How much does your music taste affect your system picks? Is it a good idea to try to suit to a particular style of music or just aim for a good general set up. My personal taste , judging by my cd collection , tends to be male vocals in guitar based bands, often acoustic . So for this is there any particular brands that suit this.
Building a system around music taste.
- Thread starter Kung fu dog
- Start date
You should try Valves, from the likes of Icon Audio, Unison Research and Pure Sound; or Hybrids from Pathos and Croft.
Al ears
Well-known member
Kung fu dog said:
My experience is it would be a very difficult and expensive thing to try and do.
A general set-up for a reasonable budget should cope adequately with all musical genres. Unless you only listen to extremes like opera or church organ recitals then a modern system should have all you require in frequency response.
You mention CD as your main source, what player do you have?
The initial and vital part of the equation is to audition as much as you can in the way of speakers and find a pair that really suit your ear and listening room.
Get this bit sorted, and the source, and you're almost there.
I'd have to disagree with the valve amp suggestion at the moment unless you have a very good budget and can confidently replace said items as and when necessary and take note you will have to replace them at intervals and this costs. Not that I am against valve amps, I have one myself, but there are good solid state equivalents that require less maintenance.
Building a system that copes well with what you now like can be a mistake because if you are anything like me tastes change over time.
matt49
Well-known member
Some systems are so revealing that they make poorly recorded and mastered music hard to listen to. This is particularly true of panel speakers, which have a (justified) reputation for being uncomfortable with much rock/pop. In this case the fault is in the recordings and not in the replay equipment.
Macspur
Well-known member
In terms of speakers, Harbeth are the ideal fit for that kind of music.
Mac
www.macsmusic.blogbubble.net
Mac
www.macsmusic.blogbubble.net
At the moment my system is fairly old ( 20 yr old rotel amp, 15/20 yr old mission speakers and a 12 yr old arcam CD player ) . All still works fine but I recently bought a little sony hi res player and using it with a set of b&w p5 headphones has amazed me with its quality. Especially playing stripped down acoustic music. This has pointed out the flaws in my system. However the little player doesn't do as well with highly produced, multi layered music. Which is what got me thinking about upgrading my system to suit the main use it has.With regards to valve amps I never understand them for hi fi use. I m a guitarist and have a valve amp but I have it for the breakup it will give me plus the warmth but surely with hi fi you want clarity?
BigH
Well-known member
I have to disagree with some comments, some brands do suit some genres more than others.
If you want clarity I would try to hear some actives like AVI, for me they certainly had that over all the other systems that I tried in the £2,000 range (amp/speakers). I used to have an Arcam/Mission system before.
Whats your budget?
If you want clarity I would try to hear some actives like AVI, for me they certainly had that over all the other systems that I tried in the £2,000 range (amp/speakers). I used to have an Arcam/Mission system before.
Whats your budget?
plastic penguin
Well-known member
This is a confusing area or me. No amp or speaker manufacturer design a model for any specific genre, therefore it is always going to be a compromise.
IMO those who say a class A or valve amp is better for acoustic music this could be mislaying. Some people will naturally gravitate to that presentation, while others will prefer A/B or D.
Regardless of genre, the best advice is to audition various types of amp/speaker combo and see which one tugs your rug.
IMO those who say a class A or valve amp is better for acoustic music this could be mislaying. Some people will naturally gravitate to that presentation, while others will prefer A/B or D.
Regardless of genre, the best advice is to audition various types of amp/speaker combo and see which one tugs your rug.
Covenanter
Well-known member
Should be able to deal with any type of music if it does not sound good then maybe the system aint well balanced. Most people complain about heavy rock etc but thats neant to sound harsh as mostly distortion on the guitars and they are sreaming loud
A system "should" be able to play any type of music, the amp should have flat response but be dynamic, the speakers should definatly have a flat response. Get this right and it will play anything. Unfortunatley not every combo possess these qualities. The Harbeth's are one example of a beautifullly balanced speaker.
Sadly the Harbeths alone would swallow my whole budget. I m more in the £1500 range. I was thinking £500 per component . Possible I would only need to worry about matching my system to music taste if my budget was larger. Why would a manufacturer produce a system that wasn't balanced or is that hard to achieve ? Also which component tends to flavour the sound most, I suspect the speakers but could be wrong. Sorry for what are probably obvious questions to some but I m a newbie to all this and this conversation has peaked my interest. Thanks for replies so far
BigH
Well-known member
Kung fu dog said:
Probably because a lot of people like coloured or bass heavy music rather than a strictly neutral system. If you read speaker reviews by pro musicians you can find some amusing comments, like I prefer a piano to sound like a piano. Many cheaper speakers are tailored towards a certain market. Speakers flavour the sound the most. Thats why you need to hear different systems and many speakers to find what you like. About 50% of speakers I heard I were not to my taste or had problems.
Covenanter
Well-known member
BigH said:
I think this is right. Get the speaker choice right and everything else should follow. I always take piano music to auditions because I have heard a lot of pianos and whilst they are not all the same I think I know what they should should like generically.
