In my youth I went to Berkley then played in the Navy Band, then went to college and became an engineer. I still have a set of drums and a piano in my music room along with a six figure sound system. I consider myself neither a practicing musician nor a true audiophile although in retirement I spend hours a day immersed in music. For a span of about 10 years while in college and after I worked in HE audio retail and was a TT setup man among other things. I offer the following qualified observations with the caveat that it is not possible to categorize either musicians or audiophiles. In general musicians who sit in sections, such as in bands or orchestras tend to like immersive listening sound experiences. Multi-channel systems, dipolar speakers like Maggies or electrostatics for example. Rock people like loud, so horns are popular, big amps and so on. The piano, bass and drums players tend to be the most likely to listen critically, which of course makes sense if you think about their role when playing ensemble at least in a small group improvisational setting. In a general sense it has been my observation that musician/audiophiles tend to take more time selecting their kit and then settling in with it. Another way of putting it is musicians tend not as prone to audiophile nervosa. So there are a few thoughts on this old topic.
what system musicians prefer? Do they care?
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.
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@immatthewj I have heard his name. Also about his political stuff. So unlikely to ever look him up. |
@billstevenson You make some very good points about musicians vs. pure audiophiles. Speaking from my musician side, i do have a very good understanding as to what i want my system to sound like, and do not suffer from 'audiophile nervosa'...yet. |
Drummer here, and this has had a major influence on my system choices for sure. I know what the base drum and cymbals should sounds like, sound pressure level, tone, sustain of the cymbals etc… 3 years ago I spent the day in LA auditioning various higher end systems, and was left depressed that every system I listed to had either no base, very little base and certainly no realistic sound pressure levels. I was listening to systems ranging between 60 to 150k. The last audio store I went to was Legacy audio, and immediately fell in love with the Focus XDs using the WAVLET. Price for system with dedicated streamer around 30k. I could not be happier. |
- 120 posts total