You respond very theatrical, but I think you should re read your own posts a bit more carefully.
You are the one that does not allow any other opinion, anyway I am going to spend my time differently, this is my last comment to you
For a minute there I thought “dCS Apex is here” must have been a new album that was very good for system comparisons.
Would love to get back on topic — waiting for my Rossini to arrive so that I can send it off for some Apexing! Hope not to be without it for too long. Perhaps I sell the Bartok a week later than I thought… 
3 Likes
At least in the US, my dealer is saying dCS is telling them they should get APEX boards in May.
1 Like
Thanks, Bill — glass half full: that gives me longer to get used to non-Apex 
1 Like
Just as an aside, they said they are due to receive 500 APEX boards from dCS in May, which is more that current APEX preorders in the queue, so if you decide anytime soon you want the upgrade you should still get processed in the first batch.
The tricky thing is part of the upgrade is a new back panel, which dCS has to print with your serial number, which is why they need advance notice.
1 Like
Yeah, I know everyone has moved on, but this really troubled me. The arrogance here is unnecessary, and some might find it offensive. I do. I don’t see any “obvious truth” here. I love The Beatles on my system, but whether they require or merit a Vivaldi stack is entirely my choice to make, not yours to adjudge. Anyone can hold any music in high regard here; you don’t get to decide what is and is not valuable for anyone else other than yourself. Amy Grant is not my cup of tea, but I’ve secured the recording so that I can hear for myself what our colleague @BillK finds about it that sets his ear on edge when not reproduced well. Whether you like the music or not, what you think of 80s style recording, what your preferences are, are all your opinions to which you are entitled. But you don’t get to impose those value judgments on others, and how you express it matters. For BillK, it is a reference recording, and that’s all that really matters.
11 Likes
Well said Greg.
An even simpler way of articulating your point could be that the claim of “obvious truth” was neither obvious to everyone nor a universal truth. Yes, some things can be obvious truths (even in this age!) but NEVER when it comes to a wholly subjective taste in music.
I didn’t want to offend anyone, but it’s also clear that when you move to discussing ‘taste’ and related matters, some will take it the wrong way. You’re absolutely right: nobody has the right to dictate taste to anyone. How could one, anyway? That doesn’t mean, though, that all music is equal.
And I do hold on to the view that “certain kinds of music neither warrant nor benefit from a highly resolving hifi system.”
As to benefit from – Only the other day, I played K-pop through my system for my daughter’s benefit (she’s a huge fan of that genre). The music actually sounded worse than through her AirPods – which isn’t surprising given that the music is engineered to sound best through cheap devices. That’s actually the case with a lot of (more) recent pop music. So in those cases, a very good system is (musically) self-defeating.
As to warrant – Yes, there’s a lot of poor music around. Either is musically uninteresting and/or it’s indifferently sung and played. Mediocre playing will not miraculously become better on a good system – on the contrary, its mediocrity will stand out even more. That doesn’t mean that you can’t like it, least of all that you shouldn’t like it. But does it merit a great hifi system?
A lot of popular music (as well as a lot of classical music of the Baroque and Classical ages) are/ were not intended to be listened to critically (with full attention). The music is meant to get you to dance, sing along, or to provide a sonic tapestry to your more important occupations. Hence, it’s being churned out and unless you want to do away with any criteria of musical substance, ingenuity, harmonic creativity … it’s just not particularly interesting. I listen to classical music: a lot of Vivaldi, Telemann, C18th symphonies … are run-of-the-mill compositions that do not warrant great attention paid to them. They sound nice (and with classical music, at least they are often very well played), but they’re not great music. They’re meant for easy entertainment and consumption and that’s all. They were never meant to challenge you emotionally or intellectually, which is the hallmark of great art. It would never enter my mind to devote more than fleeting attention to that kind of music – what’s the point? As, to take an example other than music, it would never occur to me to devote more than fleeting attention to a bestseller I read on the beach. What would be the point?
…How to say it…Actually you did not understand what Greg said in his message…Let’s try it differently:
Bach and Vivaldi is music for stupid old man…Do you feel offended ? Or do you think I mentioned my taste in music as I am free to do it ?
I would feel offended, personally…
While there are some genuinely interesting points being made here, this discussion is also including some unnecessary jabs at each other. We are all for open and free discussion but, if we can’t be civil, I will lock it.
5 Likes
I don’t get your point.
But even if I thought that your remark was meant to be offensive, I wouldn’t be offended. I’d just shrug it off. I find that those who do feel offended when their taste gets questioned (however mildly) are those who suspect that they have questionable taste. If you thought that Bach was for old men, I’d consider you, well, in lack of a decent musical education. But as you can’t have meant that, I hope no offense is being taken.
Marco, could @James check the serial number on the back of your neck, please? The unpleasant air of superiority you’re bringing to the thread suggests you might already have had the Apex upgrade.
Being able to shrug off what others find objectionable doesn’t mean that what you’re saying is unobjectionable.
(@James — apologies if my comment here is also unwarranted. If there were a block button I’d have used it already! Edited to add: I found it.)
1 Like