[Asr]

But the thread is about "why do no audiophiles listen to electronic music", the question then, is to ask yourself: If you did have something high end, something well above a competent system, how would you test its accuracy? Its soundstage? There's no doubt that you would still enjoy electronic music the most, but it might not be the only genre you try if you wanted to test the system.

 
For me it's not about accuracy when listening to electronica on high-end audio equipment, nor necessarily about soundstage either. But certain sub-genres of electronica can be incredibly useful in evaluating:
- Clarity and by extension, level of congestion resulting from multiple simultaneous streams of sound (ambient, IDM). Most non-electronic music just doesn't get very sonically complex.
- Frequency extension (ambient, techno, breakbeat, IDM, EBM, DNB, et al)
- Blackness of background / level of silence (ambient)
- Attack & decay, and by extension impulse response (ambient, IDM, DNB)
 
Ambient electronica in particular is so useful to me personally that it's the first type of music that I use to evaluate most equipment. I can use it to evaluate clarity, treble frequency extension (and quantity), blackness of the background, attack & decay, and soundstage. I listen to classical and acoustic music too, but neither of those are as immediately useful, and most gear tends to make both of them sound good anyway. I've found it much harder for gear to truly pull off ambient electronica, whether it's a set of headphones, or an amp, or even the source.

 

[Angelbelow]

   
For me it's not about accuracy when listening to electronica on high-end audio equipment, nor necessarily about soundstage either. But certain sub-genres of electronica can be incredibly useful in evaluating:
- Clarity and by extension, level of congestion resulting from multiple simultaneous streams of sound (ambient, IDM). Most non-electronic music just doesn't get very sonically complex.
- Frequency extension (ambient, techno, breakbeat, IDM, EBM, DNB, et al)
- Blackness of background / level of silence (ambient)
- Attack & decay, and by extension impulse response (ambient, IDM, DNB)
 
Ambient electronica in particular is so useful to me personally that it's the first type of music that I use to evaluate most equipment. I can use it to evaluate clarity, treble frequency extension (and quantity), blackness of the background, attack & decay, and soundstage. I listen to classical and acoustic music too, but neither of those are as immediately useful, and most gear tends to make both of them sound good anyway. I've found it much harder for gear to truly pull off ambient electronica, whether it's a set of headphones, or an amp, or even the source.

 
Good to know. This kind of perspective is helpful for a non-listener like me.
 
By level of congestion and sonically complex are you referring to the layering of instruments? Plenty of genres have simultaneous and complex streams of sound.

 

[In Over My Head]

   
For me it's not about accuracy when listening to electronica on high-end audio equipment, nor necessarily about soundstage either. But certain sub-genres of electronica can be incredibly useful in evaluating:
- Clarity and by extension, level of congestion resulting from multiple simultaneous streams of sound (ambient, IDM). Most non-electronic music just doesn't get very sonically complex.
- Frequency extension (ambient, techno, breakbeat, IDM, EBM, DNB, et al)
- Blackness of background / level of silence (ambient)
- Attack & decay, and by extension impulse response (ambient, IDM, DNB)
 
Ambient electronica in particular is so useful to me personally that it's the first type of music that I use to evaluate most equipment. I can use it to evaluate clarity, treble frequency extension (and quantity), blackness of the background, attack & decay, and soundstage. I listen to classical and acoustic music too, but neither of those are as immediately useful, and most gear tends to make both of them sound good anyway. I've found it much harder for gear to truly pull off ambient electronica, whether it's a set of headphones, or an amp, or even the source.

I agree with Asr. Electronic elements of music are like CGI effects in films. Sure they used to look artificial and ridiculous (and unfortunately often still do). But the steady improvement of the technology has made it difficult to distinguish CGI from the live action components of film.
Moreover, CGI effects in the hands of creative and talented artists can bring incredibly complex and beautiful images. The same can be said for many of the best Electronic music artists.
 
Would any body suggest that there is no benefit to viewing films with CGI elements on high end displays over average models?

 

[Angelbelow]

 
I agree with Asr. Electronic elements of music are like CGI effects in films. Sure they used to look artificial and ridiculous (and unfortunately often still do). But the steady improvement of the technology has made it difficult to distinguish CGI from the live action components of film.
Moreover, CGI effects in the hands of creative and talented artists can bring incredibly complex and beautiful images. The same can be said for many of the best Electronic music artists.

