Just curious are some genres of music better on different speakers?

[Ken Boyd]

I have a number of speakers, and a pretty large collection of different genres of music. Now for some reasons some of the speakers just sound better with some types of music while others I think are more enjoyable on other types. Is that unusual or is that common. Most all the speakers I own are pretty decent and I would think should sound good with any type of music, but for some reason a few pairs I don't care for the way they reproduce some types of music. So when I wish to listen music I usually use a specific speaker for that type of music. A few do well with most all types but some I just don't even bother using unless its the type of music they sound good with. Does anyone else seem to think this, or am I just nuts? Its ok you can be honest!:yes:

 

[Wigwam Jones]

Absolutely yes. And different amps like different speakers too.

 

[cubdog]

I believe good speakers have the ability, and will, sound good no matter what you throw at them. Same with amps preamps or whatever.

cubdog

 

[Wigwam Jones]

I believe good speakers have the ability, and will, sound good no matter what you throw at them. Same with amps preamps or whatever.

cubdog

Interesting perspective. If I happen to find a set of speakers that have a sound I like, but they don't sound as good on something else, I don't consider them less appealing to me. They're still 'good speakers' to me; but they sound better when paired with a particular amp - or genre of music. And that's OK with me.

 

[Taowolf51]

Some can sound better, yes. I think it's far more relevant in the high-end headphone game where companies strive for a "signature" sound rather than the pure accuracy that is more common among higher end speaker companies.
I've even found headphones that are better than each other on the same genre for different reasons.

 

[dumptruck]

I'm pretty sure this thread has been well-done, but you mentioning it in another thread made me feel like posting about it. The way I see it is really pretty simple:

1. An ideal speaker for you sounds better than any other speaker you've heard playing whatever genre you are playing. If there is a genre that you think just sounds bad to begin with, it doesn't count.

2. The particular weak points of some speakers are maybe a little less important in particular sorts of music. For an easy example, nobody wants thin bass in their hip-hop, but there are much more nuanced examples, including things like polar response, resonances, etc.

3. #2 can only ever lead to weak generalizations. Very nearly any hi-fidelity recording can benefit from eliminating any weakness a speaker has, and what's important depends on what the listener notices most. For example, person A might not find any need for high levels and tremendous dynamic capability for acoustic jazz ensembles, while person me finds it an absolute must. Person A might not consider smooth treble response a big deal for loud rock music, while person me considers nasty trouble all the worse if I'm going to turn it up.

Personally, what's most and least critical in a speaker does not change for me from one genre to the next much at all. I can appreciate, for example, how a flawed but sweet-sounding full-range cone can do some things very well, and some genres might make it easier to appreciate, but that isn't going to make it my speaker of choice for that genre or any other.

 

[I.R.Brainiac]

I dont think genre matters at all.A good speaker is a good speaker.BUT,flawed speakers can make flawed recordings more palatable if their flaws are complimentary.

 

[Wigwam Jones]

I'm pretty sure this thread has been well-done, but you mentioning it in another thread made me feel like posting about it. The way I see it is really pretty simple:

1. A really good speaker is really good with any record, period.

I guess it matter what you mean by a 'really good speaker'. Do you mean well received and reviewed, or do you mean personal choice?

I ask that because for me, if I like a speaker and the way it sounds, then it's a good speaker. If someone says "Well yes, but it doesn't sound good with every genre of music, so therefore it is not a good speaker," I shrug. Why would I care? If I like it, it's good. If I do not like it, it's not good. No one tells me what I like or do not like.

 

[Ken Boyd]

I believe good speakers have the ability, and will, sound good no matter what you throw at them. Same with amps preamps or whatever.

cubdog

I would like to think that all the speakers I am speaking of are all pretty decent, better than the average thrift store find. That being defined, some of my speakers seem to really sound good with vocals, strings, even large orchestra recordings, but I don't like the way they sound with rock music, while others seem to sound great with the rock music but don't have the intimacy of the others on the smaller details of solo vocals or strings, not that they don't sound good, they just don't give you that "wow" that sounded so moving. But then you can play another type and that same speaker that didn't seem to have the detail or intimacy sounds just awesome, Its just hard to describe, but I know from my experince from listening just what types of music will sound better on one pair of my speakers while another type will be better for the others.

 

[Wigwam Jones]

I'm trying to imagine this scene...

"I'm selling my speakers, Bob."

"Really? Why? I thought you liked them"

"Oh, I do but they don't sound as good with Rap as they go with Folk."

"But you don't like Rap."

"Doesn't matter. If they don't sound equally good with all genres, they're not good speakers. So they gotta go."

Hmmm. Interesting logic.

My truck is not a good sports car. But I guess a GOOD truck should be a good sports car too, or it's just not a good truck.

 

[Ken Boyd]

Well most of us here on AK seem to have quite a few speakers hooked up to various systems, I just wondered if anyone had the same observations as I do.

Club dog, don't get me wrong its not that they don't sound good, its just some types of music sounds better on some pairs of speakers than others. Fast big dynamics seem to sound better on my Infinity RS-1's while the more single violins, cellos, and vocals, and even pop soloist, sound better to me on my QLS-1's. And not that the QLS-1's or QLS-2's won't sound good, I just don't think it sounds as fast and dyanamic, yet from the deepest bass to the hi's I can't find any fault with them, its just I don't think they sound as moving. Yet if I play some of my favorite Classical like Wagner, Vavaldi, Mozat or any really dynamic fast moving classical orchestra they sound just wonderful. I can also even go so far as Beyonce, Pussycat dolls, Shakira, they sound great on them, but when playing things like Led Zeppelin, Who, Yes, or most classic rock I never go to my QLS's, they just don't seem to sound as good as some of my other speakers on that type of music. It must just be my imgination, giving me a reason to use my other systems.

