Audio advice and discussions with audiophiles and professionals. Free discussion forums, open to all and frequented by industry experts. Ask questions and get advice on stereos, speakers, hi-end amplifiers, pre-amps, home theater, tube hi-fi, turntables, vinyl, tweaks, music, films, video, DVDs and more.
I am thinking that part of the reason there are few music posts is the types of systems in use on many of the audio boards. I have spent some time this past two or three years acquainting myself with some of the DIY flavors of the month. Some background. For many more years than I care to count I used some good speakers and equipment. Spendor SP 1's and Audio Research/ stuff like that. Always this type of set-up sounded very good on all types of music. Then after deciding to become involved in building my own stuff I encountered many different routes to follow. I settled on big horns and small tubes and that is a nice sound; not as well rounded ultimately but on some types of music more satisfying than the retail equipment. However; after becoming exposed to some of the popular themes in audio I can see why the music takes a back seat. SD; man I sat through three nights of that and could not be happier to be as far away from that whole thing as possible. Some of the best known and respected systems...sound good with maybe three CD's. Oh; it sounded great with those three CD's but man horrendous with everything else. Arrays; tried two driven by good quality amps. No bass no highs. I go to some of the places to hear this equipment. Cheap crappy CD's and brittle; no tone amps. And the guys playing the one CD that sounds good on this mess. Man we need to get some equipment that can play the music; I have not seen such a dry period regarding musical offerings in 40 years; gee, I wonder why? I miss the enjoyment of looking forward to hearing something new that sounds original and good. The DIY community has to get off the mat and take a look at what is passing for music in their systems. Driven by the incompetence of the equipment they use on a daily basis. It has tuned their sensibilities to a dedicated five CD's that have bad music on them.
I kind of get into moods, almost seasonal. There will be a month where I'll play classical on vinyl every day. Then maybe I'll get on a light jazz kick. When I'm driving or very busy or working a hectic schedule, sometimes I listed to hard rock. And every now and then, I'll break out the music of my youth, Yes, Genesis, the Moodies, stuff like that. Sometimes when something particularly moves me, I'll thnk that I should write about it. But a lot of times, I already have so I don't write about it again. I really dig Ozawa's 1968 recording of "Pictures at an Exhibition", for example. And through it all, I like to see movies too. So sometimes I post more about movies, sometimes about music.
I just caught up on this post. Are you saying the quality of the cds is no good or the quality of the music? I do know this: If I had a chancxe to hear what is usually sent to radio stations, college stations, indies and such, that second tier of releases-- they stuff that gets passed over-- usually has a fair amount of gold in it. There's lots of crap too. For a listening experience I am hooked from time to time on Japanese techno pop. I just went and got a library dvd of "Last Exile" so I can grab the theme song. There was another one that is pretty good in a fine art film called "Dolls". My fascination with this started with Megumi Hashibara's recording of Neon Geneisis Evangelion. I heard that played on a college station once, someone else listening knew the source and I got it on the net. Buying any cd music for me is rare. I like the randomness of radio. When there was Netscape radio, the jazz samples were very random. I remember hearing a recording (new) of "Sail Away" by a woman vocalist that I never forgot. "Sail Away" is by Noel Coward. So these tunes get found and ressurected with new life. I was never able to find the artist for that... it was on one of the Shoutcast thingies or something... one of those jukebox setups that plays random tunes. I've lost access to it because not using netscape. It had mass quantities of genres as well: goth, techno, renaissance, a whole string of jazz varieties. Maybe I'll look it up again.
I see what you are saying regarding what you listen too when; but the point of my rant is the lack of a musical sesibility amongst the DIY community as I am familiar with it. Reminds me of the Audio Salons in the late 80's; same three CD's played everywhere because the equipment was tailored to sound good on those three.
You are so right. I like Diana Krall, but to have her in every demo room at an audio show is a bit much.
There you go. And if that means anything it could be signaling the same fate for DIY as the 1980's did for high end audio salons. If it is not about the music then it isn't about anything and people will desert the hobby from sheer boredom considering there is no point to building audio gear just to build it. People had better become a little more musically active and aware unless they want to witness the same fate. Right now the DIY community as we percieve it reminds me of the Art World and those paintings of kids with huge eyes on velvet. Shirley Horn passed last week and no mention of one of the best pop jazz singers alive but lots of comparisons of crappy gear using Jacintha....