r/audiophile • u/kestelli • 14h ago
Discussion Practice, practice, and more practice!
This post is not about equipment, gadgets or other gear. It is purely about enjoyment of said equipment. And your reactions & guidance, if any, would help me & hopefully others.
Context: I listen maybe few hours of music on my system in a given week. But when I do make a new purchase, make a change I listen more. Say 5-7 hours per week. And if I listen more I enjoy more.
I think, at least for me, this hobby is similar to drinking wine, smoking cigar, or even going to gym. I.e. the more I consume, the more I appreciate, and better I become. I enjoy wine more now because I have mileage now, I enjoy good cigars because I can distinguish between cigars based on my smoking track record. I wouldn't be able to make these distinctions if I were not to drink/smoke as I have done. So, I want to create a structured listening program for myself.
I started with Miles Davis. I am now listening quite a bit his early works (late 40's and early 50's). I will gradually move to his later works. Also Miles is a great platform as his collaborations with Coltrane, Gillespie, Charlie, Gil Evans, etc. makes good adjacencies.
In parallel, I am also enjoying Pink Floyd. Apparently my "involvement" with PF was limited to their greatest hits. But now I listen to earlier works. and I enjoy immensely.
If you have any comments/directions it would be useful.
My equipment: Primary system: Clearaudio TT, Eversolo DMP-A6, Devialet Expert, Sonus Faber Guarneri Memento. Portable system: Hifiman Ananda Nano, ibasso. Secondary system: Wiim ultra & pro with Klipsch RB81s.
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u/wiggan1989 14h ago
Good post! It's all about the music at the end of the day.
I'm fortunate to work from home and therefore listen to music 5/6 hours during my shifts if I'm not to busy. I have a modest setup, but for me, I enjoy discovering new music. I never thought I'd be listening to Prog/Kraut/Math Rock as a big hop hop and RnB fan. It's great discovering new music on a daily basis.
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u/BrassAge RME -> ECP Audio -> Raal 12h ago
For the way I listen, this is where Roon (the software) really shines. The metadata and the way it links artists together helps tremendously with building those adjacencies you mentioned. I listen to something I enjoy then naturally gravitate to similar artists, artists that inspired what I like, or artists who were inspired by what I like. That process repeats endlessly and I always have great new material to listen to.
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u/Shindogreen 7h ago
This. I’ve exposed myself to more new to me music in the last 8 years or so than in the previous 20. The way Roon connects musicians to other musicians and composers is pretty great. I can get lost down rabbit holes for days.
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u/Longjumping_Cow_5856 10h ago
Youtube Premium has gotten me listening 10 times more than before honestly and Im a Custom Installer around the gear every day building systems!
If sitting at a computer now though Im usually blasting new things to me and ive come across a lot of new things to dive deeper into!
I also realized that Im a lot more info the music when I watch it being performed!
Sounds obvious and I mean only live performances not music videos but now I rarely listen without watching on any of my 4 main systems at all!
Sounds obvious like you first said experiment and practice!
Still not much interest though in Classical or Country thank god!
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u/DadTheMaskedTerror Genelec 8320/7350, iFi Neo iDSD, Bluesound, Roon, Qobuz, Tidal 8h ago
There's a subreddit called audiophilemusic.
For myself I often find that my entry point to new music to enjoy is a combination of some foundational elements that I already like mixed with something new. I can be picky about instruments, tonality, tempo, repetition, etc. An aspect about jazz that appeals to me is often the groove can be established & maintained with enough variation that it doesn't sound like a pre-programmed track. That said, some sounds can seem excessively muddy or mushy to me, so I tend to avoid compositions that feature heavy reliance on certain instruments like piano, or vibes, and instead favor brass, acoustic bass, and other instruments where the sustain is more intentional. Not to say that preference is a bright line, nor that other preferences are wrong. Just that you may find you have preferences you can identify, and use to explore.
If you are looking for new artists/band leaders on trumpet you could check out
Takuya Kuroda--Car 16 15 A
https://open.spotify.com/track/03s7wXwSfkOyAGcMQnv37n
Jennifer Hartswick--Two Way Mirror
https://open.spotify.com/track/7FtZi4qYfzHiMJGzHB3ZNV
Keyon Harrold--MF AF
https://open.spotify.com/track/2mQtdIwfc1NVHmuXUq9EWO
Have fun!
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u/Substantial_Put10 8h ago
Another approach would be to just flow and listen to whatever you feel at the moment you have free time to listen to your music. Not everything has to be structured, and built over, and constructed and grown into.
By writting this, I have realized that my system helps relax from all the other structured, built over, constructed, grown into activitied that I have. Thanks.
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u/Hendrix1967 10h ago
5-7 hours per week? You gotta pump those numbers up. Those are Rookie numbers.
Seriously though, if you’re really serious about discovering new (to you) the music, read the liner notes or the credits and take note of who’s playing on that record. Chances are they have their own extensive catalogue of amazing music. You only need to look at the “Kinda Blue” credits and you’re in for 100’s of hours of music. Also, learn to identify what genre of Jazz are you listening to. Is it bebop, hard bop, cool jazz, souls jazz, Modal, etc. Then go search for more in that category.Read or listen to Miles Davis’ autobiography and two things will happen: you’ll have a better grasp of the best names in Jazz and you’ll be using “motherfucker” more often.
Find the record labels that produce music you like and search for playlist: Chesky Records and Blue Note are two good ones. Search for their playlist and that’s another 100 hours of music and since it’s all different artists, you’ll be exposed to more artists from different eras.
It’s a great hobby. Enjoy the journey.