[In Over My Head]

In another few decades, the kids will probably be asking why 'audiophiles' use psy-trance as reference material. 

 

[clamplex]

So i listen to a lot of electronic music. i also don't have fancy headphones that give a perfect response, so i can't really call myself an audiophile, at least not yet as i do not have the money to buy expensive listening equipment. So i believe there are a few people out there who make very high quality electronic music, it is fun to listen to because it is actually made to use the full range and pan and depth that is available in a way that acoustic instruments can not. there probably won't ever be anything as pure sounding as a acoustic instrument. The thing is with electronic music is that a lot of it is made 100 percent in a computer, by people who aren't sound wizards. an instrument is going to sound real because it is, so there are people who put a lot of care trying to get that real sound to be as real as possible. most electronic music is played loud for people on drugs who don't care about sound quality or musical content for that matter. So you end up with very few people who actually posses the sonic understanding and the love for electronic music. see its kind of like 5 star chefs who specialize in burgers. but to me i love burgers and i want the best damn burger i can get.
 
 
so sorry for the long explanation. but if you want to hear some high quality electronic music listen to these guys.
 
Solar Fields(until we meet the sky), Carbon Based Lifeforms (hydrophobic garden), Tipper (broken soul jamboree), kettle and secede (when can), Liquid Stranger (cryogenic encounters)
 
there all on the downtempo/ ambient side of things, there are some good sounding deep dub step, trance, house and stuff but the previously mentioned artist offer a very interesting listening experience.

 

[clamplex]

So i listen to a lot of electronic music. i also don't have fancy headphones that give a perfect response, so i can't really call myself an audiophile, at least not yet as i do not have the money to buy expensive listening equipment. So i believe there are a few people out there who make very high quality electronic music, it is fun to listen to because it is actually made to use the full range and pan and depth that is available in a way that acoustic instruments can not. there probably won't ever be anything as pure sounding as a acoustic instrument. The thing is with electronic music is that a lot of it is made 100 percent in a computer, by people who aren't sound wizards. an instrument is going to sound real because it is, so there are people who put a lot of care trying to get that real sound to be as real as possible. most electronic music is played loud for people on drugs who don't care about sound quality or musical content for that matter. So you end up with very few people who actually posses the sonic understanding and the love for electronic music. see its kind of like 5 star chefs who specialize in burgers. but to me i love burgers and i want the best damn burger i can get.
 
 
so sorry for the long explanation. but if you want to hear some high quality electronic music listen to these guys.
 
Solar Fields(until we meet the sky), Carbon Based Lifeforms (hydrophobic garden), Tipper (broken soul jamboree), kettle and secede (when can), Liquid Stranger (cryogenic encounters)
 
there all on the downtempo/ ambient side of things, there are some good sounding deep dub step, trance, house and stuff but the previously mentioned artist offer a very interesting listening experience.

 

[Dr4Bob]

  well we can definitely add "tomorrows harvest" by boards of canada to the well produced list. ive just finished listening to it for the first time and the quality is truely astounding 

 
Yes, an excellent and well produced album.

 

[moriez]

This one: http://www.discogs.com/DJ-Sprinkles-Midtown-120-Blues/release/1635238
 
''To preserve the full dynamic range of the original recordings this album was mastered without compression and is intentionally quieter than some. Turn up your stereo volume for best playback.''

 

[KT66]

Good HiFi does nothing for Electronic Music, is my reason why
 
Those searching for those extra micro details, have spent $50k on a power chord,
will look for those details in the best recordings of acoustic instruments, that's where
you can tell what Muddy Waters had for breakfast, and how thick Miles Davies' socks were,
 
I am not criticising electronic music, but it just does not have those extra details in a recording
that Hi End brings out when done well. Let alone the glory of a well recorded voice.
 
