High end speakers for heavy metal

[@Sac_slappper_4rce]

The effortlessness brought on by tubes and high end speakers is amazing for metal.

[@Desanusor]

fast music on cheap gear and inefficient speakers is messy af

[@JohnRobbfl]

I worked at a high-end store in 1987 that sold Wilson Audio (Tiny Tots), Jeff Rowland amps and Velodyne subs. Van Halen I, Number of the Beast and Surfing with the Alien on that system are still etched into my brain... The better the gear the better the experience 🤘🏼

[@dwightballard3868]

Always thought back in those days the Rowland/Avalon combo held the magic. Never a huge fan of those Wilsons.

[@peterlarkin762]

Henry Rollins has a very expensive pair of Wilson's. He talked about his system on jre podcast.

[@PooNinja]

I’m a Metalhead. Thanks to high end stuff I even heard new things in Slayers seasons in the abyss. And lots of stuff like Cynic is full of sonic soundscapes that explode into a beautiful cacophony when played through my Electrostats.

[@dustys5512]

As a metal fan I say that high end audio equipment makes a noticeable difference for sure. I listen to bands like Blind Guardian, Ominum Gatherum, Insomnium, Hammerfall, Walk Into Darkness, and some fun stuff like Nanowar of Steel. It all sounds better on good equipment. The bass punches harder and cleaner, and you’ll hear detail and even vocals in the background that you didn’t notice before. I’ve noticed that a good DAC will make a bigger difference on cleaning up the bass than upgrading the sub.

[@Assimilator702]

Metal needs high performance speakers. Its one of the most dynamic music forms by a large margin.

[@devolutionary]

A genre that's heavily underrated by the audiophile community. It's acceptable to listen to at mediocre levels but usually sounds fantastic with quality speakers and source. For doubters, a producer like Andy Sneap reveals the sonic quality.

[@Assimilator702]

@@devolutionary While some have taste in audio gear they obviously lack taste in music.

[@TheCyberMantis]

@@Assimilator702 Truth!

[@paulozavala3232]

Spot on!

[@IamVintage72]

I'm a rocker and the rather new Polk reserve series is incredible for Rock / Metal

[@speedythecat07]

Never dreamed I’d hear Paul say “I smoked dope”, but as a medical cannabis patient I almost choked to death laughing at that one!! Weed is probably the best component in my audio system. I think Paul is fantastic, and his knowledge is vast! This was a funny video, and I listen to literally all genres of music, including primarily hard rock & metal. I also listen to lots of classical, Jazz and electronic just to name a few. I think if you really love music, you love most of it. People with a narrow view really do themselves a disservice if they don’t. That goes for weed too! As suffering 24-7 from a near fatal car accident over 30 years ago, cannabis gave me my life back. Of course alcohol is widely accepted, yet it was a drunk driver that cut me down at age 20. Go figure...

[@googoo-gjoob]

read his book..... his 'escapades' will blow your mind

[@speedythecat07]

@@googoo-gjoob Thanks I may just do that!

[@thomaswachter7782]

You are one in a million, Paul.

[@arnewoodman]

Yep. I love heavy metal and have learned two things: Ist - yes it is worth an investment in good audio gear but its also important to listen before you buy. Some hi-end gear which is aimed at the classical music aficionado will not satisfy you. 2nd - and this is the big one - listening on high quality gear will broaden your taste in music. Not change it - you can still appreciate the bands you did when you were 18 - but you can get into other things too, which poor quality gear was often responsible for you disliking when you were young. It wasn't that you couldn't appreciate subtlety, you just weren't hearing it.

[@herrbonk3635]

Perhaps some truth to that, in some extreme cases. But if it's the sound quality rather than melodies, chords and rhythms that draws you into a certain type of music, you are probably not very interested in (or affected by) music to begin with. I can still listen to most of my favourite bands using very simple equipment. Sure, they sound better on the stereo, but I can really enjoy *_the music_* through a mono cassette player from 1974 as well.