 

[dumptruck]

I guess it matter what you mean by a 'really good speaker'. Do you mean well received and reviewed, or do you mean personal choice?

I ask that because for me, if I like a speaker and the way it sounds, then it's a good speaker. If someone says "Well yes, but it doesn't sound good with every genre of music, so therefore it is not a good speaker," I shrug.

I have revised my #1 above to clarify, although I think #3 made it pretty clear that this "someone" is not important to me either.

"Doesn't matter. If they don't sound equally good with all genres, they're not good speakers. So they gotta go."
...
My truck is not a good sports car. But I guess a GOOD truck should be a good sports car too, or it's just not a good truck.

Someone else might think they don't sound good with folk, for the same reasons they don't sound good with rap. I am confident that there would be a speaker out there for this hypothetical person that sounded good with rap and even better with folk than his old speakers. It doesn't mean he can't be happy with what he has, of course...

Your truck would be a better truck if it was also a good sports car without being less of a good truck. Doing it all may be practically impossible with a motor vehicle, but a speaker's job is quite a bit more universal The difference between reproducing one sound and another is not the difference between an off-road race and rush hour on the freeway.

Maybe this is a better way to state my opinion: If I can have any speaker I want and as many as I want, I will not be choosing one for this genre and one for that genre. Others might, I would not. When compromises have to be made, genres can play into it, and personal preferences play into it even more.

 

[cubdog]

All I know is that if my speakers don't sound good with everything I listen to they will eventually go away. I like to keep things simple.

cubdog

 

[Wigwam Jones]

All I know is that if my speakers don't sound good with everything I listen to they will eventually go away. I like to keep things simple.

cubdog

Seems reasonable for personal choice.

But I've always considered speakers to be a design and manufacturing comprise at best. It's nearly impossible to get a compromise that sounds equally as good with all equipment, all genres of music, and to all ears; I don't think I even want to try. So if speaker A sounds better with music type 1 but speaker B sounds better with music type 2, I'm OK with keeping both around instead of searching for a compromise that does both 1 and 2 music equally well. That's not to say I'll never come across such a beast, but I'm not really enthused about that kind of search. If it happens accidentally, that's cool.

 

[Wigwam Jones]

Maybe this is a better way to state my opinion: If I can have any speaker I want and as many as I want, I will not be choosing one for this genre and one for that genre. Others might, I would not. When compromises have to be made, genres can play into it, and personal preferences play into it even more.

OK, I get that. I happen across speakers, I don't go out auditioning them. So maybe that explains the difference. I drag 'em home, clean 'em up, fix 'em if they're hurt, and then try them out. If it turns out I like them, I keep them.

I'm now at the point where I simply have no more room for speakers; so in order to obtain any more, something will have to go. That's OK; I can do the weeding out process with respect to what just doesn't float my boat and keep the ones I like. In that manner, maybe I'll eventually end up with a set that does it all for me, and the rest can go bye-bye. That would be interesting. Don't know if it will happen, but it could.

 

[dumptruck]

Like cubdog, I'm guessing, I go from one genre to the next way too often to be switching speakers all the time, so I've got to go for the best compromise or I'm going to be annoyed with my speakers a lot of the time. I'm also quite picky about placement and reflections so having 3 (or 8...) pairs in one room is not an option. Since I'm not a wealthy man, I'm still working on that best compromise, but I have heard plenty of stuff that I think does everything well.

 

[cubdog]

There are many ways to approach this hobby. All are equally valid if they enable us to enjoy music.

cubdog

 

[Wigwam Jones]

Like cubdog, I'm guessing, I go from one genre to the next way too often to be switching speakers all the time, so I've got to go for the best compromise or I'm going to be annoyed with my speakers a lot of the time. Since I'm not a wealthy man, I'm still working on that.

Yeah, that's an issue. I never pay more than $20 for a pair of speakers if I can help it. I did spring for $24.99 for my PSB's, so I sometimes stretch that a bit. I've always felt that the first 20% of the money gets you 80% of the way to the top. I can't afford that last 20% of quality, but even if I could, I probably wouldn't. Not my thing.

 

[Gang-Twanger]

I believe good speakers have the ability, and will, sound good no matter what you throw at them. Same with amps preamps or whatever.

cubdog

While there aren't that many speakers that can do it all without flinching (not my kind of "all" at least), these are the kind of speakers I look for. If they sweat a little on the most-extreme stuff, that's one thing, but they better do most things VERY-well. I'm all over the map when it comes to the music I listen to, so I need a "well-versatile" speaker...

Here's an example. Right now I'm listening to AMG (Old-school rapper...Well, semi-old-school), but before that I was listening to Metallica's "Ride The Lightning", and next I might be listening to George Harrison's "All Things Must Pass", or maybe some early '70's Tower Of Power. I throw on the occasional classical album, and I listen to a fair amount of '50's/'60's/'70's jazz and a lot of jazz-funk/fusion (Everything from Herbie Mann to Herbie Hancock, Miles to Mahavishnu, Deodato to DiMeola). So, I need a speaker that can do a lot. I guess the important thing is to make the most of the speakers you have by getting the rest of your system in order. Make sure nothing's holding your speakers back, and THEN go for the speaker-upgrade.

 

[JimPA]

I agree with Cubdog. Accurate speakers should sound not be partial to the type of music being reproduced by them.