I once bumped in Marantz Guru, Ken Ishiwata.
I told him I had their then mid range cd player,the 63 ki sig,
I asked him what model I should upgrade to next,
He asked me "what type of music do you listen to?"
I said "mainly rock n pop from 1955 to 1985",
and he told me "not to bother"! 

 

[wrathzombie]

I was perusing some high end headphone reviews(LCD3, HD800, T1) and none of them make reference to electronic tracks. They say that this jazz song sounds good, that rock band's music has good treble etc, but no house, dubstep, drum and bass, trance and so forth. Why?

 People who claim to be Audiophiles and say Electronic Music is not cut out for Audiophilia are ( .....................  ) Insert Expletive, Politically Incorrect term here... 

 

 

[jasonb]

I'm sure it's been said already, I haven't read through the whole thread, but a lot of the ambient/downtempo stuff is done very well. Of course a lot of electronic music is mix/mastered poorly though. 

 

[Steelratt]

I listen almost exclusively to electronica, be it aphex twin or boards of Canada, on my system.  Campfire Headphase sounds especially amazing on my Avantgarde Duo speakers.

 

[Steelratt]

Sorry, forgot to address the "why".  It's a newer style, though it is related to New Age, which I also listen to.  There aren't a lot of audiophile quality recordings, though Hearts of Space and Windam Hill put out some very well recorded stuff.  It's just not something older listeners are going to be into, though I suspect some might be okay with firing up some old Vangelis recordings.

 

[linglingjr]

I listen to a ton of electronic stuff as well, I find that almost all of RJD2's, Skream's and Pretty Lights music is very well produced.  Like others I can't read the whole thread lol but I feel like a huge reason using high end gear to listen to electronic genres isn't as rewarding as other acoustic genres is because (in some tracks) everything is computer generated so there is no ambient noise in the background you can't hear the little details of the guitarists fingers on the strings or the Singer taking breaths in between notes.  For me at least, one of the biggest parts of upgrading part of my rig is listening for little details I couldn't hear before, it could be a cymbal crash you never knew was there or the individual beats of a drum solo there is always something extra that can be picked out on acoustic recordings that physically can not be there on a track that was made completely on a mpc and computer.

 

[jolness]

^This, linglingjr hit it dead on IMO, 
While i feel like those artists mentioned are fantastic musicians, 
they are not as rewarding when it comes to disecting the piece, 
everything is out there, and heard exactly as it was meant, because its all done digitally,
no flaws,
no errant sounds,
nothing,
full control, and while flat response it 
sounds like a good idea in theory, 
often in practice, it sounds, boring...
Not saying electronic music is boring, 
i just feel that there is alot more "nuances"
in a traditionally produced piece..
thanks
-j

 

[razor5cl]

When I started this thread I used the term "electronic" to mean the standard EDM, House Trance stuff etc. Throughout this thread I've seen that electronic music is in fact very popular in the Summit-Fi community, just not in its conventional form.

 

[SpudHarris]

One word "Shpongle"

Listen to any of the Shpongle or Younger Brother albums or pretty much anything involving Simon Posford and you are in for an aural treat

I have LCD-3 and HD800 and both are outstanding with the electronic genre. These phones (amongst others) are well regarded with older peeps/jazz lovers as they can portray live instruments with startling reality. Fair play, I love a bit of Ray LaMontagne and can vouch for the portrayal of live instruments but love well produced electronic stuff like the Ultimae, Interchill, Celestial Dragon, Dakini or Altar Records stable....

 

[Angelbelow]

I don't listen to electronic music so my opinion on this may come off snobby. But based on my experience, and the limited electronic music that I've heard (mainly the commercialized and popular stuff), the variation and song structure is fairly simplistic. I know I'm over simplifying here and but it sounds like its only playing 3-5 different notes the entire time with similar sounding transitions. I can't stand the way a synthesized drum sounds, but that is more personal preference.
 
I'm sure there is good stuff out there though and I have nothing against the genres. For me, I like the natural sound and the woodiness of instruments, so I tend to stick to metal/rock/classical/jazz.