[Laundrew]

Dropped into the local Goodwill store this morning and walked out with an extremely eclectic collection of music CDs - punk, jazz, rock and metal. While my major and dear to me musical interest is Gothic, I have come to enjoy a much larger variety of music genre over the past year or so and I blame my audio gear for this. Listening to music of "almost" any type in front of my gear is simply a real treat. Yes, I have become the "obese, preadolescent" with my face firmly pressed up against the candy store window happily salivating all over the glass at the new sweet, delicacies just inside and waiting for me to sample. 

What is interesting is that I remember vividly when many sales representatives would inquire as to what type of music that I enjoyed and suggested a specific system for my music genre. I never believed in this philosophy and always maintained that a great system can play any music equally great from Japanese drums to, please be still my fragile, beating heart, Joy Division's Ian Curtis performing "Love Will Tear Us Apart." My Bryston/JBL/Esoteric system continuously proves my reasoning every time I feed them bits and pieces from my ever growing, eclectic music collection.

Another added bonus is that with my interest or perhaps, taste in other music genres expanding, the future acquisition of a turntable is much more advantageous for me - can anyone recommend a great phono amp? 

Anyway, I was just curious if any other individuals experienced the system to music genre from sales representatives when they were shopping for audio gear.

Be well...

[redbook]

  Yes all too well. I got this nonsense sales pitch every time
( for years)I went browsing the shops. To give an answer was to become entrapped in a premeditated  speech about why this speaker or that amp would be best for my tastes. Experience, plus my current set up has, shown me that good equipment (Byston and jbl ) will do a good job on anything put through it.

[Elizabeth]

One thing about that sort of salesman question, is most folks do not actuallly know just what the like best in the sound. IE they do not 'know themselves'.
What i mean is some folks listen most to the midrange and want a warm presentation. Some folk seem to want the be shown the bass slam and feel it with every playback.
Some (like me) want clarity, and high frequency perfection above all other considerations.
So the saleman, knowing most folks really never think about what they 'really' like in the music presentation, ask 'what sort of music' to be able to have a starting point.
I know it is not 'right'. but it is a compromise.

Also this idea we each have parts of the sound we each focus on most, is some of what all sorts of aguments about sound come from. Since so many assume we all listen to the same in the same way. (we don't!)

My own system I worked on clarity a long time. To the point I lost some bass response. I did not mind too much. Though i am glad to say I have, through tweaking, gotten a good bass response back (considering what I call good bass is way different than what many other call good bass!!!)
IE for me it is a decent Bass Viol in a Jazz quartet, so it feels full bodied.  And reasonable from a modern Rock album (which I do NOT want to transmit through the apt walls!)
I have zero interest in massaging my entrails with bass. (though plenty of audiophile Do want that) So my Magnepan help me here, as the have nice bass to the listening position, but not so much to go through walls. Whoo Hoo!!!!

And I always bring my own music to audition. And know pretty much what i am looking for. Salesmen just do not have to 'show' me much.

Alos: Yeah for new styles of music. I am always ready to latch on to some new to me music i hear bits of.

[Laundrew]

One thing about that sort of salesman question, is most folks do not actuallly know just what the like best in the sound. IE they do not 'know themselves'.
What i mean is some folks listen most to the midrange and want a warm presentation. Some folk seem to want the be shown the bass slam and feel it with every playback.
Some (like me) want clarity, and high frequency perfection above all other considerations.
So the saleman, knowing most folks really never think about what they 'really' like in the music presentation, ask 'what sort of music' to be able to have a starting point.
I know it is not 'right'. but it is a compromise.

Also this idea we each have parts of the sound we each focus on most, is some of what all sorts of aguments about sound come from. Since so many assume we all listen to the same in the same way. (we don't!)

My own system I worked on clarity a long time. To the point I lost some bass response. I did not mind too much. Though i am glad to say I have, through tweaking, gotten a good bass response back (considering what I call good bass is way different than what many other call good bass!!!)
IE for me it is a decent Bass Viol in a Jazz quartet, so it feels full bodied.  And reasonable from a modern Rock album (which I do NOT want to transmit through the apt walls!)
I have zero interest in massaging my entrails with bass. (though plenty of audiophile Do want that) So my Magnepan help me here, as the have nice bass to the listening position, but not so much to go through walls. Whoo Hoo!!!!

And I always bring my own music to audition. And know pretty much what i am looking for. Salesmen just do not have to 'show' me much.

Alos: Yeah for new styles of music. I am always ready to latch on to some new to me music i hear bits of.

Well said Elizabeth 

Be well...

[JerryLove]

So you decide that you like somewhat exaggerated mids and buy a system that does just that.

