Rap music on high-end speakers

I also like many types of music. I have a very good HiFi system on which I enjoy my favorite recordings. I listen to Metallica, Kid Rock, Motown, 50's Frank Sinatra, Maria Callas, Chili Peppers, R&B and funk, Dylan, and many other artists and types of music. It depends on the mood I'm in.

Somebody once said that there are only two types of music, good and bad. It is up to each of us to decide. Unless the Taliban or some other fundamentalist sect take over the country you are free to listen to what you want. Some people like steak, some people prefer salad. Which is "correct"?
I grew up in the 60's. We heard the all the same complaints. "It's noise, he can't sing, they can't play, it's not "real" music etc." Now of course that rock/pop music is considered great.
If the music lasts long enough or you die young (Hendrix, Lennon, Marvin Gaye, Joplin, Cobain) society looks back and says how great you were. Remember Van Gogh never sold a painting in his lifetime. Jackson Pollack was called "Jack the Dripper", now he's considered by many America's greatest 20th century painter. Ever read old reviews of John Coltrane's playing with Miles in Down Beat magazine? Everybody else in Miles Davis's group was great but Coltrane, "why does he always play all those wrong notes?"!
When Hendrix was playing in the late 60's all you'd ever read was how he was a big showman and sex symbol, very little was ever said about his music. John Lennon, he was considered mostly a confused if not well meaning dupe of Yoko Ono. Politically naive and should have stayed with the Beatles. Etc. etc.
When you get older, I'm 49, you'll see that many things in life repeat over and over.
Now about the audio equipment to play hip-hop, rap.
You want a good clean powerful system that reproduces the full audio range. Bottom to top.
For speakers. Either you need to buy full range large speakers or a good subwoofer such as a Rel or Hsu Research with good speakers that reproduce the rest of the frequecy range without coloration. I would look to Neil Grader's writtings in The Absolute Sound magazine for further ideas about components and system that play a wide variety of music as he is someone who listens to many types of music (mostly pop and rock along with jazz and classical). Many other audio reviewers listen only to classical and vocal works. Systems that my sound great reproducing an orchestra or jazz group are not going to be optimized for Dr Dre productions or Rage Against The Machine for that matter.
Good luck. Happy listening!
HowardC

Sean - perhaps I misunderstood your earlier posts, and I thank you for continuing to clarify. It seems as though you do recognize that the generalization of modern hip hop artists is a convenience and largely a product of marketing hype and an increasingly disillusioned youth culture. More, it sees like you agree with the notion that the form isn't inherently unlistenable, but perhaps it's most well known ambassadors are. These were really the points I wanted to make. To me, music has always been a gateway into new cultures and ideas. As such, what I listen to tends to range from European electronic exotica like Mouse on Mars to the excellent songsmithing of Leadbelly. One thing that I have observed is that there are plenty of bad music and plenty of bad music fans in every genre. And that's fine, but if you really want to hear what any music type has to offer you must be willing to wade through the crap (or better yet, find a reliable guide who's already familiar with the form). To dismiss anything before really giving it a shot is just cheating yourself.

Can anyone answer this question: Why I was the only one who brought a 'mundane' recording to the Frank Van Alstine Show at the Chicago Audio Society meeting? Everybody else played 'audiophile grade' recordings...

The music was from "Lo mato si no compra este disco." (I kill him if you don't buy this record.) Album by Willie Colon/Hector Lavoe--Caribbean gangsta music from the 70's. I happened to play an instrumental fusion piece that Van Alstine stopped after about two minutes! This recording, nonetheless, is my reference recording to test system performance. Lots of trombones, fast percussion, bass and a world class singer. I used it recently to test and set up some Bob Regal feet Deano sent me to try on my 'new' Melos SHA-3 preamp. I described the improvements to him and emailed me that I was hearing right. That I had entered 'Audio Nirvana'. So much for a non audiophile recording of gangsta music.

Aguirre, you're right on the money. I've always said that most music in all genres is crap. That one needs to weed out this crap to get to the real good stuff; preferably to find a guide to point out what to buy.

In conclusion, I think being an audiophile gets a bad rap because it is associated with certain attitudes, behaviors and types of people. Just recently I went to an 'upscale' high end store in downtown Chicago to buy a piece. What a bunch of snobs! Did they think they were impressing me? I just wanted to get out of there fast! I heard comments like: "To get a good preamp you have to spend at least five thousand dollars." Is this going to attract people to audio? Hey, they want you to quit before you even start...or at least humilliate you before you move on. Like forcing me to demo the piece I wanted with some Tchaikovsky. Hey, I've sold audio at two stores: you ALWAYS ask the customer what he/she wants to hear. What was the point of this geek trying to force me to hear Tchaikovsky? Educate me, perhaps? What a shame...

It reminds me of a funny but typical situation I encountered several years ago.I was at a used hi-end audio store,and the owner used to come across some really exotic audio gear.Any way he also sold used CDs and i stumbled on to a LIAS LISa and the CULT GANG.I really wanted to hear this one cut titled Lost in Emotion,and the owner looked at me like i was nuts.I did remind him that I was a customer who had bought a pre amp from him,anyway he put the cut on i listen to it and it was a full tube setup,AUDIO RESEARCH,sounded real tight,he was going nuts but then he cut it off when the cut was done and put on classical and said this is what high end is for.I then told him that he was an idiot,because not all audiofiles listen to only classical and to me it's boring.We had a exchange of words and I pretty much told him that I will never patronize his establishment again.Well eventually he went out of business because he was trying to get over on everybody and pretty much everybody got hip to his B.S.TRU I wish you well on your continued search and my stepson is a fan of your music.Even my wife likes your stuff too.I hope that you read my speaker choices for you too.Happy Holidays.Cheers

some of these comments are making me sick. to generalize *any* kind of music is wrong, and i don't necessarily mean in an ethical sense either. i mean that if you make a statement about any genre of music, your statement has to be incorrect. styles of music vary within one genre so much that one statement CANNOT apply to the whole thing.

now, if you ask anybody who knows me, they will tell you that i am a seriously bad music snob. i'm not afraid to tell people why i think an artist is bad, but i will not trash an entire musical style.

there is indeed some rap/hip-hop that is overly manufactured andjust has high highs and lousy, boomy lows. but i don't understand how somebody could listen to an artist like tricky (especially 'maxinquaye') and make the same statement about it. it is extremely layered, well-engineered, crosses the full bandwidth spectrum, and is mostly mid-to-highs with a few very low baselines here and there.

anyway, that being said let me give my opinion on the original question.

in order for rap to sound good on a high end system, you are going to want a speaker with a very high quality woofer that will not color the sound and that will return to a resting position very quickly; quickly enough so that it has made a full movement cycle before it is activated again. of course all the normal speaker-qualities that are usually sought after should apply, but for r&b and hip hop, which does tend (not always) to have more low-end, it becomes very important for the proper reproduction of it. i've read some people
s recommendations and agree with gregm's recommendation of a pair of active ATC's. i recommend scm 50's or higher, as i believe them to have the best mid range and woofer drivers in the world. if you can find a dealer nearby, take a listen, i think they'll really help you enjoy the music.

and make sure you bring your own cd's and lp's when looking for speakers. and immediately leave any place that won't let you play what you want to when auditioning. you're the one buying the speakers. you're the one who will live with them, and you're the one paying their paycheck if you decide to buy. don't ever waste your time with snobby audio dealers. i changed hifi shops because of them.

anyhoo, just my opinion. hope it helps and good luck.