2. music
  3. 1175628559

Something for Everyone in Super High Fidelity

Like a missionary in the jungle, I continue to practice my usual high end evangelism with non audiophile friends, rarely finding the eager disciple.

Despite warnings of this peculiar audiophile habit in many other threads, I must admit I am often tempted to play something that sounds good, only to be reminded that music which people don't like (not to mention straight percussion or steam trains) probably wont inspire them to upgrade their stereo system.

On the other hand, we all know that deferring to a friends musical taste for a demo will immediately locate the screechiest, worst sounding recording in your collection.

Bearing this in mind (and maybe some of you have already done this) 1) what COLLECTION of well recorded tracks, 2) across genres of music, would you 3) put on a compliation CD or "rip" into WAV files to accomodate the widest musical tastes of future audiophiles?

Some classical? Jazz? Rock? Soundtracks?

Each of these genres have been discussed in other threads, but what tracks would you include to capture the widest possible audience as an audio missionary?

Thanks for ideas.
cwlondon

Showing 3 responses by hens

hens
173 posts
 
Two current faves are Dave's True Story - self titled album and Keb Mo - 'Peace ...Back by Popular Demand.

For rock, I go with the Eagles Live (the opening sequence of Hotel California makes a stunning impact!) or Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. I also second Hodu's nomination of 'A Walk Across the Rooftops' by the Blue Nile.

For classical, I stick to the well known The Four Seasons, Camina Burana or the 1812 Overture.

But to be honest, regardless of how bad the recording might be, you've got a better chance of showing how good the music can sound when they're listening to their own music choice. A decent mid-fi system will still murder a 3 in 1 or 'surround sound in a box' system that so many of my mates seem to find sufficient.

Good luck on your quest!
hens
173 posts
 
Kr4, thanks for your educational words. I was really highlighting the type of music rather than wanting to get into the detail of which specific performances - they are all well known to my non-hi-fi friends and are able to highlight what a good system can do in areas that other genres of music don't. This was the reason they were mentioned.

Speaking of "not useful" contributions, would you care to actually nominate some tracks yourself for the benefit of the thread?
hens
173 posts
 
If it helps then:

Vivaldi's The Four Seasons; Nevelle Marriner, Academy of St Martin in the Field; 2000 (Decca)

Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture; Neeme Jarvi; Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra; 1992 (Deutsche Grammophon)

Orff's Carmina Burana; James Levine; Chicago Symphony Orchestra; 1990 (Deutsche Grammophon)

By no means do I consider myself even close to an expert when it comes to classical performances, but I rate the recording quality of the above quite highly.
More to discover