What stereo equipment do respected musicians listen to?

Bose

Google it.

For musicians it is about the performance. Betting they are not as obsessed about this stuff as so called audiophiles are.

Here is a start.

ATC speakers !!

Beck, Kate Bush, David Gilmour, Mark Knopfler, Diana Krall, Ray LaMontagne, Tom Petty, Sting, Roger Waters, and Jack White. These world-famous artists are just a handful of the household-name musicians that listen with ATC. Perhaps they’re taking a page from many of the most in-demand engineers and producers that depend on ATC to create timeless works of art. Industry professionals such as Michael Bishop, T Bone Burnett, James Guthrie, Bob Ludwig, Gavin Lurssen, Max Martin, George Massenburg, Alan Moulder, Shawn Murphy, and Fred Vogler all rely on ATC to hear every last detail.

There was a pic of John Lee Hooker in the early 90’s from an interview with Rolling Stones or some popular mag. He was in his living room and the stereo system behind him was a JC Penny branded rack system, that was so prevalent in the 90’s. Cheap, mass manufactured junk… the kind that Audiogon patrons wouldn’t touch with a 10 foot pole! 
Musicians are not always audiophiles and vice versa :)

Most musicians listen to the actual music  content and are not concerned with audiophoolery. 

Most musicians listen to the actual music  content and are not concerned with audiophoolery. 

Agree completely — most musicians have mediocre to poor systems. 

soix-

I have a couple of pro/working level neighbors that occasionally visit.

They get a big kick out of the so called "audiophile" stuff I show them and explain what it supposed to do. I get rhythm pointers from the drummer and bassist. I'm a lifelong guitar wanker. Can't hold a groove to save my life! 

They appreciate our weird endeavor, but probably think it's ridiculous.

Anne Akiko Meyers runs w Vandersteen 7 and 7 system…..

Musicians are makers, active participants in this endeavor, we are passive participants, totally different objectives.

I'd also assume with so much time spent creating and performing, spare time is used for other activities.

Most 'respected' musicians I know ( and I know quite a few, having being a pro myself), are not able to afford the kind of home gear they want, they can usually barely afford the pro gear that they need. Now IF you are talking of 'well known' musicians, many of whom are not as well 'respected' as a lot of these not so well known folk, then that is a different question. Seems like this group is all over the board...many have simple off-the-shelf big box store systems picked out for them by their rep.

I think Henry Rollins would fit the bill.

Actually JCPenney's MCS equipment was rebranded Japanese products and in many cases was very high quality.  I believed they used Technics, Nikko and Toshiba products.  Don't confuse they with Sears stuff.

I wonder how much Black Flag and other hardcore Henry listens to these days?

I get rhythm pointers from the drummer and bassist. I’m a lifelong guitar wanker. Can’t hold a groove to save my life!

@tablejockey Totally agree. I’m a drummer and couldn’t make a rehearsal once but my band decided to go ahead anyway. By all accounts it was a total mess and my stock went up greatly. Drummers might not be considered “musicians” by some, but I’d submit we’re at least necessary.  IME, if the bass player and drummer (i.e. rhythm section) aren’t in synch, everything else crumbles.   Just my experience.

Musicians are makers, active participants in this endeavor, we are passive participants, totally different objectives.

Well said, and I completely agree.

https://www.fmacoustics.com/testimonials/
 

^Quite a list of professional/respectable users/owners there..

Musicians do not have any insider secrets for home audio, you may as well ask a lawyer what their system is, you might get a more informed answer. 

@tony1954 - when I first saw the title of this thread, my first thought was 'Henry Rollins' - he's a big-time audiophile! 

I'm one and my system is rather good, thank you.

ATC Speakers. Musical, and truthful.

In general musicians have a completely different mind set and emphasis when listening to recorded music. They are so involved in the creation… the notes, the relationship, the performance that fidelity is an afterthought. There are exceptions… like Neal Young and others, the 1%ers, like we are. 

From what I've read... the majority listen to ATC and Ocean Way... both very neutral / accurate.

