Great Sounding Records That Are Not Audiophile W*nk

[karatestu]

Mahavishnu Orchestra - The lost Trident sessions.

Music to blow your mind plus it goes from a whisper to jet engine levels often in the blink of an eye.

[Latteman]

Neil Diamond ‘Hot August Night’ is a good live album that has drive, atmosphere and Neil of course

[Daniel Quinn]

The answer to the question is anything you like.

If you play an album for no other reason then it sounds good on your hifi , this ain't the forum for you. There are plenty of forums for you .

Start with a in a search and you'll get there.

[savvypaul]

The answer to the question is anything you like.

If you play an album for no other reason then it sounds good on your hifi , this ain't the forum for you. There are plenty of forums for you .

Start with a in a search and you'll get there.

That's an answer without consideration of the context in which the question was asked:

The context is what to play at shows.

If we only let one person in at a time then they could play whatever they liked. But it's not practical, or financially viable, to let only one person in at a time. So, we have to assume that some (or most) people will be hearing the track for the first time. Therefore, we want something that is well recorded, but we don't want to play the usual worn out cliches.

At home, play what you like, and the question is redundant.

[Daniel Quinn]

The answer still applies .

You can decide if it sounds without liking the music. The most important thing is the manufacturer should be passionate. Be all things to all men at your peril

[savvypaul]

The answer still applies .

You can decide if it sounds without liking the music. The most important thing is the manufacturer should be passionate. Be all things to all men at your peril

So, when you judge a new component in your system, you do so with a poor recording that you've never heard before?

It's not a case of being all things to all people. It's a case of real world common sense.

We could cut our nose off to spite our face or we could give NVA a chance of getting into peoples homes.

There's no lack of passion, here, DQ. But the passion is for being effective. The ideology has already been set. It's an ideology that I (literally) bought into,

[CycleCoach]

The answer still applies .

You can decide if it sounds without liking the music. The most important thing is the manufacturer should be passionate. Be all things to all men at your peril

It's the Hi-Fi Show Game.

You can play it stupidly, or you can play it cleverly.

If you play it badly, you tend to get visitors coming away from your room with the impression that your system was worse than it was.

If you play it cleverly, they tend to go away thinking that the system sounded better than it actually was in that room.

Bearing in mind that it's not easy getting a good sound in hotel rooms. Because they are either bedrooms and on the small side, with minimal furniture in them to break up the echoes. Or they are conference rooms with almost no furniture in them, which makes them sound like a cave. Or like you're playing your system inside a big drum.

On top of which you may well have noise leakage from other rooms. As well as questionable mains power.

The best way to impress visitors is to play something well recorded. Dark green DR rating. That they haven't heard before. And to play it at a volume that's louder than the previous room they visited (I fall down in this respect as I don't like ringing ears).

You get a lot of trade members - such as Audio Note - playing obscure 55 year old jazz recordings. Although to be fair to AN, they did play my Steve Winwood CD when I requested it.

It's better if you don't play jazz because that creates the impression that you are just another "me too" exhibitor. It's too much of a cliche. And it comes over as a bit try-hard for exhibitors aged under 70.

Playing the Undertones, on the other hand is not a hi-fi show cliche.

[karatestu]

It's the Hi-Fi Show Game.

You can play it stupidly, or you can play it cleverly.

If you play it badly, you tend to get visitors coming away from your room with the impression that your system was worse than it was.

If you play it cleverly, they tend to go away thinking that the system sounded better than it actually was in that room.

Bearing in mind that it's not easy getting a good sound in hotel rooms. Because they are either bedrooms and on the small side, with minimal furniture in them to break up the echoes. Or they are conference rooms with almost no furniture in them, which makes them sound like a cave. Or like you're playing your system inside a big drum.

On top of which you may well have noise leakage from other rooms. As well as questionable mains power.

The best way to impress visitors is to play something well recorded. Dark green DR rating. That they haven't heard before. And to play it at a volume that's louder than the previous room they visited (I fall down in this respect as I don't like ringing ears).

You get a lot of trade members - such as Audio Note - playing obscure 55 year old jazz recordings. Although to be fair to AN, they did play my Steve Winwood CD when I requested it.

It's better if you don't play jazz because that creates the impression that you are just another "me too" exhibitor. It's too much of a cliche. And it comes over as a bit try-hard for exhibitors aged under 70.

