I was talking about using electronic music as a benchmark for assessing sound quality, where the listener has no basis for comparing it to anything real. People know what a piano sounds like. Amplified instruments have a broad range in how they can sound, but people can still pick out a Les Paul or a Gretsch regardless, because they know what they sound like.
This year we had some amusement where we'd managed to create an issue with stored energy in a vibrating empty box during the set-up on the Friday. It happens.
I'm not sure I agree. I assume you're talking about the likes of Diana Krall, and that this is broadly similar to girl & guitar in terms of the demands it makes on a system. It's a reasonable assertion, but my experience has been that this music often contains layers of subtlety that can elude some systems. I like Diana Krall, as it happens (there, I said it!) partly because of this subtlety. A fellow fishie came up to have a listen to a turntable I was selling, recently and brought his current turntable with him. We both use the same cart - Hana ML - so it was a fair test. I was pleased to see a Diana Krall album in the stack of stuff he brought with him, especially as it's not one I knew.
If this is referring to myself - I listen to a huge amount of fully electronic music (Kraftwerk, Boards Of Canada, Alva Noto, Tycho etc), and I will use them myself when hosting demos if I think they're relevant to the customer. If I hosted a room at a show, I wouldn't completely avoid using fully electronic music. Although, I wouldn't be hosting a room at a show, as I don't feel a show is a place for retailers, it should be for manufacturers and distributors only. But that's another story...
It wasn't directly, or even specifically, referring to you, it was a more general comment arising from this particular subtopic of conversation. If anything, it was directed at Tony's point. Though you may have seen from what I wrote upthread, that I'm not in agreement with your point about having no basis for comparing it to anything real. You did say that people know what a Les Paul sounds like, but that's also an amplified device, experienced through a loudspeaker. I presume you are therefore referring to purely electronically-created tones, ie synths and the like.
But you agree that people can distinguish between guitars and pianos from listening on an a hi-fi system? That was my point. Yes, I was referring to fully electronic music where everything is created from scratch. There IS a reference for that (the original, created sound), but unless you were there at the recording/mixing stage, you'll have no idea what it is.
But studios have multiple systems of varying fidelity to ensure that the mix will sound OK on the wide range of equipment out in the real world. This is why I said 'acoustic', because we have suspicious ears which can often tell when a voice or well-known acoustic instrument doesn't sound quite right.
David is absolutely wonderful putting up with my Berlin Electronica when i listen to stuff at his place . Sounds fabulous too .
I agree, with the one caveat being if audiophile plinky jazz is all you really love
And you missed the emphasis I placed on "a vast amount"