All/most of my respected musicians listen to the tight slap of English Leather, or they listen to nothing at all (but here's an exception).

DeKay

I know a bunch of audio engineers and record executives who love Von Schweikert speakers and McIntosh amps and pre-amps. 

For years I work with, for and around world known musicians, and not a single one of them owned a stereo that was worth a damn. When they wanted to listen to a finished product that would be representative of what a consumer would hear when purchasing their albums, they came to my house.

This brings up a fundamental difference--do you listen for the emotional experience that music evokes, or to hear the detail of the janitor sweeping in the room next to the studio ;-) Now it is not that simple but music over a car radio can evoke an emotional experience, but clearly listening for detail is an intellectual experience.

Learning to play an instrument is intellectual/left brain, but I suspect for musicians it is more an emotional/right brain experience.

Wilson speakers tend to be favored by musicians. Note the above post. Possibly one of the reasons I like mine. Musicians ears are like most, they want to hear what sounds good… to them. The reference point might be a little different, but the goal is the same.

 Oh weir has Macintosh gear. Dan Rather interviewed him in front of the rack.  It sure about the speakers though. 

I don't know about musicians but the studious I have been in are filled with Bryston  components.

Joanna Newsom. She stated in one of her rare interviews that she has a "tube-based system with decent speakers",(didn’t advertise any brand names), and finds it funny that her actor husband, (Andy whatever), likes to walk around the house with his ear buds blasting. I read this interview around the time of her release of "Divers." Can’t find the link right now. BTW, ALL of Joanna’s albums have been recorded in old school analog. Go get them.

I set up decent systems for the the Airmen of Note bari player Don New and for a  reed player friend who played all of the major hotel/casinos in the 60s.  They both had dismal setups.  That’s my foray into that world.  I’m sure it varies.

All the musicians I know and have known are/were indifferent to audiophile notions of "high fidelity." They inhabit the world of actual music, not our world of sound reproduction. A different realm. Audiophiles encourage one another to "enjoy the music!," but that's delusional. All we have are records and tapes and discs and and digital simulacra from storage media involving dozens of transductions and no musical instrument in sight. A bottomless hobby, but not music. I know because they told me so.

generally, whatever is at hand, they tend to have an ability to hear through the shortcomings of very ordinary systems explain nuances in performances that most people would fail to detect

makes you wonder sometimes..

Most serious musicians don't make enough money for a hobby like audio and they have to spend bucks on their instruments and the like. I've done decades as a "working musician" (along with some other far more lucrative things which have funded my gear issues and retirement status) and it's amazing how utterly clueless some talented players are regarding audio, including pro sound, and hey...that's just fine...I'll take care of it no problemo...However, I have met a few in my live sound mixing world (my other music related gig) who are audio geeks and those are some serious pros. Rare, but as I've said before, they're about the same percentage as regular people. And that's a minority. 

I not long ago saw a vintage photo of Louis Armstrong in his home studio listening to what appeared to be a pair of Tandberg 64X tape decks, a Marantz 7C preamp and 10B tuner.  The power amp(s) were obscured, but it's a safe bet it/they were Marantz as well.

Having found a virtual tour of the Louis Armstrong house, I was able to get a better look at his equipment.  The preamp appears to be a Marantz 7T and the tuner is probably whatever was offered at the time as a mate to the preamp.  One of Tandbergs was a player only.  He died in 1971, so solid state equipment of any quality was only around for a few years.  He appeared to have a automatic changer to play LP's, what kind is a mystery to me.

Well... back in the 70's and 80's when I sold Audio in retail, musicians notoriously had the Best taste in Music and the Worst taste in equipment. Rather disappointing...

Joanna Newsom? Really?  I tried to listen to her a few times and had to tag out about 45 seconds in each time.  I've come to automatically discount the opinions of any music reviewer that gushes all over her stuff.

