what an outstanding thread, me being an ex musician starting at the age of 8 in the church, elementary school, high school, Marine corps field, dance and jazz band ending up back into the church; I couldn`t have expound explicated or elucidated any clearer outstanding.

With a few exceptions, most musician's systems I've read about are mid-fi at best.  (a) they're more interested (and dependent on) making music than listening to it, (b) they never had anyone expose them to great-sounding gear, (c) most musicians are barely getting by working multiple gigs just to survive and spending $$$ on gear isn't at the top of their list.

Neil Young cares. 

Gano, you really opened a can a worms on this one!

When you really get right down it, what does it matter what musicians or anyone else, for that matter, prefer in a home sound system?  All that matters is what YOUR ears like.  I would hazard a guess that most musicians (including some friends of mine who aren't famous and played  local clubs) have professional type sound equipment at home they use in their own home studios to record their own music and that of paying customers.

I'm sure somebody will chime in and correct me about this but I seem to  recall reading somewhere that The Grateful Dead, at least at one time, insisted upon using only McIntosh amplifiers for their concerts.  I also recall reading someplace that Sting preferred using McIntosh amps, as well, and, as I recall, that's what was used at Woodstock.  What's that old saying?  If you remember the 60s, then you weren't really there.

Anyway, most rockers, back in the day and then some, before the ear monitors professionals use now, probably blew out a good part of their hearing ability after a couple years touring on the road.  Standing right in front of those huge Marshall stacks and in front of those old monitors hour after hour, night after night, year after year, didn't help!  As such, I would be highly skeptical about what those folks would have to say about a home audiophile quality sound system.  I'd be infinitely more inclined to seriously consider the opinions of the great symphony orchestra conductors or studio cats with a reputation for being obsessively compulsive in the recoding studio and driving recording engineers crazy with take after take after take until everything sounded just right (e.g. Steely Dan; famous recording engineers; etc.).  Even then, there is no substitute for your own two ears.  After all, what do you buy a sound system for anyway?  To please your fiends?  Or to please yourself?