 
I think CGI is a cool comparison. But as you said, sometimes they look artificial and ridiculous, sometimes they're beautiful and graceful. So I think it goes both ways. Passionate film watchers may enjoy CGI from time to time but there are other elements they enjoy/look for. Direction of the movie, camera work, script, acting, soundtrack just to name a few. The effects can obviously be a wonderful addition but its hard to say that the heart of a great film is solely in its CGI. Would be cool if all the elements and layers of the movie stand out.
 
I came into the thread with very little knowledge and listening experience with electronic music, and admitted so. The stuff I've heard is purely mainstream (gym, friends car, clubs, etc) and I do think its artificial and ridiculous. However, knowing that my experience is limited, I came into this thread to learn. As Asr noted, there are other elements being incorporated into electronic music like live instruments, vocals, piano etc. That is definitely more interesting to me because I happen to enjoy the naturalness and woodiness of live instruments. Recommendations are welcome. Suggest some songs that are cool to test out or just simply enjoy. (I do like the complex stuff so anything with rich sound would be great.)

 

[In Over My Head]

I would recommend checking out Infected Mushroom, Shpongle, Enthogenic. Infected Mushroom are probably my favorite, they offer plenty of variety, so try not to write them off to soon.
 
Here is one I would recommend for starters
 

 

[jespersen]

Infected Mushroom is certainly good. May I recommend Trentemøller's The last resort... I can confirm that the pleasure of listening to this grows immensely with great gear...

 

[Saren]

   
I think CGI is a cool comparison. But as you said, sometimes they look artificial and ridiculous, sometimes they're beautiful and graceful. So I think it goes both ways. Passionate film watchers may enjoy CGI from time to time but there are other elements they enjoy/look for. Direction of the movie, camera work, script, acting, soundtrack just to name a few. The effects can obviously be a wonderful addition but its hard to say that the heart of a great film is solely in its CGI. Would be cool if all the elements and layers of the movie stand out.
 
I came into the thread with very little knowledge and listening experience with electronic music, and admitted so. The stuff I've heard is purely mainstream (gym, friends car, clubs, etc) and I do think its artificial and ridiculous. However, knowing that my experience is limited, I came into this thread to learn. As Asr noted, there are other elements being incorporated into electronic music like live instruments, vocals, piano etc. That is definitely more interesting to me because I happen to enjoy the naturalness and woodiness of live instruments. Recommendations are welcome. Suggest some songs that are cool to test out or just simply enjoy. (I do like the complex stuff so anything with rich sound would be great.)

 

 

 
Theres a couple of random tracks to check out. They are not the most pure recordings, there are others that are clearer etc but I thought I'd throw out some non "mainstream" electronic for you to try and enjoy.

 

[Asr]

By level of congestion and sonically complex are you referring to the layering of instruments? Plenty of genres have simultaneous and complex streams of sound.

 
Yes, that's what I was referring to. And it's true that plenty of genres have sonic complexity but none of them do it the way that ambient electronica does - it's way more subtle than in other genres and the "sonic complexity" is generally there for atmospheric effect, not to overload your senses. The layers in ambient are generally much quieter than in other genres and should appear from & disappear back into "nothingness/blackness", which is hard for most gear to pull off.
 
Quintessential example of ambient like this is Global Communication's 76:14. Most headphones just can't do justice to that album, and I've heard only 3 that truly can - the Stax OII MKI, Sony Qualia 010, and Sennheiser HD800.

 

[manukoshe]

Many audiophiles I know like Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode or Daft Punk. 

 

[razor5cl]

I like Daft Punk too, just not their new funk stuff. Homework is such a good album.

 

[linglingjr]

I like Daft Punk too, just not their new funk stuff. Homework is such a good album.

I agree I don't like their new stuff nearly as much either. Every time they play the one song on the radio I get pretty annoyed too.

 

[razor5cl]

Yeah its the classic situation: "I liked them before they were cool"!"

 

[In Over My Head]

I have to disagree. Their new album has some absolutely awesome tracks. It may not have been what we expected from Daft Punk, but they have really shown some amazing musicianship and production skills with RAM.

 

[hogger129]

Does Daft Punk count?  I wouldn't consider myself an audiophile, just a music lover.

 

[In Over My Head]

  Does Daft Punk count?  I wouldn't consider myself an audiophile, just a music lover.

Definitely, in my book