It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that a love of music and hi-fi tend to go hand in hand.
After all, one of the reasons we get into hi-fi and usually never stop tinkering with our systems is a borderline neurotic desire to make the music we love sound as good as possible.
It’s also why, whether it’s the best prog rock album of all time or your favourite acoustic track, whenever we ask about music, we know we’re going to get some strong responses from you, our discerning readers.
But what we didn’t expect when we asked which album you use to break in a new turntable, at the start of October, was the sheer volume and variety of responses you then fired back.
In fact, within minutes of the article going live, your answers came in rapid fire.
“Without doubt: St Germain, Tourist. Very few albums ever had that kind of dynamic sound," wrote on-site commentator Dibo, kicking off the proceedings.
“Dire Straits and Telegraph Road. Always,” Facebook follower Paul Hadgett then quickly followed up on Facebook.
“Shine On You Crazy Diamond, off Pink Floyd’s Delicate Sound Of Thunder live album,” commenter Kaz Urbanski added.
From there, it all went off the rails, with everything from expected hi-fi staples, including Mike Oldfield and Neil Young, to booming metal from Iron Maiden and Tool being suggested.
And everyone’s right
And as the suggestions continued, we started to notice a wonderful trend. Specifically, you were all being very nice about the whole thing and acknowledging a simple truth: there is no right answer.
Some pointed out the best record is the one you feel like listening to at the time. This was nicely summed up by Facebook follower Edwin van Rooijen, who argued, “If I don’t feel joy, then something is wrong.”
This was followed up by Facebook follower James Beaumont, who told us, “I just pick what I fancy at the time. Maybe some Pixies or Neil Young or anything that appeals.”
Others took an alternative route, arguing the one they use is the one they know best. They included DrJimC, who commented, “I just bought a Rega P6 RS and played Electric Ladyland, because it was the last album I played on my Nottingham Analogue. Good test.”
And then G Money, who took things back even further, revealed his go-to is That's The Way Of The World by Earth, Wind & Fire due to its connection to his first proper system, telling us:
“It was the first record I played after I got my first serious ‘stereo’, Yamaha CR-800, Dual 1257; it just jumped out of those speakers.”
Our hot take
Some albums are recorded better than others. Listen to Black Flag, and you’ll see what we mean – great band, terrible audio production, and I say that as a die-hard fan.
That’s why the What Hi-Fi? team has favourite recordings and albums we use when testing hi-fi. But, being brutally honest, we’re paid to do that, and we 100 per cent agree that, ultimately, the answer for people listening from home is “whatever makes you happy”.
Music is there to be enjoyed, and though strict audiophilia can be a rigid stance, focused on brutal transparency above all else, for most of us, it’s about enjoying the music we love – and there’s no reason to get snippy about people’s personal tastes. Different strokes and all that…
MORE:
We rank the best speakers
Our picks of the best hi-fi test tracks
The best stereo amplifiers for serious music fans
