Rap music on high-end speakers

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.

I agree with Nilthepill. The Dunlavy V's will blow your windows out with rap music. Even though it's not my favorite listening music it sure gets a party going. Ever try to get crazy with Dave Brubeck or in this case Lawrence Welk.

I'm not in your boat yet with regards to gear...bryston b-60 & B&W cdm1nt's and to be completely honest, although I dont listen to alot of rap music, I am a bug Beastie Boy fan and am amazed at the multiple layers of music and sampling in some of their songs that I had never heard before getting at least marginally decent stuff. Kid Rock sounds alot better too...it's not just the volume that matters. I think that it is pretty sad that many audiophiles were never able to broaden their musical horizons and stuck solely with classical and opera. I have a broad taste in music that I had gathered before i ever had a worthy system and can see the merits in any musical form. There is good rap and there is bad rap just as there is good opera and bad opera. I would go see Bizet's 'Pearl Fishers' 10 times in a row before I sit through Madam Butterfly again. Once again, that is my personal preference. Thank God we can have those. This thread also reminds me of something my Grandmother used to say..."If you dont have anything nice to say...." you know the rest.

I second the WITT recommendation. They will work very well with hip-hop as well as any other music. They have sold on audiogon for around the same price as the cubs and IMO will outperform them overall especially with hip hop.

Alhtough i personaly dilike rap music, as a young, 17 year old audiophile i do have non approved music types like punk and ska as well as more mainstream classic rock and jazz. I have a relativley high end system, rotel and adcom with old infinity speakers that i think sounds good on all types of music. The best way to choose speakers is to listen to everything you can afford and choose what you like, especially on higher end speakers there really isnt much better or worse its all about personal preferance so only you can decide.