Selecting Analog Gear Based on Music Preference?

@jsqt I like your choices of both your current gear and the items you mention aspiring to. But IMHO, the premise behind tuning to your preferred genre is not a long term satisfying path. You might evolve and expand your musical taste. The gear you have and the gear you seek should work well with all genres. Many disagree, that's fine. 

I know many enthusiasts who rely on tonearms with removable headshells and vary cartridges for genres...that's one to do it without radical changes.

Instead, I prefer to go with the best all around performers I can afford and lean towards natural timbre, transparency and good dynamics. If those attributes are right, it works with all genres.

If it helps, I have a Sota Nova and previously a Technics SP10mk2.

Cheers,

Spencer

Genre specific gear.

I thought that one went out in 2021.

@sbank thanks - yes maybe it’s different with analogue. I found the sound of, say the Chord TT2 for example, versus the Naim NDX2 affected the genre of music I preferred listening to. The Chord DAC, being quite detailed and dynamic, I found myself listening to a lot of ECM recordings and acoustic bluegrass, etc. It sounded great but not my cup of tea. The Naim is better suited to my ears for louder, more punchy and rhythmic music. It cost me a whole lot of money to find that out, so I thought I’d ask before I jump on another gear carousel. Sounds like the turntable really doesn’t affect the sound that much.

@tablejockey thanks for the comment, I missed that email in 2021. I’m all set for 2022 though thanks to your head’s up.

Sounds like the turntable really doesn’t affect the sound that much.

I wasn't implying that AT ALL, quite the opposite. Better tables will give you more or what you seek with all genres. 

Understand your DAC examples; my suggestion for digital would be an R2R DAC which would give you more of the relaxed nature of the Naim with more details too, but perhaps in a less forward way...sort of THERE without calling too much attention to themselves. Denafrips, Soekris, AudioGD, plenty of options that most describe along those lines.  Pontus II does the trick for me, FWIW. Cheers,

Spencer

This may be similar to what you are saying, but here goes. My hearing is changing. Ok, so what I am trying to do to compensate is to use gear that supports the sound that I need to hear. For example, horn loaded speakers may be more forward sounding but they would be my preference now more than before.

  So this may go along the path that you are describing, i.e., what sounds best to you for a given genre of music, equipment wise. It is a valid point. Don't ask Magnapans to play hard rock.