When I listen to my system.......

Guys, we a different brains.  We put different values on different things.  I have a get-together once a month with about 8-10 friends at anybodys house.  Some guys have mediocre stereos at best. Bose, 70's receivers etc. One out of ten is interested in my stereo and asks any questions about it. Most are indifferent or don't care.  We all get along great but everyone has a different approach to music and how well it is produced.  But what music we play is THE most important thing.

I would probably NOT listen to neither SRV nor Simon-Garfunkel nor to most of the RR Hall of Fame or other pop. Too trivial and too boring even if my system can shine on these artists that I don't care much about.

I consider myself tune-holic and I mostly hunt for new stuff and new talents that I'm interested listening. There's some of collector left in me when I also hunt for forgotten rare releases that to me sounds like a newly discovered music/band or artist.

I forgot when I last time Pink Floyd was sounding from my system and I'm sure it was that original and underrated Syd Barret's Pink Floyd. 

 I am blessed. Not only am I content with my current mostly vintage system, I'll be way more than content with my pop's system when I can set it up. It'll be like Christmas. So why am I blessed? Simple: I can step off the upgrade treadmill. Sure I'll continue to look at tweaks like maybe a new cartridge occasionally or room treatments once I get a new room in our next home. I recently upgraded my headphones. But I need not suffer the "wonderful anguish" of which new speakers or amplifier to $pending kilobucks on. I just don't need to. LPs? New jazz is always welcome but classical? Pop left me 2,300 LPs If I can't find something to enjoy in there something is wrong with me! I think I'm set.

All of this to say that now I can focus on enjoying the music a bit more. Am I gloating? Well, maybe a little... 

Happy listening.

I've always wondered about people saying a sound system 'got their foot tapping' or something like that. To me, it was music and a beat that got my foot tapping, whatever it was played on. In the 60's, it was often a hand-held transistor radio. Foot had no problem tapping when Beatles, Stones, etc etc came on. My big audiophile system will not get my foot tapping if it's not playing a song conducive to it. 

Every "performance" is different.

For instance, there is a big difference between watching a 3 man folk piece in a small venue and a full blown Hans Zimmer concert with a full orchestra and all kinds of electronic elements fused together....Or go to a metal concert or maybe you’re watching some North African or Asian musicians who are singing in a language you may not know or playings instruments you don’t know about....How a listener may get into such different performances (accommodates it in his physical/mental space) is its own phenomenon.

You may want to use familiar pieces to tune/tweak your rig, of course. But, if it is a constant thing, it could imply that one’s playlist is a bit restricted, i.e., isn’t too big or eclectic enough. There’s a saying, "familiarity breeds contempt"....i.e., if someone’s listening to the same familiar piece over and over, he may not appreciate the performance all that much anymore and get too focused on nitpicking the audiophile parameters.

Is it because I was a singer / vocalist in my youth? Is it because I was around musicians who shared the joy of "music"? Is it because at a very early age, I was introduced to big band music ....

I’ve been playing a violin since i was single digits old, i am an instrument enthusiast, but, not a pro, i.e., it isn’t my livelihood. But, I hang out with a couple of pro musicians (it is their livelihood). We may get together out of nowhere and be in a creative space together. But, if i were to record some of it and try to listen to it, it typically is a let down...because it rarely captures that creative moment. But, if it was some random recording from an unknown artist, i.e., i wasn’t there when it was recorded, I can accept it as is and enjoy it for what it is... unless there are glaring errors with how it was mastered or something. Musicians need to get paid and i can live without nitpicking someone else’s music.