[@Ali_Shafai]

This question unfortunately has a wrong premise, that being that heavy-metal music is not produced well and therefore a high-end system is not needed. Well, I listen to a very wide range of music including a lot of metal, and from my experience there are some incredibly well recorded and engineered metal as well as some very poorly recorded and engineered classical or really any other genre of music. Truly high-end equipment can make great recordings sound incredible and conversely it is possible to make poor recordings sound worse I’m highly resolving systems. But in the end, a great system will generally bring better enjoyment.

[@scottmackey4182]

Absolutely agree with your position. I think Paul over simplified his comment about whether certain music is or is not worthy of high end systems. He totally agrees that the better the system, the better the sound. No matter what the music is.

[@cranklabexplosion-labcentr8245]

Best way to listen to black metal is thru a 3” tape recorder speaker

[@herrbonk3635]

It's not the production that makes the music though. Great music (melodies, harmonies and rhythms) sound great also through a transistor radio or cassette recorder from 1970.

[@feedyourspeakers]

Great point

[@gbirdo4718]

i haven’t clicked a video faster. my favorite bands are way past their prime and won’t be around much longer. listening to metal is one of my favorite past times. i want to do it in the best way possible.

[@IamVintage72]

Same here. Since i built a little home theater system ive been going back and listening to all my fav old stuff and making a playlist.

[@postjm9]

The metal bands that have stood the test of time were or are great musicians, and there _are_ new and interesting details to pick up from a better reproduction.

[@captainwin6333]

As long as the music is well recorded then high end audio works with metal as it works with anything.

[@stevebuzz3967]

Yep, the source material is the most important part. Nothing else matters if the recording sucks. .

[@optimusvader7823]

Great Question ⚡️🤘🏻🎸🎼🎼🎼

[@bryang9290]

I remember being told that even by salespeople when I was younger that you don't need anything special for heavy metal and I pretty much thought that as well. Heavy metal equaled 100 watts going into big boxy speakers with 15-inch woofers, and that did work for sure. Since then I have heard the 80s through now metal on much nicer systems and it definitely matters. The modern fast double bass metal surely benefits from fast accurate drivers. Prog metal like Queensryche definitely benefits from great-sounding systems and so on.

[@Assimilator702]

Those salesmen sound like idiots.

[@toecutterjenkins]

Yes it makes a difference. I listen to thrash and death metal. The separation and soundstage stop the wall of sound effect and give you a better performance. Moreover, test some speakers and amps. I have a set of kirksaeter and monitor audio speaker that sounds amazing for most music but not heavy stuff. My GR research xls encores have more balls to the low end, and metal sounds great. I also have 2 12-inch subs.You get that visceral in your chest experience, like at a concert. You will also hear thing that you didn't before the slight texture to the bass guitars things like that.

[@Monsux]

I listen to all sorts of music genres but a huge chunk of that is (death) metal. Lots of highs can cause fatigue for more sensitive ears. I ended up with a system that is on the softer side so it's easier to enjoy music. The soundstage is the biggest selling point even when listening to just metal. Proper acoustic room treatment + a good sub will take the listening experience to the next level. Metal bands have a lot of acoustic tracks and some also have the classic type of singing. I really ended up enjoying it more and more with a good sound system. It's easier to test and like other genres when everything sounds great.

[@oskarstrom4034]

I'm a metal head who sells hifi gear for a living. I've tried many systems and, as far as I'm concerned, nothing beats a Naim amp with Elac speakers for metal.

[@robertfraser7199]

That's like gamer grade stuff bro.

[@shiraz1736]

@@robertfraser7199 ?

[@bikemike1118]

Better sell PA speakers or Klipsch‘s …LOL

[@ThomasL]

Get to listen some Judas Priest on a system with ATC SCM 40's and above and an Accuphase amp, you'll never want to listen to anything else.

