[Tyson]

Any artists that you grew to appreciate more after making a change in your system?

It recently happened with me regarding three artists:

Led Zeppelin
David Bowie (early stuff)
Bob Dylan

All of them have less-than-great recording quality. I recently got some VTL MB-125 tube monoblocks and VTL-ST-85 stereo tube amps to drive my VMPS RM40 speakers with (I'm using the VTL's on the mid/highs, and the audio-gd C1 solid state amp on the woofers).

Anyway, I respected each artist before, but didn't really love them. That has changed, most dramatically in the case of Dylan. Before, I found his vocal presentation a bit irritating. But, now with the tube amps I hear mroe humanity and (dare I say the word) genius in what he's doing.

Do you have any similar experiences?

[Mag]

I'd have to say Pink Floyd right off the bat. Didn't care for it 'til I needed some audiophile material.

Then Best of the Doors. I had liked 'em before but didn't know how good they actually sound until Hi-Fi.

Tool-10,000 days, I wrote this band off when I first heard it on girlfriends stereo. Then I played it a home afterwards and was floored by the awesome powerful bass sound.

That's it for now, I'm sure there's more I can't think of at the moment.

[mfsoa]

In a bigger sense I feel that a quality system (you know, the kind of stuff we think of as quality  ) fundamentally changes the message of the performer in a good way.

It's analagous to a good home theater experience - I tell people it's not just a bigger TV with louder sound - The entire essence of the experience is different.

I don't see the change from mediocre sound to great sound, or regular TV to great HT as a continuum - The is some point where it is a different experience altogether.

Now, where that transition point lies and how much you want to pay for it ($$, time, education, good ears etc.) is what makes us a nutty bunch. 

-Mike

[richidoo]

I came to appreciate the master of the concert bass drum Prokofiev after I got my Legacy Focus speakers. I also discovered the power of dance music to affect the animal instincts. 

When I got the Ushers I got more into violin concertos and solo sonatas, as well as solo horns and piano. Violin can be incredibly beautiful when the speaker/amp can reveal wood, metal, and space inside and around the ax.

Now I want a SS amp to get almighty slam and delicious detail both together at the same time.

[konut]

Any artists that you grew to appreciate more after making a change in your system?

 
Led Zeppelin
 

I'd always liked LZ and thought Plant and Page were the stars of the group. Then I got the modded Squeezebox and I loved LZ and discovered the stars were actually Bonham and Jones.

[mfsoa]

I also discovered the power of dance music to affect the animal instincts.

Like this past New Years Eve - Hugh Masakela "Wish", loud at about 2 AM:

(no stereo equipment was harmed in the making of this photo, but just barely!!)

[mfsoa]

Sorry for the thread-crapping   

-Mike

[mgalusha]

Sorry for the thread-crapping   

Even the dogs are dancing.

Not so much artists but genres. For me it was Jazz. I didn't much care for it until my system reached a point where it touched me emotionally. Somewhat the same with Classical except that I had more appreciation for it once things became refined enough though I'm sure that getting older has as much to do with this as the system refinements.

I have had a pretty good systems for about 35 years but there is no question the system of today is worlds better than what I had in the 70's, 80's, 90's. I remember reading Stereophile in the 70's and 80's and thinking that something must be wrong with me as I didn't use mine for classical and jazz, hell I wanted Black Sabbath, The Who, Hendrix etc at high volume with lots of punch and clarity. Once I got past 40 and started tinkering with the system again (there was a dark period in the 90's...) somehow my tastes changed considerably as the system started evolving and I grew older.

I have much more willingness to listen to new things when they are presented well, so that is good too.

[Tyson]

I'd add Neil Young to the list - before my current setup, he always just sounded like a whiny little b*tch, but on a better system, he sounds more like a mainline to truth.

[jqp]

I'd add Neil Young to the list - before my current setup, he always just sounded like a whiny little b*tch, but on a better system, he sounds more like a mainline to truth.

 

[maxwalrath]

  glad you revived this thread jqp...missed it the first time around and that's hilarious

[Tyson]

I'll add Billie Holiday, Jeff Buckley, and Buddy Guy as a few more artists that really communicate more to me via my all tube system now than on any of my previous setups.  Buckley and Holiday in particular were difficult to listen to on SS systems for me (Buckley was painful, Holiday was washed out sounding).  Now I hear much more color, life, emotion in the music. 

[rockadanny]

Not specific to one piece of gear, but once I stepped out of low-fi and spun George Harrison's "All Things Must Pass" on my current system I was surprised that he actually sang with emotion. On my old system it just sounded like nice music. On my current system the emotion in his voice obviously comes across and I am touched by this music as never before.

And jazz, probably my favorite genre, is light years more enjoyable. With the clarity my system produces I can hear so much more going on in the music that, for me, it is mesmerizing.

[consttraveler]

The "WOW" moment for me was when I finally figured out how to properly set-up my speakers (by definition, trial and error is mostly error).  All of a sudden, I could hear!  I can remember laughing out loud when I first heard flamenco riffs on a Doors tune.

Of course, that led to up-grades for both digital and analogue sources, cables, tweaks, and poverty. 

Dave