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what system musicians prefer? Do they care?

I have never aspired to be a musician, although I am very artistic.  I am bad at singing and never enjoyed dabbling at playing an instrument. But I enjoy listening to music tremendously and I always wondered if being a musician would improve my experience as a listener. It seems to me that musicians (good ones) would have a lot more expertise in sound, what is good quality sound, a good system, a high fidelity speaker.... but I have never seen any proof. Am I just imagining it? Are good musicians mediocre listeners? Are they not obsessed with good sound? Any musicians out there to comment?
One example I know is the  Cambridge Soundworks Mick Fleetwood Speaker System, which I finally purchased last year, I knew my collection would not be complete without it. It's evidence of great talents crossing paths: a  genious speaker designer Henry Kloss, and Mick Fleetwood, one of the greatest drummers of the century (and  the previous one). But I don't see musicians weighing in on what are good systems are, how much is it worth spending and what to focus on. It's much more like rich douchebags bragging about the price of their systems on these forums. 
gano
mglik
893 posts
 
I used to be the only CA dealer for ATC. They are a professional tool used by many musicians, studios and concert halls. But the only Audio company I know that has rave endorsements from many of the world’s foremost musician/audiophiles using them in their homes is TetraSpeakers (.com).
Herbie Hancock, Winton Marsalis, Ron Carter, Dave Holland, Benny Golson, etc. Keith Richards took a pair on tour. Herbie has 6 pair.
I own 3 pair and will never own an other line. The musicians love them because they uniquely sound “real”. 2009 hit Tetra hard but they are making a comeback with a new top line model-the 606 V2.
mahgister's avatar
mahgister
12,961 posts
 
Interesting thanks....
ejr1953
902 posts
 
I was a rock and roll drummer in high school and college (many, many years ago) and realized that being a musician wasn't a "highly compensated" career.

Back then, people used to ask: "how do you get a drummer off your porch?  pay him for the pizza".
tomcy6's avatar
tomcy6
2,544 posts
 
Put another way, there’s every bit of music to hear and experience from a crappy radio vs. a great sound system. Articulation, pitch manipulation, tempo, instrument usage, and dynamic choices come through pretty well even on a static-ey AM station.

I think that one would need a really good sounding stereo to hear these things.  I have listened to many crappy AM radios and I'm pretty sure I couldn't  hear someone slightly bending a note or adding just a touch of vibrato no matter how beautifully it was done by the artist on one.  Articulation and dynamics?  These don't exist on crummy systems.

Most musicians don't listen to stereos for enjoyment.  For them listening to music means playing or listening to others play.  What they want out of a stereo is very different from what audiophiles want, and there's nothing wrong with that.  But as long as I am a non-musician music lover, I will listen to a great stereo over a crummy AM radio any day, and I will hear much more of the music through that great stereo.  To hear more of the music is why I upgrade my stereo. The better it gets the more of what the musicians are doing  I hear . 
edcyn
1,876 posts
 
Douglas_schroeder and tomcy6 state the issue surpassingly well.
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