High End and Classical Music

My music library is 60% rock/alt and 40% classical. Don't need any special equipment as classical recorings almost always are much higher quality than main stream rock. Enjoy the good gear you have now and fine tune with cables and isolation devices. Times have never been better for classical lovers as back catalogs of major labels are being released in excellent remasters at mid price or lower.

I listen to about 68% Jazz and 30% Classical (2% other stuff). I do think there are systems better suited to Jazz, Classical, Rock etc. That is if you are working on a budget. If the sky is the limit there are some fine systems that can do all quite well. As an example, in my youth I listend mostly to rock. In general this music is highly compressed and requires a very dynamic system to bring out these compressed recordings (it also helps if it can be played loud). I had Klipsch LaScala's--very loud, very dynamic--very good for Rock music. Now try to play a Eto Emma's performance of Bach's Goldberg variations. The tonal quality is there, but the nuances and the imagery of the piano just aren't. Female vocals, which I love now on Martin Logan speakers, were terrible on the Klipsch. My music tastes have changed over time, as have my system to accomodate my tastes. My current system is not as good as my Klipsch system was for rock. But that's not what I'm listening to these days. My current system's forte is vocals, jazz and classical. Hope this helps.

I have been listening mostly (certainly not exclusively) to classical music for many years on a good quality turntable with LPs. While being very satisfied with analog reproduction on a modest system, when I finally took the plunge and admitted I could listen to digital CDs, I found that upgrading to better components was the key to musical enjoyment. An audiophile friend sold me an older Audio Research SP11 tubed pre-amp and I have added tube amps and better cabling, all contributing to not only better digital reproduction, but greater enjoyment of my old LP collection. I still tell myself that my focus should be the music rather than the equipment, but there is no denying that the better the reproduction, the more enjoyment of the music. I have not experienced enough variety of high-end equipment to compare or recommend different components myself but sites like this can be very informative and helpful. For classical music, I do recommend a good turntable, a record cleaning machine, and used records because I have found that most classical records have been cared for and treated better than other types of used records. Good luck and enjoy the music.

Interesting questions. I listen principally to classical music, sing in a fairly good and ambitious church choir as well as a harmony quintet (takes 5 of us to sing 4-part harmony!) from time to time and play folk guitar. My system, which I've accumulated over years, is based around Jadis electronics, which may lack the last word in transparency and microscopic detail but are remarkably true to the music and the sound of the concert hall, which is what I'm looking for in my system. Yes, some equipment out there (like mine) is better suited for classical than rock, some better for small ensembles than large, romantic orchestral music, but I think that Mes' excellent post has it right. If you are happy with your system, and you seem to have assembled some fine components that I know do well with classical music, enjoy the music rather than worrying about whether there's something better out there (heck, there always is, that's rule no. 1 in this hobby). Good luck!

I guess I'm the black sheep, I listen to Rock & Heavy Metal, yes that's Heavy Metal. But tis true that most good recordings are in the classical jazz genre. However, there is quite a few outstanding rock recordings, ie Alice & Chains(unplugged), Roger Waters(recent live release) Pearl Jam but unfortunately many sound terrible. It's like a crap shoot every time I buy a CD. Good question. I know I get tired of reading all the reviews in Stereophile etc. and it seems that all the reviewers listen to classical music. Long live Rock anyone else agree?