My college degree is in Music Composition, and I listen solely to "classical" music--mostly modern stuff. I have found that an excellent hi-fi system has been, in addition to a great provider of enjoyment, an educational tool. As a composer, it is extremely important for me to listen to a lot of music, and there is so much more to learn when the music can be heard clearly. I also have a lot of friends who are musicians, and most of them don't have decent hi-fi systems because they are poor and they waste too much money on coffee. I don't think, however, that being a musician or even loving music is the only prerequisite for being an audiophile. From reading a lot of posts here, I have gathered that one must also have technophile leanings. Many of us have always been fascinated by technology, as demonstrated by the "What kind of watch do you have?" post.
High End and Classical Music
Being quite new in the world of high-end, I would like to ask the following question: how many Audiogon Forum members are listening exclusively or almost exclusively to classical music? My impression is that regrettably rather few "high-enders" are interested in classical music. On the other hand, having a lot of friends - professional musicians - I also know that among them there are hardly any high end owners. I am one of them myself. Recently bought the following components: Mark Levinson 383 & 39, ProAc 3.8, cables Van den Hul The Revelation and MC Gold Hybrid. Although I am completely satisfied with this system (sounds tremendously!), I realised too late, that for the kind of music I am listening al the time (especially early music and baroque), there are maybe better combinations. So the question is: are some components more suitable than others for a particular kind of music? Thanks in advance for any reactions.