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Audiophiles & music-have you got it wrong?

This thread is partly inspired by comments on "would you refer this to all the interested parties" but also by general comments made on a regular basis.

Of course each person to their own, I do not advocate my views are the definitive ones and I do consider myself a music fan who takes an interest in high end equipment rather than being an out and out audiophile.
However despite some reservations about certain audiophile beliefs I don't come on these forums and say burn in it doesn't exist,interconnects are a rip off and exhibit little more than fine tuning etc.etc.
Why?
Because I don't feel I've explored these issues fully nor do I really wish to therefore my comments would be largely uninformed even if they are accurate from my point of view.
And yet some audiophiles seem to make constant negative remarks about the price and quality of music currently available-are they right?

First up the price of music-this is not to say greed doesn't exist within the record companies but are CD's really that expensive when we compare them to how much we spend on our equipment?
My collection is now worth close to double what my equipment is.
Am I nuts or do I have things in perspective?
I consider I am probably at the extreme end of things with regards buying music but aren't some of you at the other end of the extreme?

Is it the quality of the recordings that's an issue?
Ok-I can't say sometimes that recorings don't disappoint or indeed the fact that older CD's can be badly mastered.
However is it possible that some have attuned their ear to a level of perfection that only exists in a limited number of recordings?
Nothing wrong with that but should our hobby be about matching that ideal or should it be more like how I see/hear things-getting the best audio reproduction possible but accepting that recording will always be flawed or indeed subjective?
Is Robert Johnson any less powerful despite the primative nature of the recordings?

Finally there's no new good music.
I read that endlessly here on Audiogon.
And I ask one question-how do you know that?
Do you read about new music?
Have you the interest to search it out the way you tweak or try to perfect your system?
Do you know what's been remastered recently?

There is plenty of new music that is good but even ignoring the new stuff,there is an endless supply of music already existing that you've probably never heard.
Do you try to expand your tastes?
Does it even interest you to try?

If your relationship with this hobby is about the equipment then fine,that is as valid as any music lovers quest however please refrain from these glib criticisms if you haven't taken the time to make sure you know what you are talking about.

ben_campbell

Showing 1 response by pragmatist

pragmatist
336 posts
 
Remeber when you were a teenager? As a matter of natural selection,you rebeled against your parents,so you would leave the nest while,at the same time,being expected to conform to their expectations about whom you dated,what school you would attend,and so forth.

You mirrored your rebellion against both facets mentioned above. You rebelled against their conformity by dressing and acting the same way others your age did.

It might have been long hair,tie dyed t shirts,and a marijuana habit. It might have been dressing and talking as you believed an urban ganster talked.(Remember that Tupoc and P Diddy are middle class suburban kids.) If you were female,it was dressing in a way that pissed off your mother.

Your music was designed to annoy and piss off your parents. It was loud with sexual and drug references.

What is aimed at these adolescent consumers was and is more entertainment than music. I suspect that Brittany Spears knows she can't sing and that she is actully a geisha act(in a larger sense.)

So of course,those of us who have outgrown it think it sucks and is overpriced.

There are so many good jazz and classical players out there,it's tough to keep track of them. There are places to find their recorded output at reasonable prices. One place to look is the Naxos label.

Pro Musica.
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