Music snobbery?

Somebody posted in the forum that, and I paraphrase here, people who listen to cllassical and jazz will be more inclined to concern about SQ than those who listen to electronic music, because classical and jazz music has more depth, more clarity, more subtlety.
I would like to say here and now that that is pure nonesense, they obviously haven’t listened to much electronic music.

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Let’s get back to talking about spelling

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:crazy_face:
it’s not that I can’t spell… I can’t type!

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Hahaha nice!

LOL – my test track for soundstage is “Planet (Graham Massey Planet Suite Pt 2)” by Sugarcubes…

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reddog1

Somebody posted in the forum that, and I paraphrase here, people who listen to cllassical and jazz will be more inclined to concern about SQ than those who listen to electronic music, because classical and jazz music has more depth, more clarity, more subtlety.

I would like to say here and now that that is pure nonesense, they obviously haven’t listened to much electronic music.

They may be referring to the unplugged nature of all classical and a lot of jazz.

Usually these performances are recorded in an analogue environment. The nuance of the ambience is quite distinct in each venue.

I notice this markedly as I listen mainly to classical/piano/lieder and some orchestral recordings. The various interpretaions, instruments, halls etc are probably the referenced remark.

It is true I do not listen to electronic music.

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Same words they use to describe a pair of $10,000 interconnects. And much like those, it’s a load of malarkey.

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Plenty of people do not see it is “malarkey”. I certainly see changes in dynamics with different cables … especially speaker. Iy has a lot to do with equipment, connections, perceptions and hearing.

I’m always reluctant to criticise another person’s ideas and understandings. We all come with all kinds of prejudices. I remember a friend of mine whispering into my ear that “We (his family) don’t talk money matters at the dinner table”, as I discussed the cost of a suitcase I recently purchased. They were decidedly new money and thought me crude. I thought them common. All about perceptions.

[EDIT: “antiquated and myopic” as I am I am at least respectful and understanding of how others see things (hearing things).]

The person who has $10,000 to spend on interconnects will get over it.

Just to be clear, I enjoy jazz and at the very least have a respect for classical music. But aforementioned attitude is at least a little antiquated and myopic, regardless of whether it’s in reference to recording quality or some arbitrary hierarchy of genres.

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This is a weird thread.
I don’t recall anyone on this board degrading any genre of music.
Listen to whatever makes you happy. Nobody cares.

Sounds like a made up subject.

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I guess I misunderstood the context of the earlier paraphrasing.

I took that along with the “snobbery” in the title with a sense of “better than” sentiment.

I’ll move along though.

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Not because it has “more” of anything but because most of the classical and jazz music recordings reproduce common natural sounds that everybody knows, so there is a reference for comparison. For electronic music, there is usually no such reference.

It is relatively easy to hear if a piano, violin or flute sound right. Electronic sounds are mostly unique, so nothing to compare.

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Beautifully said. Not a criticism of anything or music or system … simply an acknowledgement of natural sounds from unplugged (in the main) instruments recorded electronically … ironically.

Does that make the everything we hear electronic music?

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I listen mainly to jazz and classical music, but also to progressive rock from the 70s. I like instrumental music but not songs ans singers. I don’t know much about electronic music and the little I’ve listened to doesn’t touch me, why ? Could you advise me some electronic music that could touch me ? Music with dynamics, changes of climate… harmonies… emotion… I’m interested… But no auto-tune voices please… just music… i’m curious…

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

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Jean Michel Jarre

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Biosphere (album: Substrata)
Brian Eno (album: Apollo)

I’m 43 now, and I’ve been a fan of JMJ since my early teens. Same goes with Mike Oldfield and Vangelis. Later Air and Kraftwerk got added to the list :slight_smile:

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I think there is a difference between those different types of music.

Pop, Jazz and classical make use of the guitar, but the expectation when listening to a recording differs.

If one goes to a classical music concert, the music is analog all the way. No microphones, no amplification. The sound is raw, and differs depending on where you are sat in the music hall.
When listening to a classical guitar recording, one seeks to retrieve the “organic” sound heard during the concert, trying to abstract from the recording process.

For a Jazz recording, it may go the same way, but there is often some elements of electronics between the instrument and the ears, and some of that electronics is digital nowadays. So the listener will seek to retrieve the “environmental” sounds of the recording, like hand claps, conversations etc…

Electronic music (classical, jazz or else) does not offer an analog reference to the ear and it can never ever sound like it sounded in the musician recording environment, making any comparison moot. In that case, all that is to appreciate is what sound the HiFi system delivers per se, which is certainly useful, but not necessarily “lifelike”.

As for a hierarchy between the genre, I would not know, I gladly embrace them all, provided the music is good…

“Electronic music (classical, jazz or else) does not offer an analog reference to the ear and it can never ever sound like it sounded in the musician recording environment, making any comparison moot.”
If anything, electronic music should sound exactly as it did in the recording environment. No?

Yes, the difference seems to be that you’re not giving Led Zeppelin the same respect when listening?