audiophile stereo dealers: worst taste in music???

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by RelayerNJ, Nov 24, 2013.

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  1. RelayerNJ

    RelayerNJ Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Whippany, NJ
    I've been to plenty of demos where hi end audiophile dealers are trying to sell ridiculously expensive gear with some of the worst music I've ever heard. For example, in multiple occasions, I've heard the same cover of California Girls demoed. Is this something other people have noticed? It's like the people buying this overpriced gear have no interest in music, but just the way the gear sounds.
     
  2. nbakid2000

    nbakid2000 On Indie's Cutting Edge

    Location:
    Springfield, MO
  3. uphoria6

    uphoria6 Senior Member

    Location:
    Ont. Canada
    um...yeah...absolutely. I don't have anything against Diana Krall but somehow she's become the poster child for "midrange magic" at any audio dealer I frequent. I don't wanna hear how gear sounds with the "perfect" recording. I wanna hear what it can do with something messy. It's almost like they are afraid to challenge the gear. Whenever I audition anything I bring my own music. Everything from Country, Jazz, Rock, Blues, Hip Hop, R&B, Electronica, brickwalled CD's. If it can handle all of that now we're talking...
     
    ggergm, CybrKhatru, Fullbug and 3 others like this.
  4. LeeS

    LeeS Music Fan

    Location:
    Atlanta
    Fraudulent stereotype. Much great music to be found at high end dealers. Check out High Water Sound or Living Stereo in NYC.
     
    BD2665, Sneaky Pete and Tommyboy like this.
  5. Marc Marlowe

    Marc Marlowe Active Member

    Location:
    Shawnee Ohio
    I recently saw a SoundStage Direct video touting a particular turntable, and being that it was "Made In The USA", they used a Springsteen "Born In The USA" Lp to advertise it... Clearly not how I would have presented it, even with that obvious connection. I have heard that release on vinyl quite a few times and have never heard a decent sounding copy ever..
     
  6. Anything played by Billy Joel and i walk right out
     
    ggergm, tedhead, DiabloG and 6 others like this.
  7. BurgerKing

    BurgerKing Forum Resident

    Good gear is going to lay bare all the shortcomings of poorly recorded and/or mastered music. I'd be inclined to pass on components that made a brickwalled CD sound good
     
    Mij Retrac likes this.
  8. ranasakawa

    ranasakawa Forum Resident

    100% yes. Every hifi show I have been to has had the same music, Same lame stuff.
     
  9. Echo

    Echo Forum Resident

    I was once at the yearly audio show in Alkmaar, Holland, and was really annoyed by all that boring jazzy kind of music I heard everywhere, I almost started to cry when suddenly one brand of audio gear started to play... Kraftwerk.

    Never sounded electronic music that warm (!) and human (!!) as that moment....
     
    rxcory, tedhead and AlienRendel like this.
  10. bibijeebies

    bibijeebies vinyl hairline spotter

    Location:
    Amstelveen (NL)
    the real audiophiles are first and foremost music lovers!
     
  11. Dubmart

    Dubmart Senior Member

    Location:
    Bristol, England
    There seems to be some truth in the idea that the people with the most expensive systems tend to have the worst record collections, the same fifty or so audiophile titles to show their systems off, I definitely came across a few of those back in the eighties and nineties, audiophiles and music lovers are two separate things. When it came to dealers I always took my own music, but Hi Fi shows always seemed to have a certain title that was compulsory, Tracy Chapman being one artist that springs to mind, on a positive note at least you got to hear how the same piece of music sounded in different hotel rooms.
     
    Peter_R likes this.
  12. PaulFJ

    PaulFJ Forum Resident

    Location:
    Solihull, England
    I guess that dealers try to cater for a wide range of tastes. Was surprised ( and delighted) last week to hear Dylan's Man With a Long Black Coat coming out of PMC studio speakers at a local demo which made up for the rest of the selection!
     
  13. Echo

    Echo Forum Resident

    So the other ones are, um..., 'unreal' ones? I know what you mean and I don't think they will call themselves that way :) You can find, by the way, that kind of audiophiles definitely at another site: at audioaficionado.org Take a look over there. Nothing against that site, it's even fine to watch and read about the most beautifull gear. It's however sometimes also very funny to watch some of the discussions... Almost never about music, or it must be the kind we know from audiophile stereo dealers and shows. (yes,I know, I am just jealous :) )

    Maybe a small funny story: I once purchased my preamp from someone who invited me to come in for listening to it before picking it up. He got a whole room full with at least five different complete (!) reference sets of fancy audio gear like Accuphase, Jeff Rowland, Nagra, Meridian and Zanden combined with speaker brands of the same status. Inbetween those huge audio towers and speakers, there was a big amount of other very expensive reference snakes (like Odins) crawling from one piece of gear to the other. Of course, all worth a fortune, maybe as much as the fancy villa he was living in.

