Audioboomer

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Naughtiophile

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As I venture up the audiophile ladder I'm noticing that some music genre is exceptionally good but others "70s and 80s stuff" sounds worse. Do I need a separate set up for that music? Let's see maybe a Phase Linear 2000, a B and O turntable, and a pair of Bose 901s lol but seriously.
 
Well if you use Roon you could set up a 70s/80s EQ profile for that music. Life is too short not to enjoy good music.
 
Opinion - Moving up the audiophile ladder ideally happens while keeping in context what you like about the sound of music you've listened to in the past.
While most of us start out listening to music on devices that editorialize, I think it's been useful to me in the sense that it's probably the case that the editorializing was to keep intact the parts of the music important to enjoyment.

What I'm saying is that while my systems are better than I'd ever imagined, I think almost everything I listen to sounds better than I've ever heard it. I listen to lots of raw or low budget recordings and except when a mix is just bad which would have probably been evident even with editorialized listening, I like hearing more details emerge on those recordings. Sometimes the biggest surprise is hearing how much better a recording is from a random band that happened to work with skilled engineers and was well recorded - things that I didn't hear with the sameness that editorializing imparts.

I no longer consider hearing more of this or that in a recording as indicative of a component or cables superiority. I want to hear more and keep intact the things I like to hear in music that move me. My definition of "neutrality" has radically changed over the last 10 years and I think it's more fair to the music itself.

So my answer to your question would be "no," you probably shouldn't need another system.
 
nc42acc said:
Well if you use Roon you could set up a 70s/80s EQ profile for that music. Life is too short not to enjoy good music.
Click to expand...

Yes indeed. I will certainly look into Roon, all the audio dudes refer to it. I also hear these guys talk about some systems favoring certain types of music. I just think some L 100s might be better suited for some, maybe all of the music I listen to. My elderly forte2s are decent but dont seem to like harder music.
 
nc42acc said:
Well if you use Roon you could set up a 70s/80s EQ profile for that music. Life is too short not to enjoy good music.
Click to expand...

This is something I have been thinking about. Does anyone have a profile that they would be willing to share for early digital recordings of the 80’s?
 
The Forte should be pretty good for 70/80 genre music, and with them and the Vincent you shouldn't be wanting for bass.

You are noticing the difference in good/bad recordings, I don't know what was going on in the 80's, forget it. Some of the 70's stuff isn't too bad.

I'm like Christian in that my bad recordings still sound better than they did on less competent systems. The EQ idea is a good one for those recordings that just drive you crazy.

I know what you mean though, after a few not so well recorded albums I'll have to play a good one to reassure my confidence in my system, LOL

The L100's might be a good move in general but they will be even more revealing than your Forte II
 
Mr Peabody said:
The Forte should be pretty good for 70/80 genre music, and with them and the Vincent you shouldn't be wanting for bass.

You are noticing the difference in good/bad recordings, I don't know what was going on in the 80's, forget it. Some of the 70's stuff isn't too bad.

I'm like Christian in that my bad recordings still sound better than they did on less competent systems. The EQ idea is a good one for those recordings that just drive you crazy.

I know what you mean though, after a few not so well recorded albums I'll have to play a good one to reassure my confidence in my system, LOL

The L100's might be a good move in general but they will be even more revealing than your Forte

I really appreciate you taking some time to help me through this. What I've noticed is that the simpler the music (Jack Johnson, Nora Jones, Amos Lee,) sound breathtaking, while Meatloaf Bat outa hell made me scratch my head a little. This Rose streamer may take me a while to fully enjoy, but I think it'll be a fun challenge. Thanks again.
Click to expand...
 
I had the same experience with Bat Out of Hell, I streamed it from Tidal and it said 96k but it was the worst I remember ever hearing it. I played the rip from my CD and it sounded better but still not a good recording at all. Unfortunately there really isn't a cure, it's something we just have to accept.

Naughtiophile said:
Mr Peabody said:
The Forte should be pretty good for 70/80 genre music, and with them and the Vincent you shouldn't be wanting for bass.

You are noticing the difference in good/bad recordings, I don't know what was going on in the 80's, forget it. Some of the 70's stuff isn't too bad.

I'm like Christian in that my bad recordings still sound better than they did on less competent systems. The EQ idea is a good one for those recordings that just drive you crazy.

I know what you mean though, after a few not so well recorded albums I'll have to play a good one to reassure my confidence in my system, LOL

The L100's might be a good move in general but they will be even more revealing than your Forte

I really appreciate you taking some time to help me through this. What I've noticed is that the simpler the music (Jack Johnson, Nora Jones, Amos Lee,) sound breathtaking, while Meatloaf Bat outa hell made me scratch my head a little. This Rose streamer may take me a while to fully enjoy, but I think it'll be a fun challenge. Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Rnrmf said:
Opinion - Moving up the audiophile ladder ideally happens while keeping in context what you like about the sound of music you've listened to in the past.
While most of us start out listening to music on devices that editorialize, I think it's been useful to me in the sense that it's probably the case that the editorializing was to keep intact the parts of the music important to enjoyment.

What I'm saying is that while my systems are better than I'd ever imagined, I think almost everything I listen to sounds better than I've ever heard it. I listen to lots of raw or low budget recordings and except when a mix is just bad which would have probably been evident even with editorialized listening, I like hearing more details emerge on those recordings. Sometimes the biggest surprise is hearing how much better a recording is from a random band that happened to work with skilled engineers and was well recorded - things that I didn't hear with the sameness that editorializing imparts.

I no longer consider hearing more of this or that in a recording as indicative of a component or cables superiority. I want to hear more and keep intact the things I like to hear in music that move me. My definition of "neutrality" has radically changed over the last 10 years and I think it's more fair to the music itself.

So my answer to your question would be "no," you probably shouldn't need another system.
Click to expand...

Its just that I find myself avoiding music dear to my heart and memories , and opting for music thats dynamic. Thank God for Steely Dan lol and that there's lots of modern stuff that is wonderful. Helps to know that not everything necessarily needs to be fixed. I hope that this audio fixation can be satisfying along the way to audio nirvana, and not simular to my "building hot rods" phase...... and it never being enough.
 
There are tons of 70s/80s rock and pop recordings (especially on vinyl), which are not even Dire Straits or Steely Dan or Alan Parsons (the usual audiophile "cheats"), that sound great on hifi. Even heavy metal, and punk. Bat out of Hell is NOT one of them, unfortunately - I tried a couple pressings and they're total crap. In that case they probably tried to cram just too much material into one LP. But if everything 70s/80s sounds bad and only stuff like Diana Krall sounds great, it's quite likely you're the victim of an unbalanced hifi system - which can include setup issues.
 
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