[sarora9]

Desertpilot, Roon is very different from a streaming service (Amazon HD, Tidal etc.). They have a lot more content about the piece of music, its composers and performers, and comparisons with other recordings etc. 

[doggie]

This would be a great service to us all.

One of the great disappointments of my Spatial/LTA/Exogal system is how utterly dependent SQ is on the recording engineer.  I can tell immediately whether a recording is going to delight or grate on me....

My selection of what to listen to is now dictated as much by the recording quality as it is by the performance or music.  I don’t like that fact.  But so it is. Some may chime in that this is a fault of my system. I’m not convinced. I think so many recordings are just meh.

Bingo. The better the system is the more you are dependent upon the recording quality. This is the audiophool fate... and you have an excellent system!

[newzooreview]

Bingo. The better the system is the more you are dependent upon the recording quality. This is the audiophool fate... and you have an excellent system!

The better my system gets, the closer I get to the microphones, studio, mastering, etc.

When I was listening to the M3 Sapphires at Linear Tube Audio, one of the tracks I played was Mother Nature's Son from the White Album. I heard Paul's voice at the microphone more naturally, with more detail. I heard the kick drum hit (?) at the end with more texture. I had a palpable sense of the recording setup. It's not an audiophile recording, but I felt closer to the time, equipment, and workarounds they tried to get what they wanted on tape. It was more intimate and informative because the system was better.

Each recording is an artifact of its time and circumstances. A good system gets me closer to the event, warts and all.

I find some audiophile recordings to be an engineering demonstration project. Mediocre musicians used as a sound source for tour de force audio engineering. Some, not all.

As my system gets better I appreciate the music that I like more completely.

[dB Cooper]

I agree with a lot of what you say, Mr. Big- but at the same time, in the classical genre, I have heard many titles from Sony, Decca, and Deutsche Grammophon amongst others that sound fantastic and these aren't exactly mom-and-pop operations. Seems like respect for the music is more the norm in that world. There are good jazz releases too, but also wider use of 'processing'. At least with streaming (especially lossless), you don't have to spend $15-20 to find out that a given recording sucks.

[Desertpilot]

This would be a great service to us all.

I went ahead and proposed a circle dedicated to "demonstration worthy music".  I also added a post about an album I consider demo worthy.  Take a look.

Thanks
Marcus

[Desertpilot]

With Tyson's blessing, I am posting demonstration worthy classical music pieces in his circle, The Classical Music Circle.  I hope you find it helpful to discover music that, in my opinion, is worthy of your gear.

All three selections listed so far are among my favorites.  I play them regularly on my X3s.  The AMT driver is exceptional for the brass sections.  The vocals are superb.  Playing this music on my new speaker system is a joy.  As I have said before, it sounds like the entire front of my living room is filled with orchestra and choirs.

Thanks!  Marcus

[abomwell]

Many thanks, Marcus. I added the Bruckner to my library and will give a listen shortly. What a great idea you came up with!

In Roon I made a  "demo" playlist of short pieces (less than 5 minutes) of different genres that all sound great, to demonstrate my speakers. It will be interesting to compare the X5's when I get them, and break them in, with my Dutch and Dutch 8Cs with this music.

Al

[Desertpilot]

Many thanks, Marcus. I added the Bruckner to my library and will give a listen shortly. What a great idea you came up with!

Al

Thanks Al.  I hope you enjoy the Bruckner as much as I do.  And thanks for your feedback.  It keeps me motivated!

Marcus