Does the hardware that you use have an influence on the genres you listen to?

[tmtomh]

My sense is that @SIY is reacting to the notion that certain types of speakers/amps etc are better suited to some genres of music than others. This is true only if all the equipment under discussion is audibly colored/nonlinear/distorted in some way. So I very much agree with SIY that hardware does not drive musical preference in this way - it's either an audiophile myth, or else it's a result of folks being invested in gear that colors the sound, which I personally have no interest in. (No offense to anyone - I just personally would never want to have to listen to different genres on different setups.)

But I do partially agree with @MattHooper and @Sgt. Ear Ache in that increased fidelity of one's setup - and I would guess in particular improved room acoustics and lower-distortion speakers with no major directivity or linearity errors - can cause one to at least temporarily seek out music with sparser arrangements, close-miking, solo acoustic instruments, and so on. All my Led Zeppelin sounds better with my current system than with earlier, inferior incarnations. But if you ask me what really took my breath away as my system improved, the first thing I'm going to think of is not the crunchy, distorted electric guitar on Bring It on Home, or the improved impact of the bass and drum attack at the beginning of Good Times Bad Times - it's going to be the double-tracked, isolated acoustic guitar at the beginning of That's the Way.

To be clear, I detest the entire culture of "audiophile music" and I am guessing most or even all of the folks who've posted in this thread so far agree with me on that. But while my musical taste has not changed or expanded because my hardware has improved, I cannot rule out the possibility that within the array of music I like regardless of what hardware I listen to, I am proportionately listening to less dense/heavy stuff and more sparse/"clean" stuff because it sounds so gorgeous to me on my system.

Of course, I don't know if this is the case - no one can ever know what they would be listening to these days in an alternate universe where they never changed their equipment. I'm just saying I suspect it might be the case.

 

[Sashoir]

After setting up my current HiFi system I have noticed that my listening patterns changed (not drastically, but slightly).

In general, I mainly listen to experimental music, however, there are a whole plethora of different styles in this umbrella definition of experimental, and in the past, I would focus more on music with synthesisers and electronic elements.

What changed is that with my current hardware, I've noticed that I am listening to music where acoustical instruments like piano, cello and also vocals are more pronounced and are the focus of the music. Most likely it is because it is such a pleasure to listen to them with my setup, which I even though the old setup wasn't bad at all, it wasn't on this level.

It made me wonder if other people have experienced the same shift in listening patterns based on the hardware that they are using.

My memory can be unreliable, but I think I started listening to more large-scale orchestral music at home when I finally got a compact disc player in the 1990s, and more opera since I started ripping CDs in 2008. I hate changing sides/discs in the middle of an artistic whole. (I also hate intermission, although it might be physiologically necessary).
I probably wouldn't listen to a contrabassoon concerto on the little bluetooth speaker we take on holidays, but other than that, when I'm hankering after a particular style of music, I'll generally listen to that style irrespective of the reproductive capacity of the stereo playback system I have.

 

[watchnerd]

My sense is that @SIY is reacting to the notion that certain types of speakers/amps etc are better suited to some genres of music than others. This is true only if all the equipment under discussion is audibly colored/nonlinear/distorted in some way.

Well, for speakers, most are audibly colored / nonlinear / distorted if, for example, trying to play EDM at club levels or rock music at stadium levels.

So, yes, genre matters when it comes to speakers.

My Dynaudio Heritage Specials are pretty good for most of the music I listen to, but they're not very good when I try to listen (which is almost never) to death metal or dubstep.

Given how much of an engineering compromise is made for almost all speakers, picking speakers where the compromises are better suited to your favorite genres is not illogical.

 

[Chrispy]

No, the content has always been primary, not the hardware used. Good hardware is a good thing, tho. My tastes are fairly eclectic, just haven't had that experience where one genre particularly worked better with some particular combo of hardware outside of basic capabilities.

 

[LTig]

No. My musical taste covers a broad range and the better (neutral) my systems became the more I enjoyed music of all different kinds.
All active speakers (Klein & Hummel, Genelec, JBL) with room EQ are my recipe for good SQ.

 

[pseudoid]

Comme ci, comme ça! Vice versa! AC/DC!
re: hardware<influence>genre
IMHO >> It goes both ways.
But no hardware will ever make me listen to twangy stuff!

 

[MeZoX]

ironically may favorite genre is Lo-Fi

 

[watchnerd]

twangy stuff!

Renn Faire music?

 

[MattHooper]

Well, for speakers, most are audibly colored / nonlinear / distorted if, for example, trying to play EDM at club levels or rock music at stadium levels.

So, yes, genre matters when it comes to speakers.

My Dynaudio Heritage Specials are pretty good for most of the music I listen to, but they're not very good when I try to listen (which is almost never) to death metal or dubstep.

Given how much of an engineering compromise is made for almost all speakers, picking speakers where the compromises are better suited to your favorite genres is not illogical.

Yes I think there's truth to that too. Though people's estimation of whether a speaker does justice to a form of music is also going to be personal.
I may find all forms of music are well served on my speakers: you may not.

It reminds me of, for instance, some of the division I see over Harbeth speakers in the audiophile community. Some say they are "pipe and slippers" speakers, good for polite music, but not a first choice for, say, rocking out. Others find just the opposite: that they sound great on all their music. Having owned some Harbeth speakers I was in the latter camp: to me they were really well balanced and so I found any music genre compelling, from hard rock to electronica to classical. But other people may have found them too wimpy for their own needs. We all come at this with some personal history that lead us to what we are seeking in a speaker.

