2. misc-audio
  3. 1159659408

The WORST Components for Rock and Pop Music

Like many of you, I enjoy a wide variety of music.

Although there have been a few threads on topics like: "what speakers can really ROCK" etc, I have not found them to be very useful, as many of the recommendations would not suit my other preferences in music.

So here is an interesting and hopefully thought provoking way to look at this dilemma from a different perspective:

What components or systems, have you owned and loved, UNTIL you tried to play your favorite rock and roll or pop music?

What audiophile components would you recommend for everything BUT rock and pop?

For me, this brings back a memory of the CES show, circa 2004 when I was really excited to hear a gigantic pair of Sound Lab speakers.

They probably would have sent shivers down my spine with Patricia Barber, but with Jim Morrison and the Doors playing Peace Frog, I stood up and left the room.

Thanks for any thoughts or ideas.
cwlondon
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
CW,
Whatever is suitable for one type of music and not suitable for another type of music isn't considered BEST equipment overall.
getheleadout
144 posts
 
Greetings, I personally run Klipsch laScalas and find their rendering of ROCK to be outstanding. Their super high sensitivity and ability to play extremely loud are just a couple of their superior attributes.

That said, I really don't agree with your initial premise. I believe the following to be true:

1. That a truely outstanding full spectrum set-up will sound excellent with all kinds of music.
2. That certain types of music are more able to bring out the weaknesses and strength of any given system.

So, I guess what I'm trying to say, is that the issue shouldn't be what type of music sounds the best with certain components, but rather, what are the actual strengths and weaknesses of those components.

Happy listening...
joeylawn36111
574 posts
 
Plus you have to factor in the fact that some rock recordings are poorly engineered (overcompressed, etc.)
btstrg
185 posts
 
I run Martin Logan Prodigy Speakers,have for years with excellent results and I basically only listen to hard rock.
I will say the system is far from sounding polite??
It all depends on they way you set it up just like it does with any other speaker or components,its all setup.
french_fries
815 posts
 
I would like to 2nd the opinion of Sogood51- i wanted something to play rock/pop music for my bedroom, and ended up with a JVC "Kaboom" box which sounded amazing in the store. when i fired it up at home with some jimi hendrix set to a volume i rarely listen to, i felt i had re-captured that REALLY ROCK-HEAVY dense sound i hadn't heard in years. in addition, the side firing speakers produced the kind of stereo field that hendrix and others were exploiting in those days (ping-ponging). they still make these boxes, and they do not distort until pushed almost all the way. i prefer not to play Mozart on the JVC, but it's really sad the last time i played Crosby, Stills, and Nash on my "accurate" system, where all of the sloppy mixing and timing errors drew my attention away from the timelessly great performances.
i can understand that these guys just wanted to record those great songs they had composed perhaps with a minimum of fuss, but those alblums are now classics; yet, their production standards are pretty low compared, for example, to recent madonna cd's...
More to discover