Chris
Infiniteloop
Well-known member
Kung fu dog said:
Take a listen to a Valve Amp designed for HiFi. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
I am fortunate enough to have two systems, the first is built around a Devialet, just about the most technically forward system there is and the second is built around a Unison Research S8 Valve Amp which uses 1930's radio transmitter Valves - the 845.
Visitors to my house often prefer the sound the S8 makes. For me, I enjoy the differences between the two. Both are great Amps, but different to each other in the way they sound.
I agree with Cno. Voices and acoustic material can sound spectacularly good through a decent Valve Amp.
plastic penguin said:
As far as I'm concerned, it's only about making suggestions for people to try.....most people don't have Valves or Class A on their radar. Provided people do a demo, it's not misleading, but a widening of horizons.
Any good system will play any style of music to a good standard. Good enough to be enjoyable with over 90% of recordings from any genre.
However once systems get to a certain level you start getting different compromises instead of overall improvements. So that different systems have the most synergy with different genres of music.
For example, for listening to 1960's jazz recordings I'd go for something like a Nottingham Dais with big old Tannoy dual concentrics.
For hip hop, electronica, rap music I'd go for something like Bozak Concert Grands.
For chamber music I'd go for Quad Electrostatics.
However once systems get to a certain level you start getting different compromises instead of overall improvements. So that different systems have the most synergy with different genres of music.
For example, for listening to 1960's jazz recordings I'd go for something like a Nottingham Dais with big old Tannoy dual concentrics.
For hip hop, electronica, rap music I'd go for something like Bozak Concert Grands.
For chamber music I'd go for Quad Electrostatics.
matt49
Well-known member
lindsayt said:
Some of the posts here seem to be ignoring the elephant in the room. Since the mid-90s a large proportion of rock/pop music has been brick-wall mastered. No good system will make these recordings sound as if they were well mastered; rock/pop music of the last 20 years should not be used as a yardstick of how good a hi-fi system is.
OTOH poor mastering of classical recordings is rare. If your system makes classical music sound great, then it's a good system. That's the benchmark.
matt49
Well-known member
On a good system (possibly any hi-fi system), if you play Cheryl Cole's 3 Words CD followed by Rickie Lee Jones Flying Cowboys, the amount of compression on 3 Words will be obvious.
However, my definition of a good system, is one that will still give you an enjoyable reproduction of 3 Words. Because there is, after all, a lot of musical merit on this album. It is also a good enough recording to enjoyable engage both the left half and the right half of your brain, when replayed on a good system.
I'd say that run of the mill / below average pop recordings can be great litmus tests for whether a system is good or not. Unenjoyable reproduction = not good enough system. Enjoyable = good enough system.
Or maybe it's that if you want to play "recording quality reviewer" there are certain types of system that have more synergy with that type of listening than others. Active ATC50's would be a good choice for that type of listening.
Wheras if you want an "engage my left and right brain / extract the most fun from a wide range of recordings" type of replay there are other systems most suited to that - eg huge corner horns.
However, my definition of a good system, is one that will still give you an enjoyable reproduction of 3 Words. Because there is, after all, a lot of musical merit on this album. It is also a good enough recording to enjoyable engage both the left half and the right half of your brain, when replayed on a good system.
I'd say that run of the mill / below average pop recordings can be great litmus tests for whether a system is good or not. Unenjoyable reproduction = not good enough system. Enjoyable = good enough system.
Or maybe it's that if you want to play "recording quality reviewer" there are certain types of system that have more synergy with that type of listening than others. Active ATC50's would be a good choice for that type of listening.
Wheras if you want an "engage my left and right brain / extract the most fun from a wide range of recordings" type of replay there are other systems most suited to that - eg huge corner horns.
matt49
Well-known member
A good system will make the quality of the recording and mastering obvious, warts and all.
Whether or not you enjoy the warts is down to subjective preference.
Whether or not you enjoy the warts is down to subjective preference.
There are lots of what I would call mediocre systems that highlight the warts and smother / defocus / filter out the beauty around the warts.
These mediocre systems are often marketed as good systems. I've also seem them rated as good systems by their owners.
These mediocre systems are often marketed as good systems. I've also seem them rated as good systems by their owners.
My definition of good in this context is something that I would be happy to own and use. And yes, when it comes to hi-fi there are lots of flavours of good. I suppose the best systems for me, are the ones that don't draw attention to the fact that you are listening to a hi-fi system.
As an example something like Quad ESL 57's, for chamber music it sounds as if there's nothing there, apart from the music hanging in the air. For pop music like All Saints on 57's, it sounds as if your listening to a system that's struggling to pump out the fun bass lines.
Horses for courses, once you reach the thoroughbred level.
As an example something like Quad ESL 57's, for chamber music it sounds as if there's nothing there, apart from the music hanging in the air. For pop music like All Saints on 57's, it sounds as if your listening to a system that's struggling to pump out the fun bass lines.
Horses for courses, once you reach the thoroughbred level.
matthewpiano
Well-known member
On my system, whether with the Dynaudio speakers or the Rega RS1s, you can hear the differences in recording quality, but everything is enjoyable to listen to. In my eyes (or should that be ears?) that's a great system.
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