Why do no audiophiles listen to electronic music?
Mar 20, 2014 at 12:15 AM Post #167 of 239
This was recommended in the female vocals thread, but it belongs here too....

Malia / Boris Blank - Convergence

"I think it's very difficult to find the difference between jazz and pop music; I think it's very close anyhow." -Boris Blank in that video.

Uh, not really. There's a pretty darn big difference between pop and jazz, Boris. His comment makes me assume he hasn't actually listened to very much jazz.

Anyway, just that you know, there's actually a thread on Head-Fi dedicated to electronic music recommendations, so you don't need to use this one for that purpose. I might be wrong, but isn't this thread dedicated to discussing whether there are audiophiles out there who listen to electronic music?

http://www.head-fi.org/t/544388/electronic-music-exchange-house-dnb-dubstep-etc
 
Mar 20, 2014 at 12:34 AM Post #168 of 239



Errr...where did anyone get the notion that audiophiles don't listen to electronic music. Gary Koh, the designer of the speakers above, demos with everything from Yello to Infected Mushroom to Boards of Canada at all the major shows. Personally, I've been into Electronica ever since I first heard Kraftwerk in my teens. I'm 50 now and listen to a lot of electronic music, among everything else. A better question would be, "Why don't newly minted "audiophiles" listen to electronic music?" And that's a whole other ball of wax.

:)
 
Mar 20, 2014 at 4:22 PM Post #169 of 239
Yes kraftwerk :)
 
I think there IS a younger demographic that's getting into hifi audio, especially portable, that mainly listens to electronic. Or jpop, kpop/ other similar genres. Just look at all the anime avatars.
 
Mar 20, 2014 at 5:37 PM Post #170 of 239
I actually quite like Daft Punk as well, but not their new album, the older stuff like Homework and Discovery.
 
Mar 20, 2014 at 8:47 PM Post #171 of 239
I actually quite like Daft Punk as well, but not their new album, the older stuff like Homework and Discovery.

 
Discovery is legendary. 
 
 
 
Calvin Harris has a ton of old stuff that is many times better than the stuff he puts out now to appeal to the masses.  I don't mean to hate on what he's doing btw.  A man's gotta eat and he's def paying the bills now.  But his old music was truly top-notch.  Check it out.  I would suggest "Neon Rocks", "Blue" and "I'm Not Alone".  All very different from one another so check each.
 
Mar 23, 2014 at 11:39 PM Post #172 of 239



Errr...where did anyone get the notion that audiophiles don't listen to electronic music. Gary Koh, the designer of the speakers above, demos with everything from Yello to Infected Mushroom to Boards of Canada at all the major shows. Personally, I've been into Electronica ever since I first heard Kraftwerk in my teens. I'm 50 now and listen to a lot of electronic music, among everything else. A better question would be, "Why don't newly minted "audiophiles" listen to electronic music?" And that's a whole other ball of wax.

smily_headphones1.gif

 
 
 "Why don't newly minted "audiophiles" listen to electronic music?" 
 
Very well said, sir. There is no substitute for the Socratic method of education.
 
Mar 24, 2014 at 5:26 PM Post #173 of 239
Mar 24, 2014 at 5:49 PM Post #174 of 239
I think they do , but you have an active thread )
 
Audiophile Electronica ..       Wow where to start recomending
 
Pete namlook  'Silence' series ,  Air '1+2' , From Within '1+3'
 
http://www.ambientmusicguide.com/pages/N/namlook.php
 
Dec 30, 2014 at 5:44 PM Post #175 of 239
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?


Many audiophiles listen to Jean Michel Jarre, for example.
 
I think that it is easier to judge the quality of a system with an acoustic recording though. You can easily tell if a sound is unnatural, but you can't make that distinction with a synthesizer.
 
Dec 30, 2014 at 6:37 PM Post #176 of 239
I've been involved with audio for +35 years. Worked in the industry. IMNSHE, there are two types of audiophile. I'm talking about the middle-age guys who can afford high-performance systems. There's the guy who's loved music his entire life and finally graduated to a position in life where he can afford what he wants. Again, to listen to music. Then there's the other guy. He's well off, retired a little early, looking for something to occupy his time - like a hobby - and decides to get into audio. ~90% of the time, he knows nothing about the subject: music and/or audio. Interestingly enough, a somewhat similar parallel can be drawn on this forum. Ironic, I know.

:)
 
Dec 31, 2014 at 9:02 AM Post #177 of 239
 
I think that it is easier to judge the quality of a system with an acoustic recording though. You can easily tell if a sound is unnatural, but you can't make that distinction with a synthesizer.

 
In my opinion it's just easier to be more appreciative of music that is made up from singing and non-electronical instruments. This comes from someone who's quite the synth head but start comparing the two, no matter how incredibly well produced and recorded electronic music is, it kind of remains a flat or 2D experience. It's definitely able to grab me deeply often but organic music has the ability to go to the next level. The naturalness and realness of a voice, lyric, string pluck at the right moment can be way out there.
 
Dec 31, 2014 at 1:59 PM Post #178 of 239
As I said in a post above, it all boils down to one's scope of interest. The driving force behind all this. Is one buying gear so that he can hear more of what's on the recording, or is one buying gear to listen to sound? Every audiophile I know personally, and by that I mean that I'm friendly with, listens to electronic music along with whatever else strikes his fancy, because he bought the gear to listen to music and not to pick apart the sound of it. It's all a matter of perspective.

That being said, there is an appropriate time to listen critically to the sound - when you're choosing what to buy. Then, it's time to listen to music and enjoy the purchase.
 
Jan 1, 2015 at 12:35 AM Post #179 of 239
   
In my opinion it's just easier to be more appreciative of music that is made up from singing and non-electronical instruments. This comes from someone who's quite the synth head but start comparing the two, no matter how incredibly well produced and recorded electronic music is, it kind of remains a flat or 2D experience. It's definitely able to grab me deeply often but organic music has the ability to go to the next level. The naturalness and realness of a voice, lyric, string pluck at the right moment can be way out there.


I like what you`ve said, a lot.  But upon reflection, I think I disagree.  The extreme dynamic range of electronica can really blow me away, if all the tech is optimized.  I`ve really been enjoying downloads from Mystic Sounds, and some of my old faves Tricky, Pitch Black and Underworld . . . 
 
Jan 1, 2015 at 9:57 AM Post #180 of 239
I like what you`ve said, a lot.  But upon reflection, I think I disagree.  The extreme dynamic range of electronica can really blow me away, if all the tech is optimized.  I`ve really been enjoying downloads from Mystic Sounds, and some of my old faves Tricky, Pitch Black and Underworld . . . 


I'm a big Underworld fan. Most of their records - even the CDs - are killer sounding.
 

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