[@krowwithakay]

@@ThomasL the ATC SCM40 is literally just a Morel car audio 3-way set in a cheap wooden cabinet sold for $7,000. If you bought that thing you have been scammed.

[@gmak8052]

I think this question needed to be answered from a completely different angle to number one bring value and number two help the person asking the question avoid spending a whole lot of money on a great system that sucks the fun out of heavy metal. As someone who grew up in the eighties listening to hard rock and metal and has a few decades experience in hifi for fun and professionally I can tell you that some very sought after aspects of sound quality do not make listening to things like "real" Metalica and Godsmack more enjoyable and in fact take a bit of the umph out of it. You need to be very careful picking speakers and amp combos out that don't necessarily have the ultimate in space around the instruments . This may be a wonderful thing for listening to unplugged acoustic settings and jazz quartets but in heavy metal a lot of times getting a sound that combines multiple musicians instruments to sound as one powerful combined entity is the goal and very important for the experience. Another thing is the type of speaker technology in the system is very important to get the excitement out of the recording. Using a blanket answer like yes get a quality system just isn't enough. Heavy metal on a "hi end " system can go bad faster than a lot of the typical genre people in the hobby are listening to. With an answer like yes to go get a high quality system for your heavy metal the person asking the question for example may have deep pockets and based on where they are from buy say a bunch of Bermester electronics and a big pair of ecetrostats or MBL Radialstrahlers and now they are a hundred or so grand deep into an awesome system that the music being played doesn't translate well to. I know you can make this argument for any genre but heavy metal is a bit of a different animal. On another note I'm not sure why you chose the analogy of low quality fast food then coming around to mature into a higher quality fast food but it comes across a bit uninformed and elitist. It kinda sounds like you are saying there is a lack of sophistication in the listeners music and I am not the first to comment about this. News flash musically a group like as an example Iron Maiden's most primitive work is a bit more technical and advanced then you are going to get from 90% of the go to tracks you will find hifi gear being demonstrated with at a dealer or elsewere. Paul I respect what you do and you have a great channel but sometimes I think you can do better if you enlist the help of your staff more often. I would be very curious to see how Chris Brunhaver would have addressed this question.

[@Stan_the_Belgian]

Not sure if the fast food anology was meant bad, fast food is delicious no nonsense and addictive as is metal music. I like hip hop and a "high" end speaker makes it sound great, lots of bass and sound pressure

[@finscreenname]

The bottom line is you need a great quality sound system and it to be very robust at the same time. Dream Theater and the such are very complicated arrangements, bands like Led Zep souring vocals hard hitting everything, Rush, you better have a system that can hit the lowest lows and high tones that only dogs can hear at the same time. It takes lots of power to do that and the ability to pull the Gains back.

[@thevintagehifiambassador8524]

you are 100% right.

[@RJ-vy4yd]

I can't believe those comments. Metal is literally the 2nd genre right after classical that benefits the most from hi-end audio equipment. Metal on garbage setup sounds like trash and I can't imagine anyone with cheapo setup who listens to metal isn't just a poser with 0 music sensitivity, listening to it exclusively for social reasons. You can't enjoy it when all the sound you get is just one big mess. Metal on a high-end setup though is a pure joy. Talking obviously about relatively new recordings, from a past decade or two, as those old ones were already recorded as one big mess with 0 background details so nothing really helps it anyway.

[@thevintagehifiambassador8524]

@@RJ-vy4yd Dream Theater, Tesla ...please 10 metal bands would be interesting to test, I tried Tesla on Jean-Marie Reynaud and ProAc D30R, well my old B&W DM 580 sound best for it :-)

[@ckarjala]

I've struggled for years to find a speaker that likes to 'rock'. I finally scored a pair of vintage JBL 4425s, got some brawny stands, and with 70watts of tube power per side, they are amazing, they seem to be able to play virtually anything.

