[Community of A/V Enthusiasts]

Is Anyone Interested

Was just wondering if anyone is still interested in music, or has it all gone to video and AVR's. Is stereo still used or does it have to be multi channel? I noticed a number of people have just joined the forum. Do you guys listen to music and if so, what kind. Can you recommend anything? I've just done some upgrades to my system, and am rediscovering old stuff in my collection. Home Theater is great, but music is better. IMHO.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Christopher A. Lause on May 11, 2011 at 10:20am

No one had commented so I thought I would (I'm a newbie, so please bear with me). Music is first and foremost my primary interest, and for that I like to listen in stereo rather than multi channel. I'm moving into a new townhouse that, surprisingly, has a dedicated media room so I've upgraded my equipment to the current list in my profile - not yet installed. While I love movies and watching them with my family, until now my goal with a home theatre set up was just to get decent multichannel sound. I'm not so flush that I can afford separate home theatre and stereo systems, hence my selection of components. Both the Oppo and the Classe preamp have a dedicated XLR isolated stereo bypass so I can listen to music just through the front left and right channels. That's why I chose them (plus I got the Classe equipment at closeout prices, a significant savings to my budget) - plus they do excellent surround for movies. If I had only done a stereo music system, I likely would have chosen a different preamp/amp combo and perhaps a different source, and likely would have chosen different speakers (I love the Sonus Fabers and would be mighty tempted by Maggies), but not having unlimited funds I had to compromise to get both systems in one. Nevertheless, I'm thinking that my system may be terrific for me if not the ultimate for either stereo or multichannel. We'll see when its installed. Chris

Permalink Reply by Christopher A. Lause on May 11, 2011 at 3:24pm

Since you asked and I didn't answer in my prior post, I might add a couple of recommendations of two classic fingerpicking acoustic guitar albums from my youth (the late 60s/early 70s) that I recently "rediscovered" - I'd forgotten how wonderful they are:

1. Jorma Kaukonen (Hot Tuna, Jefferson Airplane): Quah. Fantastic guitar work, some quirky covers and vocals, even some strings, I listen to this again and again.

2. Leo Kottke: 6- and 12- String Guitar. Although Wikipedia notes Kottke apologized in the liner notes for his vocals on a couple of tracks - i.e., that his voice "sounds like geese farts on a muggy day" - I actually liked his voice on these cuts. Also includes the lovely Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring.

Chris

Permalink Reply by Steve Scaggs on May 11, 2011 at 5:55pm

Thanks Chris. The first time I heard Leo Kottke play seems like a hundred years ago. He was on someones variety show playing a six string. It sounded like two or three people playing. I love finger picking and don't have enough in my collection.

My system for music used to be my system for movies. Anthem AVM 30 with an ATI 1807 amp with Usher 6371's. The tunes never sounded so good. I have a HT system with the big tv and it serves the purpose. But it's all about the music here. Welcome to the forum Chris.

Permalink Reply by T. Rodney Tatum on May 12, 2011 at 9:09am

I am currently acquiring all of the Blue Note re-releases (particularily on SACD) of the golden age of jazz.

Permalink Reply by Steve Scaggs on May 12, 2011 at 10:47am

I inherited a lot of the old Blue Note stuff from my father-in-law and the vinyl has held up well over the years. Is anyone re-releasing the CTI catalog? A lot of great stuff from that label. Plus they had great album covers.

What cha got now Rodney that we should be listening too?

Permalink Reply by Christopher A. Lause on May 12, 2011 at 11:24am

Since the Oppo BDP-95 I have on order plays SACD, which I haven't had before, I'm making up a list of SACD's to order. I've only taken one pass on this, so the number of classical and jazz recordings are far outweighed by "popular" music, and any recommendations for super sounding and great (musically) classical (particularly opera) or jazz SACD's would be appreciated. Here's my wish list thus far, some of which will duplicate CDs in my collection (please also let me know if any of these are klinkers sonically):

CCR - Cosmo's Factory

George Harrison - Live in Japan

The Who - Tommy

John Coltrane - A Love Supreme

Pixies - Surfer Rosa

Dylan - Blonde on Blonde

Diana Krall - Girl in the Other Room

Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms

Mozart - Chamber Music for Winds and Strings

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue

The Doobie Brothers - The Captain and Me and Toulouse Street (the music of my youthful mispent

summers)

The Band - Music from the Big Pink

Stevie Ray Vaughn - In Step and Soul to Soul (the music of my mispent 20s)

Chris

Permalink Reply by Steve Scaggs on May 12, 2011 at 12:58pm

Here are a few things I have Chris:

SACD DVD-A

Derek and the Dominos- Layla Steely Dan - Gaucho

Chick Corea- Rendezvous in New York Jane Monheit - Come dream with Me

Hilary Hahn -Mendelssohn, Shostakovich Brazilian Romance

Michel Camilo - Live at the Blue Note Pat Metheny Group - Imaginary Day

The Absolute Sound Classical Sampler

Burton, Corea, Metheny, Haynes, Holland - Like Minds

Buster Williams - Griot Liberte

Linn Records - SACD Collection Volume 3

Check out Linn's web site if you like classical . They have downloads or disks and most are hybrid, and sonic quality is first rate. By the way, I have the Oppo BDP 83. If the 95 is anything like the previous model , you won't be disappointed. Hope this helps.

Permalink Reply by Christopher A. Lause on May 12, 2011 at 2:42pm

Thanks Steve, looks like a great list. I have always enjoyed the music of Gary Burton and Chick Corea so I'll definitely be adding those, and I'm tempted by Layla (one of my favorites, this would be about my 5th copy) - I just hope that SACD clears up what I've always thought to be a relatively muddy sounding album (no offense to the late great Tom Dowd). I'll also check out the others. In addition to the Linn recordings (I have an old pair of Linn Kans floating around somewhere), you might check out the downloads from B&W's site, Society of Sound - http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/Society_of_Sound/Society_of_Sound/Music.

There's a number of classical and jazz recordings, and Peter Gabriel's Scratch My Back, all in FLAC (24-bit 48KHz) or Apple Lossless. Only problem is that its a subscription service, not a pay per download service. Chris

Permalink Reply by Steve Scaggs on May 12, 2011 at 8:13pm

The Layla SACD is well done. You'll hear new things in this one. As far as B&W's site, I was there for a while, but what I wanted to hear was few and far between. Let us know when the new gear shows up and how it sounds.

Permalink Reply by Jim Milton on May 13, 2011 at 8:18am

Ha!Welcome to the wonderful world of SACD. Once you get started, it'll be hard to stop...but then again, why stop?