I have a lot of music. I gained a lot of it in High School, when I worked in a radio station and was high enough on the totem pole to get first dibs at things. I didn't get into hi-fi music until age 24.
I went back to listen to some of it on my speakers, and it made my ears hurt. OK, these were free CDs, and some of them by low-budget artists. I still expected better. Can I only listen to music with a pedigree?
What introduced me to hi-fi was a recording of the Polyphonic Spree's "Light & Day (Orchestral Mix)" I had just purchased a pair of Grado SR-60's, and that was the first song I found on my iPod. The sound was so remarkably clear and moving that tears came to my eyes. I knew my life would be different from that moment on. I can also add that I still enjoy that track through my headphones.
Actually, I enjoy just about EVERYTHING through those headphones. Everyone I know (except my stubborn wife) loves how these headphones sound. Hi-fi lets me use my headphones and my iPod. So what happened with my speakers?
It's strange, but not unexpected: the speakers reveal more detail, and sometimes that detail makes the music sound like it's in a tin can. On the other hand, if I dig out something that has a groove, I can't help but move. I suddenly realized something important:
I don't really like a lot of those free CD's from high school. Oops.
I also don't like everything everyone else tells me to like. I don't care if everyone says Radiohead's "In Rainbows" is the best album ever. It's not my thing. I can't stand to listen for more than ten minutes.
No, the best thing for a hi-fi system, the records 2 die 4, are the listener's favorite records. I can really sit and love every minute of Kraftwerk's "The Mix" and Rilo Kiley's "Under the Blacklight." Listen to your choice albums on 1,000 systems. Get a real feel for it. If your hi-fi (or anyone's hi-fi) system is any good, the sound of your favorite albums will move you to tears.
I will talk another time about albums I use to test my system, but I have mentioned before that I turn on a recording of Disney's Main Street Electrical Parade every time I add a new component. It has no pedigree, and its recording is nothing special -- more or less roomless, barely uses stereo.
But when I hear that first note, I know whether things are right. It's beautiful. Even if it is only beautiful to me.
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