what system musicians prefer? Do they care?


I have never aspired to be a musician, although I am very artistic.  I am bad at singing and never enjoyed dabbling at playing an instrument. But I enjoy listening to music tremendously and I always wondered if being a musician would improve my experience as a listener. It seems to me that musicians (good ones) would have a lot more expertise in sound, what is good quality sound, a good system, a high fidelity speaker.... but I have never seen any proof. Am I just imagining it? Are good musicians mediocre listeners? Are they not obsessed with good sound? Any musicians out there to comment?
One example I know is the  Cambridge Soundworks Mick Fleetwood Speaker System, which I finally purchased last year, I knew my collection would not be complete without it. It's evidence of great talents crossing paths: a  genious speaker designer Henry Kloss, and Mick Fleetwood, one of the greatest drummers of the century (and  the previous one). But I don't see musicians weighing in on what are good systems are, how much is it worth spending and what to focus on. It's much more like rich douchebags bragging about the price of their systems on these forums. 
gano

Showing 3 responses by edcyn

Certainly, there's got to be exceptions galore, but I've found over the years that musicians usually aren't audiophiles. Mostly they either spurn or just don't care about the accuracy of reproduction.  They'd rather spend their time and money elsewhere. They'd rather be playing/practicing than obsessing over things like soundstaging or spitty sibilants. 

With perhaps just one exception, every single one of my old rock-and-roll bandmates was more fixated on how they themselves played or sounded  on a recording than on anything else. How's MY tone? Shouldn't I be louder? Probably the only musician I ever hung around with who had a genuine appreciation for fidelity is Todd Garfinkle of MA Recordings.
I've become inured to the criticism that seems to inevitably come from being an audiophile. What can I say? I just love sitting in the sweet spot, reveling in wonderful imaging & tone, hearing musicians coming alive for my ears, sparking my emotions and engaging my intellect.