I sold HiFi in the Boston area all my career, and members of the local orchestras and chamber groups were customers.  As a group they didn't buy really high priced gear, but listened for tonal naturalness.  I sold them KEF, Mirage, a/d/s/, and Snell speakers in those days.  These people have the ultimate playback systems without paying a dime...the ability to read the sheet music and "hear" the score in their minds!  I also sold to some famous rock bands, like members of J. Geils...they had more dough, but I wasn't in a real high end shop, so they'd buy stacks of Nakamichi separates and KEF Reference or big a/d/s/ monitors.

@bigtex22 GREAT post! I've often wondered this same thing. 

A bottomless hobby, but not music. I know because they told me so.

They all told you? 

Reads like ad copy. 😊

ATC speakers !!

Beck, Kate Bush, David Gilmour, Mark Knopfler, Diana Krall, Ray LaMontagne, Tom Petty, Sting, Roger Waters, and Jack White. These world-famous artists are just a handful of the household-name musicians that listen with ATC. Perhaps they’re taking a page from many of the most in-demand engineers and producers that depend on ATC to create timeless works of art. Industry professionals such as Michael Bishop, T Bone Burnett, James Guthrie, Bob Ludwig, Gavin Lurssen, Max Martin, George Massenburg, Alan Moulder, Shawn Murphy, and Fred Vogler all rely on ATC to hear every last detail.

Can any musician who has been playing rock music for the past 40 years still hear?  I doubt very much if Jimmy Page can detect the nuance of a first class speaker?  Just a thought.  

Coming up with a list of ATC speaker owners (really?) representing the 0.01% of musicians who are wealthy is meaningless.  Most (not all) professional musicians I have known over the years are using gear they bought 40 years ago, or had handed down to them by a friend or family member. Most pro musicians struggle to make ends meet these days, and audiophile systems are not even on their radar.

I simply love ‘confirmation bias’ in full swing.  The confusion and obfuscation created is wonderfully entertaining if not troubling.  

Perhaps I missed it but no one has mentioned the obvious…

Aside from the few musicians who don’t care, most I’ve known ( I’m a lousy drummer lol ) take care of the room acoustics in their instrument (playing) rooms….

It’s just not feasible not to…A drum set for instance without any room treatment? A bass guitar or piano?

IME most instruments like this are quite loud and sound like hell in an untreated typical residential room (aside from arena size).

The factor of “diminishing returns”  kicks in…

the difference between mid-fi vs. hi-fi electronic equipment shrinks a lot!

From what I've read musicians in general don't seem to be into hifi.  They probably listen much more to the notes than the sound of the instruments. 

But does anyone know what Neil Young listens to?

He seems to be interested in hifi and sound quality. 

Agree with @pesky_wabbit

"generally, whatever is at hand, they tend to have an ability to hear through the shortcomings of very ordinary systems explain nuances in performances that most people would fail to detect"

I’m pretty sure most committed musicians learn early on to simply take all their musical cues from life, not the recording. For them, that’s the wellspring of its creation: the sheer, in-person Sound of it...live sound from live instruments...I don’t think it could be any other way for them really - in their work they always have to consider how their music sounds live first. No point in relying on a facsimile to recreate the real thing when you’ve already got the real thing.

So when they’re listening to a rig, for them practically speaking it’s not much more than a placeholder, an index, but in their own heads it’s their musical ’memory’ of a live event or sound that’s being accessed. They might think of the rig as more just a useful tool for composition than for appreciation I think.

Again, in their work, it’s their associative memory of live musical sound itself that is their primary stock in trade.

The musicians are the flip side of the audiophile experience. The pro guys are the go-between.

@yogiboy

I have heard this as well and was also told that us individuals would hate the sound from these speakers in our systems. Be aware that they are listening to raw single tracks of individual instruments. We are listening to a mixed result of those tracks and instruments. Most ATC monitors in a home system will sound bad. It will reveal the mix and not sound what we are use to. The end product we get is mixed to try and account for every type of media or system it could be played on. This final mix is a huge compromise that ATC monitors will reveal..

My ATC's sound GREAT in my house! I did pick the SCM35's over the 20's when I bought them, thinking they presented a richer, more lifelike presentation with equally good imaging.