Speakers that handle every genre of music - important?

And you wonder why a measly two speakers in your room don't rise to the occasion.


JBL knows Rock-N-Roll.
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Mike said:
If you mostly listen to classical or rock or jazz, how important is it to you that your speakers play every genre of music well?

I have audio friends who mostly listen to rock, and their systems rock! But, I'm not so sure they can convey the emotion and message and tonality of a cello in a classical piece.

Conversely, I know some who only listen to classical and they are magnificent, but when you play rock on their systems, they just don't cut it. For example, my Strads did most genres well, but they didn't rock.
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I have an eclectic music collection incl: world music, classical, acoustic, jazz, blues, pop, grunge & rock. So having loudspeakers capable of reproducing accurate tone/timbre, dynamic range, transient speed, scale and impact within a realistic sound stage is very important. They need to be able to convey emotion and intimacy with vocals, acoustic & jazz in particular, but also make my feet tap with rock & 90's metal and grunge. My old S5's, and to a greater extent my current S5 Mk2's fit that bill and are great "all-rounders", able to handle all genres with equal aplomb:audiophile:.
 
Melbguy1 said:
I have an eclectic music collection incl: world music, classical, acoustic, jazz, blues, pop, grunge & rock. So having loudspeakers capable of reproducing accurate tone/timbre, dynamic range, transient speed, scale and impact within a realistic sound stage is very important. They need to be able to convey emotion and intimacy with vocals, acoustic & jazz in particular, but also make my feet tap with rock & 90's metal and grunge. My old S5's, and to a greater extent my current S5 Mk2's fit that bill and are great "all-rounders", able to handle all genres with equal aplomb:audiophile:.
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I did a four hour long audition of the Magico S7 and played small and large scale classical, jazz, rock, new age and country music. The S7's were equally proficient with all genres of music. No weak points on any type of music I played.

Best,
Ken
 
Alpinist said:
I did a four hour long audition of the Magico S7 and played small and large scale classical, jazz, rock, new age and country music. The S7's were equally proficient with all genres of music. No weak points on any type of music I played.

Best,
Ken
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That's a long session... no fatigue? And what electronics were on the Magicos?

I still can't get over the way mine sound with the XS300's.
 
I chose my Verity speakers because they sound good with the wide variety of music that the wife and I listen to. They excel at certain types of course but even poorly recorded music sounds good. I think it's the soft dome tweeter that helps.
 
matt_zak said:
I chose my Verity speakers because they sound good with the wide variety of music that the wife and I listen to. They excel at certain types of course but even poorly recorded music sounds good. I think it's the soft dome tweeter that helps.
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And they are beautiful to look at.


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Alpinist said:
I did a four hour long audition of the Magico S7 and played small and large scale classical, jazz, rock, new age and country music. The S7's were equally proficient with all genres of music. No weak points on any type of music I played.

Best,
Ken
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Yes the 'poor man's MPro' goes well ;).
 
Dpod4 said:
Alan Sircom's new review on M3 centers on this very topic. He says when he put on different genres of music it was as if the speakers were built for that genre. That was the part of the review that stuck out for me...
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+1
 
Dpod4 said:
Alan Sircom's new review on M3 centers on this very topic. He says when he put on different genres of music it was as if the speakers were built for that genre. That was the part of the review that stuck out for me. He is one of the very few audio writers I truly respect - Alan for speakers, Michael Fremer for analogue, and our favorite reviewer on this forum for anything.


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I agree Darrin and that's what got me thinking about the topic. Everything I've thrown at the M3's, they handle incredibly well from AC/DC to Mahler and everything in between and at all levels, except for maybe a "Bud on a Friday night" level. [emoji6]. (Note: for those who don't remember, Bud blew up is Magico S5's after playing his Pass X600.5's at full or near full output). I can only imagine the SPL levels must have been 115db or higher. But I digress...

Back to the topic...

From the M3 review:

"How special? Whatever you play through the M3 sounds like you selected it speci cally for the Magico M3, as if it were playing to its strengths. When you realise that you’ve looked at the same loudspeaker as being the ultimate Roots Reggae loudspeaker, the ultimate choral music loudspeaker, the ultimate soft jazz club loudspeaker, you realise that either someone’s been secretly swapping loudspeakers in front of you, or that the M3 is capable of playing everything, and playing it well."

My takeaways from the M3's is that they don't sound like the Q series, their efficiency has a positive impact on dynamics, the tweeter is so darn good that you can listen for hours and there is an undeniable seamless cohesion between the drivers. All resulting in one of the most musical speakers I've ever heard.

But specifically related to the topic, the same ability to play all genres can be said about so many SOTA speakers today, including Wilson, Rockport, Vivid, YG, Vandersteen, etc., etc. It really is a testament to those companies continually pushing the envelope and ultimately, pushing each other.


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Over the last 5 years, competition in Audio is at the highest level ever. Part of that is because, companies have found that there really is a market for pricier items - although small, but its there.