 

[watchnerd]

Yes I think there's truth to that too. Though people's estimation of whether a speaker does justice to a form of music is also going to be personal.
I may find all forms of music are well served on my speakers: you may not.

It's not really a subjective matter when it comes to the extremes -- it's simply data.

EDM produces sub-bass that is often inaudible, <20 Hz, at high volumes, when heard (errr...felt) at a club or in concert.

You can do this with giant PA speakers with disco subs -- but most home speakers don't come even close.

Similar limits for 120 dB thrash metal. Very few domestic speakers can play at PA levels without falling apart.

 

[restorer-john]

Of course the system dictates the musical genre to a considerable extent.

You aren't going to play a huge dynamic classical orchestral piece like Holst's The Planets suite on a pair of Wharfedale Diamonds, or Bach's BWV-565 on a pair of small 5.5" two ways driven by a 20wpc amplifier and expect pure audiophile enjoyment. Sure, they will do creditable job, but play some wailing, wispy voiced 'girl and guitar' music and they'll be quite impressive (even if the music is not).

The better your system, the more power on tap and the wider the response of your speakers are, the more challenging and enjoyable music you will play.

If I want to listen to certain genres, I'll set up a completely different system. One that I know gives me the most enjoyment. But like the poster above, that's half the fun, especially when you have a ton (several actually) of gear at your disposal.

 

[watchnerd]

But like the poster above, that's half the fun, especially when you have a ton (several actually) of gear at your disposal.

AC/DC sounds better on my PA system in my garage than on my fancy pants stereo in my living room.

 

[MeZoX]

if you can afford to have the perfect system it can play all genres perfectly , but for example if someone is on a budget and he really likes to listen to EDM and Hip Hop he would probably be better off investing in a 2.1 system with his budget than a pair of similarly priced speakers

 

[watchnerd]

if you can afford to have the perfect system it can play all genres perfectly

There are no perfect speakers.

All speakers, even at the highest price points, are a series of engineering trade offs.

 

[MeZoX]

There are no perfect speakers.

All speakers, even at the highest price points, are a series of engineering trade offs.

of course nothing is lol

 

[watchnerd]

of course nothing is lol

Ergo, there is no perfect system that can play all genres perfectly.

 

[MeZoX]

Ergo, there is no perfect system that can play all genres perfectly.

biggest problem is the room i think , so i meant a system as whole and near perfection (for accuracy) , full range frequency response system and a well designed and treated room would cost a considerable fortune , that system would play all genres and would make you not need different setups i believe

 

[MattHooper]

Well, for speakers, most are audibly colored / nonlinear / distorted if, for example, trying to play EDM at club levels or rock music at stadium levels.

So, yes, genre matters when it comes to speakers.

My Dynaudio Heritage Specials are pretty good for most of the music I listen to, but they're not very good when I try to listen (which is almost never) to death metal or dubstep.

Given how much of an engineering compromise is made for almost all speakers, picking speakers where the compromises are better suited to your favorite genres is not illogical.

Sure but that's just another way of making my point. It has to do with one's personal goal.

My post was responding to the question "Does the hardware that you use have an influence on the genres you listen to?" which is, I take it, asking for personal assessments - whether we find ourselves influenced by our hardware as to which genre we listen to (and presumably, the reverse as well). Some of us have answered no, because we find most of what we listen to satisfying on our system. Others may feel differently.

If your personal goal is to reproduce EDM "at club levels" you may well be driven to looking for speakers that can replicate that sound.
But that's not my goal. I love EDM and all sorts of electronic music, but I don't want to expose myself to club levels. My system does EDM essentially "perfectly" for my tastes and goals - punchy, relatively deep bass, clear, exciting, makes me wanna boogie etc. Electronica is one of my favourite genres to listen to on my system. Someone else may feel differently, of course.

 

[watchnerd]

Sure but that's just another way of making my point. It has to do with one's personal goal.

My post was responding to the question "Does the hardware that you use have an influence on the genres you listen to?" which is, I take it, asking for personal assessments - whether we find ourselves influenced by our hardware as to which genre we listen to (and presumably, the reverse as well). Some of us have answered no, because we find most of what we listen to satisfying on our system. Others may feel differently.

If your personal goal is to reproduce EDM "at club levels" you may well be driven to looking for speakers that can replicate that sound.
But that's not my goal. I love EDM and all sorts of electronic music, but I don't want to expose myself to club levels. My system does EDM essentially "perfectly" for my tastes and goals - punchy, relatively deep bass, clear, exciting, makes me wanna boogie etc. Electronica is one of my favourite genres to listen to on my system. Someone else may feel differently, of course.

AKA

It's all fake.

Pick the fake that you like.

 

[tmtomh]

I'd like to modify or supplement my previous comment, based on the subsequent comments made by several folks here. I hadn't considered the factors of how loud a system will play without breaking up/excessively distorting, and I hadn't considered the different levels of importance that sub-bass/bottom octave might have for certain genres. So yes, solo acoustic singer-songwriter guitar music is not going to require the volume or bass performance that EDM and heavy metal are. And I would imagine chamber music might not require what large orchestral music does.

I still would push back hard, though, against the common, sloppier audiophile claims that such-and-such brand or speaker topology is only good for such-and-such type of music.