My musical tastes have always been fairly broad, especially on the live music front - but I find that I purchase more material that is out of my core interests (core interests being classic rock and "jamband" music). I listen to MUCH more jazz at home now that I have systems that can make the most of it, and find myself focusing in on recordings in my collection that are worthy of play in good systems.

I get a bit disgruntled with some of the lesser quality recordings of music that I otherwise really like. Having VRDs and MC30s with top shelf caps tend to require premium recordings to make the listening experience worth it. My next project will address this, as I have another pair of MC30 which will be rebuilt with the specific intent of "buttering up" some of those not so good/"dead" sounding recordings.

Cask05:

...when you significantly upgraded your system, i.e., acquired much better speakers?

I would report the converse experience. As my musical tastes changed, my playback system had to evolve and get better with it. I have no tolerance whatsoever for the music of my youth, you might say. Been there, done it one million times, and one million times is quite sufficient. When I was a whining teenager, whining teenager music was very cool though.

I like most kinds of music that is performed and intended for adults.  (Although a good bit of baraoque and classical is way too tedious for me.) I like opera, because it is not tedious and it is jam-packed with human emotion from stem to stearn. The human voice is the most wonderful musical instrument on earth.

 

 

Change music preference,NEVER,Long Live Rock! If your set can't play your long loved music and make it sound at least good,you need to change your set,NOT your music.Playing music that sounds great on a clock radio then thinkin' how great it sounds on your set is kinda like foolin yourself,it sounds good on any set.

That's not to say finding new music to listen to is bad,just don't forget why/how you developed your love for music,for me,a screemin' guitar.

 Well,

The score to this moment is (apparently): 

Nine have essentially agreed that their tastes have changed, probably due to the quality of their setups,

Two have said no, their tastes haven't changed

Two are "maybe's"

But that isn't the whole story:  two have ascribed their change in tastes to "maturity" and one more has mentioned that it is basically a combination of increased rig quality and "maturity".

You might ask, "why did I ask this question”?  Well, one of the fellas that I have talked to about my change in music preferences expressed concerns that his tastes would change too when he got new speakers (and I'll let you figure you which kind of speakers I'm talking about...).

This surprised me to no end—why would someone be concerned that their musical tastes might change if they got new speakers?  Maybe there is something to this idea of “maturity” and changing tastes, but maybe that taste change is connected to the improved quality of sound.

Any opinions here?

To listen to just one type of music, you are cheating yourself. I collect 70's Rock and Roll, because that's what I want, but I also listen to other music. I really have grown fond of Big Band Music, I don't like jazz, but am growing to like Jaco Pastoruis, I also like Old Standards, I like Old Country, and my car radio is now set to all college stations, and they're all over the musical landscape. Trust me, in my 20's and 30's, I wouldn't listen to such noise, but I find the older I get, the broader the music range becomes, has nothing to do with equipment. I think you know good music when you hear it, and you don't need good equipment to appreciate it. Good Music was around long before people owned stereo gear ............. EH !!!!!!!!

Cask05:

...why would someone be concerned that their musical tastes might change if they got new speakers?

 

I do have a notion: all of us to some extent use our old music to cling to preferred memories. Anything that might distance us from those pleasant memories of the past, well, might not be welcomed.  Some folks just might need to connect more tightly with those memories than others.

Any other notions?

Chris

I just noticed you're a Jubilee owner, .................... nuff said ........

 My tastes have shifted from classic rock to a sprinkle of blues and jazz, even some classic organ music. Surprisingly my interest in classical music has waned somewhat. Can't recall the last time I played a classical CD.

 

rcarlton:

 My tastes have shifted from classic rock to a sprinkle of blues and jazz, even some classic organ music. Surprisingly my interest in classical music has waned somewhat. Can't recall the last time I played a classical CD.

That's interesting - I've found the same thing actually.  I thought my waning classical interest was related to the lack of an "in the room" feel that smaller venues like those of blues and jazz have.  Maybe it's also related to the large number of mediocre classical recordings that really don’t distinguish themselves from each other (…and this, coming from a former music major…).  Note that I still play classical recordings, just not as many now.  I have a row of classical vinyl that I collected in the 70s and 80s, but I really don't listen to them much.

 

I’ve always been a sucker for organ, but maybe that had something to do with my mother’s Masters work (organ performance) in the 1960s.  I listened to a lot of Bach and Buxtehude up close as she practiced many hours per week.