But I think that most of it is because - the tools to design, test etc are fairly cheap. Look at the RTA analyzer s that are available on an iPhone. 20 years ago a ten thousand dollar unit wasn't as accurate as a FREE app.

The cost for admission for engineers just isn't an issue. It allows for more and more competition.
 
Here's what I want to know: Has access to Tidal translated into a change in speaker preferences? With the introduction of Tidal, we now have access to millions of songs across all genres. Will this expand our listening tastes and hence expand our speaker performance requirements?

More than a few times, while listening to an album on Tidal, I've said to myself, "wow, I would never have bought that album, but it's really good!"

Will someone who is seeking out new speakers today, test those speakers to ensure they play all genres well? Does this also mean those speakers which adhere to the BBC design philosophy can't play all genres well? Would you consider an LS3/5a based speaker if you're into rock or broadening your horizons due to Tidal?

Stereophile 1977:

http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/361/#gIYZS0TCjPuXM1RD.97


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This is a fascinating thread, as it speaks to what I think a lot of us ultimately want in our systems: resolution and detail while not necessarily being so 'true-to-the-source' that lots of recordings of good music are unpalatable.
 
My $.02

No. I think that people buy things that work well for the music they listen to currently. Who cares about stuff they don't like to listen to anyway. In my case - I couldn't tell you good country from BAD country. AND don't want to listen enough to tell!!!!

Look at headphones. Which is the biggest part of audio recently. The biggest sellers are what play what the teens/20's year olds are listening to. Not the more natural sounding headphones that would have a better chance to play everything well.





Mike said:
Here's what I want to know: Has access to Tidal translated into a change in speaker preferences? With the introduction of Tidal, we now have access to millions of songs across all genres. Will this expand our listening tastes and hence expand our speaker performance requirements?

More than a few times, while listening to an album on Tidal, I've said to myself, "wow, I would never have bought that album, but it's really good!"

Will someone who is seeking out new speakers today, test those speakers to ensure they play all genres well? Does this also mean those speakers which adhere to the BBC design philosophy can't play all genres well? Would you consider an LS3/5a based speaker if you're into rock or broadening your horizons due to Tidal?

Stereophile 1977:

http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/361/#gIYZS0TCjPuXM1RD.97


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mep said:
In a perfect world, all really good speakers should be able to play any genre of music and not favor one over another. The more full range your speaker system is, the easier it is to pull this feat off. But, if you own mini-monitors or small two ways, that isn't going to happen. If you own Quad 57s, that isn't going to happen. If you own a pair of speakers with built in bass lift that goes boom in your room, that's not going to happen. On the other hand, even if your speakers can play all genres of music with equal authority, it doesn't mean you want to listen to all genres of music. I don't listen to opera, hillbilly hee haw, or rap, but I think my speakers could pull them all off.
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a number of years ago I was selling a pair of quad 57s and the interested party shows up with two CDs, I kid you not, one was Telarc's 1812 overture with cannon shots and Sheffield Labs drum record (whats the point of that?). I thought I was being pranked (literally) the candid camera for audiphiles if such a thing existed. The guy was fresh off the boat and spoke very little english, he really didn't get why I wouldn't play his CDs. I basically told him the speakers were no longer for sale and sent him on his way.
 
Mike said:
..But specifically related to the topic, the same ability to play all genres can be said about so many SOTA speakers today, including Wilson, Rockport, Vivid, YG, Vandersteen, etc., etc. It really is a testament to those companies continually pushing the envelope and ultimately, pushing each other.
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Mike, slightly:offtopic:, but don't forget that one of the reasons these companies (like Inifinity Systems in their their heyday) have been so successful is their practice of trickling down design elements and driver technology from their reference speakers to less expensive models, which in turn has created some exceptional value loudspeakers that compete with speakers well above their price point. The classic Infinity Renaissance 90's, Magico S1 Mk2, Vandersteen Treo CT & Quatro Wood CT & Joseph Audio Profile come to mind, just to name a few :audiophile:.
 
Rob181 said:
Mike...where do/did the Avantgardes fit in the reproduction of all genres...
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Absolute perfection. They do classical even better than the Strads, so much so, that my client sold his Strads to buy Trios. Absolutely mind blowing for rock and everything in between. Hopefully those who were at my event in October will weigh in.

But horns aren't for everyone. Some tell me "I love them Mike, but they are too much of a leap of faith for me." The look? Their size? The fact that they require a different approach from cables, amps and source perspective? All of the above?

They will also show deficiencies in your power too. They are so revealing that they won't let you get away with anything. Every weak link with be exposed. You can't just plop your Avantgardes with your Hegel amp, Nordost cables and Meitner DAC and expect great results.

BUT, if you are prepared to do what's required (cables, amp, source, room treatment, proper setup - preferably from Mr. Avantgarde himself; Jim Smith and power, etc), you will be rewarded in spades.


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