Playing the Undertones, on the other hand is not a hi-fi show cliche.

Great post Lindsay. Very enlightening as I have never been to a hifi show. With all these problems to deal with as an exhibitor it makes you wonder why anybody would bother if your gear has no chance of sounding it's best. Hotel room loudness wars sounds like my worst nightmare. Loud music doesn't do it for me, in fact I can't relax and relaxation is the main purpose I listen to music at home. If I want to be excited and my ears bleeding I will go to a gig.

As a visitor how can anybody come to any meaningful opinions or conclusions when assessing and comparing gear in this way ? If anybody knows a way it will be you Lindsay.

[Lindsayt]

I usually take a CD or a record I've been listening to a lot recently. That's well recorded with dark green DR rating. And ask the exhibitor to play that in every room.

I will ask if I can adjust the volume if it's significantly too quiet or too loud.

I will select one track to be played. A track that is likely to show the system in a good light. Which is only polite when you are visiting someone's room.

In the after show write-ups I sometimes see someone remarking, for example "There were a lot of rooms playing Steve Winwood..."
Gee, I wonder how that happened?

I will, when space is available aim to sit centre of speakers and may move to a more forwards or backwards seat. I may slouch down in the dining chair seat. And I may even squat or sit on the floor.

On the basis of that I form a highly provisional view of the system on offer.

For systems where I am not able to play my request, or where I am not able to get into a reasonable listening positionm I don't form much of an opinion at all on the system. Although I might think that the exhibitor was rude and ignorant if I made a request and they turned me down (happens rarely, but it does happen).

BTW another hi-fi show tip for playing the game well is try not to have turntables on floor mounted stands betwen the speakers. It may look good and this is the cliched way of presenting systems. But you want something as microphonic as a turntable well away from the speakers, if you can.

And yes, exhibiting can be a soul destroying experience. One where afterwards you think; why did I bother?
Of the 3 times I've exhibited, I was happiest with the sound of the system compared to at home when I had a sub £100 system in a bedroom with Heybrook HB1 speakers.
When I took systems with large speakers to conference rooms I'd have been happy if I'd been able to bring a room full of furniture as well, including sofas. And if I'd been able to blow the fuses of the systems in the rooms next to mine.

It can be more of an exercise in practical psychology than in audio demonstration.
It can be like a General Election, where you have some voters that will never like your system, regardless of how it sounds, and some that will like it regardless, plus the floating voters that can be persuaded either way.

Forum enemies or people with widely differing systems at home tend to pick fault in your system.
Friends and people with similar systems at home tend to love it.
It's the floaters that tend to be impressed by Dalek I love You played at a loud volume. As they stand next to the door of the room...

[Theo]

Thank you for that Lindsay - you've hit all the nails on the head and reminded me why I no longer go to Hifi shows.

There were a few instances where I came away from a room having been thoroughly impressed. One of them was Lindsay's system with the large EMT turntable, some valve amp and big PA-type speakers (can't remember the ones). It was sometimes rough and brash, but it was visceral: a real feeling of being in a recording studio and listening to music being made by real musicians. I forgave it the tonal qualities because it was so 'life like'. A live piece was portrayed in such a 'real' acoustic it was spellbinding.

Next was listening to the speakers I now own (Jamo R9090 dipoles). The ones at the show were bright yellow which didn't exactly endear me to them, but I kept returning to that room, and each time I heard a piece of music portrayed in such a way that I knew I was going to buy a pair one day.

The Trio turntable I now own was the actual one that was demonstrated at a hifi show in the late 70s/early 80s, with Albarry amps and Allison speakers. I loved the sound that system made, but it took me 30+ years to eventually get the turntable.

There are rooms where I almost beg for forgiveness, to be allowed to crawl to the door with my ears bleeding. There are others where you are 'impressed' by the sonics, but feel strangely unsatisfied by the music.

All these conclusions came after listening to systems not playing audiophile music, but albums I'm aware of (and own). Once I hear a system playing breathy female vocals and single piano, I vacate the room, and go back when there's something more prosaic being played. I also hate that bloody Nils Lofgren acoustic album, together with 'Jazz at the Pawnshop' (but I do love jazz). The point has been made many times, but always buy the music you love, not the music that 'sounds' good.