[@Thechriskraft]

I have a set of those 4425s. Yeah, I hooked them up after woofer rebuilds. First song was an Avenged Sevenfold song. Wow do these rock.

[@thevintagehifiambassador8524]

suppose you're right. good vintage speakers and a matching tube amp --> rocks

[@jeffstewart395]

I agree with “the caller” your you tubes videos are first rate. Thank you for producing them for all to enjoy.

[@petergabriel8448]

It does make a difference. Heavy metal is often very intense, complex and dense, so the better the resolve is of your stereo, the better it controls the bottom end and the better the timing is, the more you will enjoy the music. I listened to Megadeth’s Rust in Peace on the reissue 180 gram vinyl the other day, and it sounds amazing. On a lesser stereo you would miss out on the oompf and the details of the intricate playing.

[@brotakul]

Paul: “i used to eat junk food, smoke dope…, i don’t eat that crap anymore!” Ok Paul, we hear ya… :)))

[@SimonSezSo]

The other side of this coin is getting Metal bands into Octave Records. I'd LOVE to buy Tool or Dream Theater's next project on DSD.

[@PeterGranaldi]

I can tell that as my system improved, the distortion from Hendrix’s guitar got better and better sounding! 😀

[@johndough8115]

Depends on the Heavy Metal Album that your talking about. Older metal CDs by Megadeth, have almost no Compression... and sound Detailed, and have Depth. However.. their Newer CDs... like "The System had Failed" are compressed to complete Dog Poop. And it only get worse from that point on.

[@blomegoog]

pretty much any music release of any genre the past 30y is engineered for ipod listening. this is why i only listen to older titles. The City Of Angels Soundtrack CD is pretty amazing, if you can still find one. Soundtrack CDs seem to be mastered well, at least from that time period. Don't know about nowdays, as I don't know if any soundtrack worth listening/buying.

[@josefbuckland]

Start listening more!

[@chadbarker3564]

That's why I got a pair of Cerwin Vega At 15s that I can crank and crank and don't distort.

[@artyfhartie2269]

Grunge music on high end loudspeakers sounds awesome, dude. Cool.

[@josephsichting8162]

Love your work and consistency!!!

[@panossant]

Been there, done that, got the t-Shirt: Naim amp, Klipsch speakers and a REL subwoofer

[@LordVictorHalgaard]

Metal is one of the most complex and difficult genres to reproduce, similar to classical - but in some ways even more difficult to reproduce. So the answer is yes. But it can be hard to find high end speakers that can handle it, is they Are usually made with more polite music in mind.

[@markmalasics3413]

LOL The funny thing is you really believe that!

[@davidopalecky7318]

Thanks Paul for sharing 👍

[@MundoOval]

Nowadays it's really hard to find speakers for those who are not into hip hop and need to hear more than just bass frequencies

[@aakar88]

Not a metal band by any means, but Led Zeppelin music sounds amazing on a high end system, hear new things every time you listen, the music never gets old

[@hemihead001]

I love Zep . Always have . I can't wait to play them on my 601 Series I's .

[@edmaster3147]

'A whole lot of love' is very entertaining as the phase play is adding a dimension. It's old but pretty amazing stuff.

[@aakar88]

@@edmaster3147 Yes, also try No Quarter, when Jimmy kicks in with the fuzz guitar…. one of Rock’s greatest moments

[@seanpeterlynch]

Metal has incredible texture and atmosphere. It’s made of layers and layers in recordings and disharmonious parts. Nothing better to listen to in high end rig!!

[@DueM]

Using a rotel and totem setup for my listening, lots of brutal metal has been pumped through it and it sounds awesome.

[@Kelocyde]

I heard some heavy metal on Wilson Audio speakers and was absolutely wow'd.