    There was, however, just a small box filled with some jazzy and new age cds, all he got was not more than
    maybe 30 items...(and no, he was not streaming his music)
     
    Last edited: Nov 25, 2013
  14. Ham Sandwich

    Ham Sandwich Senior Member

    Location:
    Sherwood, OR, USA
    Aerial Boundaries is an awesome album for an audiophile. ;)
    But even that album may have been beneath his sonic standards.
     
    Last edited: Nov 25, 2013
  15. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

  16. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

  17. David Ellis

    David Ellis Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cheshire, UK
     
  18. Peter_R

    Peter_R Maple Syrple Gort Staff

    Location:
    Montreal, Canada
    Sums up my experience at hi-fi expos perfectly.

    I also make a point of always bringing my own music. I bring the music that I plan on listening to the most. I won't bring a brick walled CD, but I will bring music that I enjoy.
    At the most recent hi-fi show, I had two opposite reactions: when I played Jethro Tull's A Little Light Music, the rep made a note of the title, as he thought it made for a great demo.
    In another room, when I played the hi-res version of All Things Must Pass (off a USB), he ejected it after a couple of minutes (literally, like 2-3 minutes) to play the obligatory Diana Krall.

    Personally, I'm always more impressed when I hear a recording with some limitations being played on ahigh-end set up. I know a great recording is going to sound great.

    I prefer to hear what I actually plan on listening to.
     
    TLMusic, LeeS and Bob M like this.
  19. Bob M

    Bob M Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Canada
    I completely agree with bringing your own music. Not only that, but I tend to bring not only music I really like that I feel is great audio, but also some faves that I think could be better sounding. This really tests the gear, to see how much improvement there could be. The dealers I have dealt with often play "safe" music, recorded perfectly, and don't challenge the systems they are selling. Some of that music is indeed good too - but perhaps not to my taste.
     
    One Louder and Peter_R like this.
  20. KeithH

    KeithH Success With Honor...then and now

    Location:
    Beaver Stadium
    It sounds like the stereotypical (surroundtypical? monotypical?) view of the audiophile, and that is the audiophile buys and then listens to what sounds good and shows off their system, not necessarily what they liked before becoming an audiophile.

    I'm not saying I agree with it. Well, not entirely.
     
  21. Jackson

    Jackson Senior Member

    Location:
    MA, USA
    Is it really any worse than some of the stuff that gets high praise here?
     
    sparkydog, bobfrombob, Andrew and 6 others like this.
  22. KeithH

    KeithH Success With Honor...then and now

    Location:
    Beaver Stadium
    Examples?
     
    Marc Marlowe likes this.
  23. TommyTunes

    TommyTunes Senior Member

    Not only dealers but many audiophiles fall into the same category. They own the best recordings but not necessarily music that they like. Go through their collections and you will find tons on MOFI's, DCC's, Classic pressings and other similar recordings but I generally cannot determine the music that they enjoy (or if they do). We have record shows in Atlanta every 10 weeks and yet none of the members of the local club ever show up.

    This may sound like I'm stereotyping them and I am because it always the same recordings that they play. Sure judging my equipment it says audiophile and I am, however go through my collection and you will find thousands of great pressings however they will by artists that I love even though the sonics are pretty bad. I don't know many audiophiles that specialize in Krautrock, Psych or Metal. I always said that I'd rather listen to a bad sounding boot of a great Pink Floyd show than a great sounding recording of some non-descrip female vocalist.
     
    hi_watt, tedhead, CybrKhatru and 5 others like this.
  24. bibijeebies

    bibijeebies vinyl hairline spotter

    Location:
    Amstelveen (NL)
    I cannot imagine anyone not listening to actual musical content once the music pulls you in. You miss out on a lot if you only listen for perfect midrange, lows or highs. I would suggest to sell your expensive gear and do other things with your money...
    The only exception would be distorted, maximised, brickwalled recordings that are plain unlistenable. Although some live recordings are that way and you might listen to that for an unbelievable solo performance or a different version etc...
     
  25. Jackson

    Jackson Senior Member

    Location:
    MA, USA
    Lots of post BOTR McCartney for one.
     
    mattdm11 likes this.
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