Then the sound engineer that masters your next favorite song also likes exaggerated mids; so he does that on his master.

Now you have exaggerated exaggerated mids. Still good?

You can replace this scenario with any coloration that comes to mind. I think the only reasonable solution is to go as accurate as possible and then introduce signal processing / EQ to customize to taste.

[Stu Pitt]

I personally think too many people get hung up on what they think a stereo is supposed to sound like.  IMO it's not supposed to sound like anything; it's supposed to get the hell out of the way and let the music sound like music.  Hear the recording/performance, not the stereo.  I've never been to a concert with the intent to hear crisp highs, warm mids, or deep and tight bass.  I go to concerts to hear the artists perform.  I don't evaluate sound quality, I evaluate (if you can call it evaluating) the performance.

My system doesn't seem like it adds anything.  It gets out of the way and lets what's on the disc/hard drive/album come through, for better or for worse.

My B60 gets out of the way better than anything else I can afford, and quite a bit better than just about anything else I've heard.  My Audio Physic monitors do the same.  My Rega DAC adds a bit of flair, but its a flair I enjoy very much, so it stays.

If a system or component favors one type of music over another, it's seriously flawed IMO.  And it's got some sort of voodoo that I want no part of.  Electronics shouldn't be intelligent enough to have preferences and/or biases. 

[HsvHeelFan]

I don't believe in the "specific system myth."  I listen to a little bit of everything:

Lots of Classical
Lots of Jazz (pre-69),
A little less jazz post '69 fusion
Classic Rock and Roll
Some Opera
Lots of Standards (Sinatra, Streisand, Tony Bennett, Michael Buble')

The only thing that I don't listen to is Hip-Hop and Rap.  I've tried, but being in my early 50's and raised on Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, Oscar Peterson, Maynard Ferguson and Classical, I just don't "get it" when it comes to Hip-Hop and Rap

A good or great system can do all of those musical styles well. 

A do understand why audio salesmen ask the question tho.

I always bring my own music and if I'm auditioning new audio equipment, I may put down good faith deposit and take it home to listen over a long weekend.  I can usually tell, real quick, if a piece is going to work.  For nuanced listening, I'll listen for a couple of days.

I also try to change only 1 piece at a time, if I can.

I'm currently considering what to do about my subwoofer issue.

Side Note!  I could have kicked my audio sales guy that told me for years "You've got great speakers, you don't need a subwoofer".  Yeah, right.

I may put a new cone and electronics in my old Velodyne enclosure or I may buy an new sub.  I'm eyeing the Axiom EP500 sub.

HsvHeelFan

[Early B.]

The "specific system" question has a lot of merit. Sure, you can build a "play everything well" system, but many of us choose gear based on our preferences for music. For instance, bass heads want lots of bass, whereas others are fine with speakers that go down to 40 Hz and no sub. Someone who listens heavily to vocalists would seek to maximize a silky smooth midrange, perhaps choosing to purchase ribbons, tubes, or whatever they think will work best. Some audiophiles may buy gear to help achieve an ultra black background, whereas someone heavy into rock and metal might not care as much, so their buying decisions will be dramatically different.

[redbook]

  Those are good points to consider.

[rollo]

Well,yes and no. A great system should be able to play all genre. If one builds a system based on live music and concentrates on tonality, tiber and harmonic structure it should be very close to the real deal. A system to be full spectrum must provide all frequencies we can hear. Meaning 20HZ to over 20KHZ.
     The rest is subjective to the listener. If one is into chamber music only then a system that favors the the frequencies present to their fullest. Bass is non issue below 35HZ. So no sub required. Will some genre sound better with one type of system over another, yes. Only one reson, it is subjective to the listener. There is no right or wrong only what is right for you and your budget.
    That is the reason wht we as dealers conduct home demo. If the component inserted into ones system floats the buyers boat great. If not at least the experience was a learning experience. One size does not fit all.   
     If I was into rock only my parameters would be different than one into Chamber music.



charles

[spinner]

 Well said. +1

[Laundrew]

I don't believe in the "specific system myth."  I listen to a little bit of everything:

Lots of Classical
Lots of Jazz (pre-69),
A little less jazz post '69 fusion
Classic Rock and Roll
Some Opera
Lots of Standards (Sinatra, Streisand, Tony Bennett, Michael Buble')

The only thing that I don't listen to is Hip-Hop and Rap.  I've tried, but being in my early 50's and raised on Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, Oscar Peterson, Maynard Ferguson and Classical, I just don't "get it" when it comes to Hip-Hop and Rap

A good or great system can do all of those musical styles well. 