[@zeusapollo8688]

Jbl or c Vega would be great. Any decent pa speaker would also do it with ease

[@postjm9]

I've found that almost any recording can benefit from better reproduction (barring bad, lossy digital compression). Which is good, because the alternative is that our love of music and gear would end up narrowing our listening options only to "worthy" recordings. We're all elitist enough without banning everything but symphonic art music and modern jazz.

[@robertjurcina7055]

It sounded a bit like Paul thinks Metal is akin to the fast food of the music world. I don't think that was really the intent but perhaps it is. There's no question that it's fast and in that sense the players of this gendre have been described as virtuosos of their instruments like those I suppose in orchastras. Liking it is a totallly different question, one of subjective appeal based on personnal experiences and biases. I have wondered what Paul's answer to this question would be, thanks for answering this one so well written by the viewer.

[@doublet147]

My question is: What does Paul think heavy metal music is? He said he listens to heavy metal, but what bands does he "listen to"? Does he think Metallica is heavy metal?

[@jorgeamartineze120]

Excellent.

[@ryanhelmer9369]

My first stereo was a 2/3 year old Luxman (their best radio receiver at the time from 1990) 35 Watts A class, driving Acoustic Research 101 dB 3-ways. Friends got me into Marylin Manson and Rob Zombie at the time. Now that I'm 40, I can listen to nearly anything on a portable speaker, but I nostalgalisticsly demand for high end high-fi when hearing that heavy stuff. It's literally the quality of the guitar that I crave the most.

[@JoseFerreira-zb7wh]

If you enjoy having a good quality listening experience it's always worth it, no matter what genres you listen to. If you only listen to a specific genre, maybe it makes more sense to have a system that works best for that genre (and for your preference of course). I listen to lots of different types of music (metal included) but if I only listened to metal i'd like a dynamic sounding system that packed some punch in the low end , had clean, well defined mids and rolled off treble to some extent so it wouldn't become fatiguing. Instrument separation and fast transient response would also be important. Apart from that it's a matter of preference (brands, room size, speaker type, etc.) and budget.

[@MartinManweiler]

This inspired me now I’m going to listen to LP on my Martin Logans :) At first I wasn’t sure that it could do Rock but I realize now it’s just a different sound than I’m used to.

[@MartinManweiler]

I think Rock still sounds better on my focal clear professionals than the Martin Logan speakers even with a sub

[@kenntks]

Powerful advice.

[@strangersound]

One answer: Cerwin-Vega. Preferably something of a late 80s vintage D-series. Sound great and they thump. And it's worth building a quality system no matter what style of music you listen to. :)

[@TheCyberMantis]

Exactly. I have four Cerwin-Vega's. Bought them on clearance sale back in the 90's. Got them dirt cheap. Great for heavy metal. I use two Harman-Kardon amps to power them. Also got them on clearance sale for cheap. Been using them for many years. Rock solid. Recently had to replace the woofers in the Vega's. The red foam surround has a lifespan. Grabbed a case of matching-spec woofers from Parts-Express for $100, free shipping. $25 per woofer. After break-in... they sound excellent. Less boomy, but tighter. I also run a JBL 400watt 12" subwoofer, so that handles the deeper stuff. Source is a TEAC cd player I bought 8 years ago for $130. Has a burr-brown DAC in it. Also has a USB port, to play mp3 files. The Vega's are getting 80watts RMS to each one, at 0.07% THD into 8ohms. Total cost of my system was probably around $1,200. Which is literally pennies compared to all this "audiophile" stuff today. My cheap system sounds clean, and it can rattle the walls at higher volumes. Money well-spent. You don't need to spend a fortune to get great sound. You just have to shop wisely. Stay away from all the expensive stuff. Most of it is a huge waste of money. Unless you just like to brag about how much money you spend.

