DISCUSSION: What does it take for one to fully appreciate music / good sound?

Quote:

Originally Posted by underhysteria 

Something that ive been wondering for a while.. i know a couple of people who are good with musical instruments but somehow couldnt tell the difference between the sound produced from a stock earphone and a westone um1. They play well but couldnt care less about the quality of the music they're listening.

 

On the other hand, some of the audiophilias, equipped with many customs and high end hi fi equipments, appreciate their music and sound but are unable to play any instruments. Most of them in fact could differenciate tones better than the group above but making music is not their cup of tea.

 

 

Which of the following contributes to the one with the better passion for music?

That's a hard question to answer. Makes sense that some would prefer to play music than listen. But you'd think those who enjoy playing music would definitely have an ear for quality as well? That one has me stumped...

Interest and practice.

Not all musicians are like this. There are musicians out there who also involved with recording and must have a good ear. Also, many musicians are crazy fanatics about tone especially electric guitar players and reading guitar forums is sometimes not for the faint of heart when it comes down to the insanity of gear that is involved and even the types of wood and also the age of wood too. Of course, I'm talking about some players though in this context. Cable debates also occur too in the music industry as well. Tube talk is also involved too at times with the guitar amps. The list goes on and on.

It wouldn't surprise me if guitarists make minor changes in their settings of their gear and they hear it clearly and many audiophiles do not notice the difference.

You got an example right here. I'm on these forums and can play the piano (although I'm still not at that level yet). I will try guitar later down the road. I do have some good knowledge of music theory. I just love transcribing music and playing that on my instrument (or an orchestra using VST if I so desire)! The best part is, I can make remixes and not have to worry about the loudness war stuff cuz it's tailored for my ears.

Redheads

To be honest it takes a person who has either training in listening to audio differences, or is just sensitive to it.  But it could also be that some people have the gear to notice things like singers taking a breath or the differences in the tones and notes. 

Also there are quite a few artists out there who are not in it for the "sound" or refining it.  A good example is The Who where in several interviews they admitted to just playing sounds that they thought were popular and were breaking their guitars and stuff for show.  Then the crew would collect the pieces and try to put it back together for the next show. 

And on the flip side there are people that so obsessed with the "sound" but looses touch with the music itself and end up realizing that they poured thousands of dollars on chasing a unicorn.  There are even quite a few members here who have posted about selling off their gear because they realized that they were chasing a ghost.  Off of the top of my head is the AKG guy, and the guy who wrote about chasing the "portable" unicorn and how spending money on it is just silly due to the fact of the rig's limitations in both sound and the trade off of cost/care. 

So that brings up the question, what does it mean to "fully appreciate a sound"? 

Do you do it by enjoying the music that you're listening because every time you listen to the song it strikes you in the soul and make you break out into air guitar solos or send chills down your spine because it sends you back to moments in your life where you identify with the song?  Or do you want to hear every detail of the recording in question where every time you listen to the song you want new details revealed to you like reading your favorite novel, finding something that you missed before, something that you want to take note of in full detail.

I agree. Ear training or experience is a big part. It took me a little while to notice and appreciate different components of gear like DAC, amps and tubes. It certainly does not happen over night. Some people do get impatient and make quick judgements and opinions but you really should live with your gear for about a year IMO to really soak in the properties if you are new to hi fi stuff. 

To fully aprreciate music and sound, you need money. headphones and good source equipment and files are vry important in how to appreciate sound. but how do you do that. money. since equipment is expensive. it will enforce you apreciation of music

Quote:

Originally Posted by funniecow 

 

 

...u dind't post anything?? 

.hmm didn't know what happened there but I basically said that with FoTM items and super sale items it seems that people feel pressured to shell out more than $100 to buy new gear.  And for me, spending more than $100 on anything is a big deal being a student and all.

I mean when things go onto super sale prices, as a new comer to the scene or a hopeful you feel that this is finally your chance to enter the mid or upper end of gear, so you rush off trying to read every possible review and take a shot in a dimly lit room hoping to hit the target.  But some people end up not liking what they received and in turn try to sell it but is unfamiliar with the sell/trade boards.   I've met people who bought Bose or Beats, which in all respects are amazing, but not for their price point.  So they feel that the products HAS to be good simply because they paid so much for it.

I guess the way I think of it is, when you get a chance to go to a high end dining place, you save up to take your date there.  You do research by asking your friends and reading online reviews on their impressions, but you arrive with high hopes.  And then after tasting the dishes you aren't impressed, but feel that you have to somehow salvage the meal and find the brighter side because you've spent so much on the meal, planning, research, and what not.

EDIT: found it, it was stuck in the qoute

This.  This is the reason why I think people are unhappy about their buys.  They buy some gear simply because its the flavor of the month, or feel pressured to do it because there is some sort of crazy sale going on.  In a sense i feel that there is a high pressure sales pitch.  I mean spending over a hundred is a big deal, so some people feel that they have to like it or feel like a fool for shelling out over a hundred dollars for gear that they don't like.

People feel that without the proper gear that they are killing kangaroos.

When I was in my really heavy band involvement days, I was extremely picky about the tone of my bass.  I auditioned every instrument i could get my hands on, tried every brand of strings, learned about wood, and synthetic instruments and different build methods and how they effected the sound.  I got so picky about my tone that I found myself, without realising it at first, using my eq to compensate for the wearing out of the strings.  I got to the point where i could pluck my instrument and say.. ahhh  350hz needs to go up a bit, and so on... but I seemed to be one of the few.

most musicians I knew were just oblivious.  They may have had a very vague notion of how they wanted their instrument to sound, but for the most part the distinction was not there. 

Going into the studio was equally as interesting, some of us got really into it, and practically ran the boards and equipment ourselves, while other ppl i knew had no idea and wouldnt have known if their record sounded perfect, or aweful. 

It's just different people's brains being wired in different ways.  some artists may work feverently producing magnificent works with the cheapest crappiest paints they can get their hands on b/c they are just so focused on their work that nothing else matters, while others may painstakingly pick out the most elite of materials, and end up with a $500 worth of materials to produce a lopsided pear in a bowl that looks like a 2 year old did it. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Br777 

When I was in my really heavy band involvement days, I was extremely picky about the tone of my bass.  I auditioned every instrument i could get my hands on, tried every brand of strings, learned about wood, and synthetic instruments and different build methods and how they effected the sound.  I got so picky about my tone that I found myself, without realising it at first, using my eq to compensate for the wearing out of the strings.  I got to the point where i could pluck my instrument and say.. ahhh  350hz needs to go up a bit, and so on... but I seemed to be one of the few.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Talking to mom:

*let's reduce that 15KHz by a couple dB* Man her voice is harsh. Maybe my ears are too bright,...very sibilant also. Let's fix that.

Door opens in ur room:

"That door opening doesn't sound real enough, the 8000 KHz needs a bit more oomph. +1dB and that thump. Nah. let's decrease that 150hz by 3dB