 

It’s like they say – if you get ‘em early, you’ve got ‘em for life…

 Chris, thanks for pointing me in the direction of this thread.

I think of my music collection as a diary - specific albums are related to events in my youth and it's great to go back and play them, just as some folks like to get out their old photo albums.

 I'm finding that some of my old rock stuff doesn't move me as it used to - and that's partly because my tastes are more sophisticated now.  With my current system, I'm conscious of poor recordings and bad mastering - the lack of dynamics and where the bass has been cut to squeeze more music onto each side of the record.  An example would be the bands Mott the Hoople and Sad Cafe which sounded great on an entry level stereo but sound flat and lifeless on my current rig.  I think the reality is that we tend to think that the system we own is "good" and we enjoy our music at that level of reproduction, even though it may be colored and smeary.  As we improve the quality of the components we own, the better records stand further ahead of the average.

I have also found that some records sound way better that I remembered them - the detail is revealed in songs that I now enjoy which I dismissed as boring "filler" tracks on earlier systems.  Examples are Kate Bush's first album and Emerson, Lake and Palmer's first LP.  The old cliche about hearing things you hadn't heard before in familiar recordings is true.

With classical music it depends on the recording/performance.  I have a great version of the Rite of Spring (Barenboim on DG) which is thrilling to listen to but there are also a few classical records that are gray and lifeless that I can't play.

 Finally, I now play music that I would have run a mile from.  Travelling regularly to the US I made an effort to understand bluegrass (because I have friends who rave about it) and I now play and enjoy the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - their records really come to life on a good system.

 

Since 19 years old - none whatsoever. However, I'm appreciating it more now due to superior equipment. 

To Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Stravinsky, Bartok, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Dvorak and Glass  - Good Job!!!

 

 

 

 

Cask05:

...when you significantly upgraded your system, i.e., acquired much better speakers?

I find myself listening to jazz, blues combos and small groups but my taste in rock, etc., declined rapidly probably due to the lack of dynamics and musical "realism" on much popular material. I also find myself listening to "live" classical recordings of the American- versus European-engineered taste.

Did this happen to you? 

If it didn't, what did your tastes change toward?

Chris 

 

When I first got into highly efficient horns I focused on great source material. That doesn't happen anymore. I just listen to what I like and when a truly great recording comes on it makes it that much better. Last night I started with T-Rex then Thelonious Monk then Mancini then The Plastics(japanese 80's new wave) then Magnetik then a collection of rare Calypso recordings from 78's a guy in Finland sent me.  

 

Ralph, Yeah Kate Bush's first couple records are great. 

Not so much due to updgrading equipment, but upgrading family. Addition of small son has resulted in shifting my listening hours and conditions from daytime rock out rock and roll to late night volume reduced so as not to disturb rest of family listening. While I still enjoy listening to ELP even at reduced levels, I have found myself enjoying types of music I didn't spend much time listening to before. Example - I listened to Famous Blue Raincoat last night, and really, really enjoyed it. I have a feeling that I would not have found it nearly as enjoyable if I'd popped it in the CD player and pumped it out of the CF-4s at 110dB. Late at night, quietly played (well, relatively quietly... house wasn't shaking) Jennifer Warnes voice just hangs in the air, wrapping around you... cool.

I like Josh have always been eclectic in my musical taste though I do lean heavily on my rock genre from my HS days 72-75 but I like just about anything well performed especially recorded well

So my tastes have not really changed but I have expanded exponentially in 51 years! I can still remember my first musical treats via mom's counter radio as a kid. Percy Faith's theme from "A Summer Place" will forever be an fav

..........Taste no, appreciation yes

In early 2003 when I joined this forum, I was still listening to The Grateful Dead quite a bit, a little Bluegrass but was tiring of classic rock in a big way.  By the end of 2003, Allan had turned me onto Jazz in a big way.  Not the smooth stuff.  Can't stand it but not the REAL hard stuff either.  Larry got me into Classical not long after and I find myself listening to that quite a bit also.  I would say I now listen to Jazz about 60%, Rock (including The Dead) about 20%, Classical about 15% and "All Other" about 5% (musicals, bluegrass, etc.).

I do find myself listening to albums more often if the recordings are good.  If recordings are bad, I'll use them for background music when I work out or in the car if it's a CD.

Mark makes a good point too.  I changed my upstairs system to accomodate my newly acquired love for Jazz and now have a "mono only" setup for my old mono Jazz records.  I never would have considered a mono turntable otherwise.