[@jedimasternoob]

If any advice to be told from this, I think the best is at 5:19 "If you're gonna do something, don't half ass it, just do it to the point of pure pleasure"

[@johnnikiforakis872]

I am also with Paul on this one. I am not an audiophile but I splurged on a pair of Klipsch Forte IV, Cayin cs88 (a rather not particularly tube sounding tube amp) and a Denafrips Pontus II so I can listen to my music at the best I can afford and (according to my taste), without distracting flaws that detract from the experience. Metal definitely benefits. I would actually say that I got a much better experience in classical than in metal on my "cheap" home theatre system (Listening through my Yamaha AVR in pure direct on a pair of Klipsch RP8000F. Maybe a bit better when adding the 15" Klipsch sub on the mix but still not satisfactory. Have not listened to it with the new SVS 2000 PB pro that replaced the Klipsch when it started to croak) BTW I understand that Klipsch are not "audiophile approved" but I like the sound signature of the heritage line and consider them a very good speaker that adapts to all kinds of music btw (with some help from proper setup and electronics to tame the energetic top end). The Forte IVs are also definitely an improvement to the IIIs (going from memory though)... No need for a sub (sorry Paul ;) )

[@marciojpcardoso]

Heavy Metal has loads of sound energy into it. You need something with high capacity, not only in terms of wattage, to play it well at loud volume.

[@kautkascitadaks]

Worth it big time a high end transducer can show everything and does not give a shit what genre of music it is.

[@goneyonderuk]

Tips for life and for listening to Metal! :) \m/ Great Vid.

[@blomegoog]

video title should be 'how i changed to quality fast food because my car caught fire' would garner a lot of new audiophile viewers.

[@AS-gp9kg]

99% True was more enjoyable than I had anticipated. The narration was great and the story line held my interest the entire time. Im looking forward to the next book. Pauls come a long way! 😂🤣

[@matthiasbohm4115]

Great Question, JAN! *pommes-gabel* The thing that I learned is: I enjoy most of my metal-albums my 'cheap' Amp and Klipsch speakers. I think the reason is that most bands / producers do not or cannot produce at the quality level that Octave or Blue Coast (examples, only!) do. Running Amon Amarth, Kreator, Slayer (even the high-res Masters), even some Iron Maiden re-masters, Sabaton, to name a few on the higher-end system exposes all the shortcomings in the productions. For me, that kills the joy. There are exeptions imho - most Megadeth-albums for example leave a great impression, as well as Rammstein, on a highly resoving audio-chain.

[@econautx]

Disagree. I have a high endish Klipsch system and also enjoy low fi black metal on it. hint: For better sound get the first US releases of the Slayer and Metallica albums from the 80s. They are the best masters. You only hear the difference on a good system, but it's worth it.

[@Torqd_Off]

First, not heavy metal, but classic rock... Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin... but I live way away from anyone else and when I get uptight, usually in the quiet middle of the night and can't sleep I'll throw the fan on the amps crank up the volume and sit in the sweet spot and then start listening, really listening to the music. I've got Polk Audio LS90's and the first thing I try to do is pick out the bass line and I find once I'm able to relax enough and do that I can then also start listening for and hearing the separation... rhythm guitar, lead guitar and then it just takes me right down into it. I fall asleep a lot listening to my music with my amps right on the verge of clipping!!!

[@Torqd_Off]

Oh yeah, some of the best bass "I" have ever heard is Rush, The Who, (drums in The Who are crying from the beating they're getting) Deep Purple and then some Fleetwood Mac Gold Dust Woman for the separation of the instruments, or Tusk... I love it all!!! I can't name em' all. I have a lot of music and I'll just hit shuffle sometimes and relax and even take that out of my control and then relax and enjoy!!!

[@shiraz1736]

Not sure what to make of this, I started on mainstream rubbish finally found rock/metal, then that opened the door to Jazz , blues , psychedelic and so much more , I listen to it all. Nothing wrong with metal some of the most amazing musicians can be found in the broad church.