HsvHeelFan

Couldn't agree more 

Be well...

[Freo-1]

In theory, a system should be able to reproduce all types of music equally well.  My actual experience however, is slightly different.  As my musical tastes have evolved over the years,  I am finding that full scale symphonic music is FAR more difficult to create with any accuracy than any other music type.  Getting the complex sound reproduced from mass strings is no easy feat, and requires a more refined set of components than one that only plays rock/pop music. 

One area that virtueally all Class D amps fail (IMHO) is accurate reproduction of a complex set of massed strings from a orchestra.  The best amps I have found to accurately reproduce full scale symphonic music are of the Class A variety, bet it SET or push pull.  One needs to get the right set of speakers to take full advantage of the sound from those amps (e.g. : speakers with higher efficiency, yet ones that remain largely neutral, not a easy feat).

I realize not everyone will agree with this observation, but it is one that I feel comfortable to stand behind.  It is a case of "horses for courses" after all.   

[Chicago]

My shopping experience sort of evolved over decades and I do remember being asked the question of what type of music I listened to the most.  The question goes back to the first system I purchased in 1970.  The salesperson I ended up purchasing that system from had me bring in what I liked and played it on several different combinations of gear.  I can still remember listening to the JBL supershelves (L-100’s) and another small JBL floor standing speaker.  The floor models sounded the best with classical but I liked the L-100’s more for rock and folk and those constituted the bulk of my listening at the time.  So along with the other goodies they came home with me.  They all asked the question but how he worked with me made the sale.
 

[bummrush]

I never have and if it is presented all it means is really just the opposite cause then in reality you will have is in fact a messed up system. It's a bit like saying mismatched components have to have this spec that spec are its not going to work , yes you have a bit of matching but you go through every system here and go to audio asylum. and look at every system you soon see a mind boggling assortment . Do you really think every one of those systems were put together considering all specs involved in making systems, sound good?,, hardly.   

[Early B.]

All of us buy gear based on the type of music we listen to. Various components are evaluated based on your musical preferences. How else can it be done?

[PRELUDE]

All of us buy gear based on the type of music we listen to. Various components are evaluated based on your musical preferences. How else can it be done?

So,If someone spends $30000 on his/her system and music preferences are rock,classical and jazz and the system is only good for jazz and bought based on that then you will need two more setup for the rest or you are going to listen to everything the way it is.I just cannot get this and it is hard to be acceptable for me.
All I can say is it does not matter how much did you spend on the whole setup.Any time you turn it on should make you satisfied or it won't be good.

[JerryLove]

There is no even theoretical system that could do the job.

A voice or insturment is not flat off-axis, and how it is not flat off-axis is not the same between various sources.

Imagine I have an omnipolar rig replaying a voice... well, vocals are not omnipolar (the singer acts as a baffle) which is why it's harder to understand a speaker with their back turned to you than one facing you.

OK. So I chose a speaker which is primarily on-axis: and it tries to reproduce a harp (which is nigh-omnipolar) and now the sound is too baffled.

Or maybe a guitar, which presents one sound going forward and a different sound going sideways (which then bounces off the wall and comes to us with a delay).

You might be able to pull this off by eliminating the room (headphones); but I just don't see that true reproduction is possible with a speaker. It's always an approximation and you are always choosing trade-offs (the voice or the harp?)

[rjbond3rd]

I agree in theory a great system should be able to play anything.  I did hear a few horn systems that could do that, but they weren't mine and the various owners have devoted their lives to horns (and the results appear to be worth it, but I don't have that kind of time or devotion).

In practice, I have often found that a low-buck, low-watt SET driving a $100 DIY Fostex outperforms a six-figure megabuck system -- but strictly on certain music only.  Still, that's the kind of music I like -- or maybe I've changed my musical tastes for the thrill of getting "something for nothing."

When I'm in the mood for big dynamic orchestral, I listen to a completely different system which is a large horn monstrosity, cobbled together from junkyard (and other) parts.  Nothing less can do orchestral for me, but that same system is so labor-intensive to dial in for other forms of music -- I don't have the patience, and I just switch to a second system for non-orchestral.

At our local high-end retailer, I pop in once in a while and marvel at what passes for an orchestral setup.  What they have sounds tonally quite reasonable, but comically short in terms of dynamics.  But I don't blame them (or anyone), as few have been lucky enough to hear a real dialed-in horn system (mine's not nearly in that league -- maybe someday...)

[doorman]

Even though more "revealing" equipment does indeed add to the listening experience, I can, and have listened, quite happily, to some very "low-fi" devices!
The music comes 1st. pour moi.
Best
Don