[@vicmaese]

My modest little system (B&W CM6s2, Rotel A12 and SMSL SU9 DAC) can actually bring out a lot of nuances in metal. You hear a lot of the layers in the music. Especially modern bands that have added effects, vocal layers, etc. A lot of that stuff tends to be more resolving on that system than in my car, or my beats headphones. Still blows me away and I’ve been playing music on that system for over 5 years now. Any kind of music is going to have its “thing” and you’ll definitely be able to hear it on better gear.

[@allansh828]

if you are making another audio book, would you record it in DSD? I have never heard a Hi-Fi audio book.

[@svbarr]

After Grad school I sold stereos for a couple years. 90% of my paying customers liked rock and metal. Mid Fi to semi hi fi. In most rock/metal the only 'acoustic' instruments are drums and maybe an acoustic guitar way down in the mix. Seems to me that a Strad violin, or a female jazz singer, or a real flute is harder to replicate than instruments that are mic'ed. Putting a Les Paul into a Marshall and adding a wah wah pedal, adding some delay and then mic-ing that with a Shure SM 57 limits the dynamic range on reproduction. Hence speakers like JBL and other efficient beasts work very well. JBL really works because many original recordings are mastered and listened to on JBL and Altec equipment in the studio. Particularly in the classic days of the 60-70's. So instead of spending finite resources on equipment that is transparent and holographic - it makes more sense to put your money into clean watts and speakers that allow a nice SPL. If price is no object - then you can afford both. But for 10-12K or less you can usually put together an ass kicking system with lots of slam - say 200 CLEAN watts per channel into speakers with an efficiency of 95 db or so.

[@AudiophileTubes]

Of course it's worth the time and money, if you value quality of sound. Hard rock/metal also contains orchestrations (classical nuances) such as in Ozzy's 'Diary Of A Madman', for example. So you are not only often hearing electric instruments, but acoustic.

[@peterlarkin762]

What's with the telefunken mic's behind Paul? Assuming they are vintage stock!

[@markbryant4641]

I've been listening to metal since the mid 80s. I was a young kid and this is the style of music that got me into music. Now I'm in my mid 40s and listen to a wide variety of music including metal. Heavy metal and punk music does not sound good on audiophile equipment. Of course there are exceptions to this statement but this is my experience. I build my sound systems around heavy metal for this reason. If I can get my stereo sounding good when playing 80s thrash, 90s death metal and 90s independent underground punk music then it will play any music well. The sound system needs to be ABSOLUTELY unfatiguing. And have fantastic boogie factor. I look for gear that is described as being laid back, warm, having a rolled off top end, having good boogie factor and being unfatiguing. The best system I had for metal was very inexpensive in this audiophile world. IMF transmission line speakers. (Small bookshelf speakers.) Thorens TD165 with an Empire MM cart. And a Consonance amplifier. One KT88 per side. so about 10 watts by memory. Also a Consonance valve/tube phono stage.

[@paulstearns93]

Not a heavy metal aficionado but I was recently at Florida Audio Expo. MBL was displaying their products. The system they had was conservatively > $500k probably a lot more. Someone asked to play some Metallica they had brought. The folks running the room played it. It came across a little grainy (surely the digital file), but it was believable. The dynamics and punch put you about 30' from the stage and it was great & painful all at once. So my thought is the purpose of a good system is to faithfully reproduce whatever it is fed. Whether you like Metal, Opera, Country, Afro Pop or one of the other myriad styles of music the question is how much does accuracy mean to you? (And how much can you afford?)

[@raymundhinaut6152]

It's a nice that you brought this up for I actually planning to buy one of the MBL extreme the latest version, the only thing that worries me is that I'm not sure if they can send it to Philippines along with their team to set up.

[@paulstearns93]

@@raymundhinaut6152 While I am not sure about MBL, it has been my experience that most companies will find a way given enough incentive. Since you are considering this system I assume you have the means to make it a reality. If this is the case, I would suggest (which you may have already done) an analysis of, and remediation to, the space the system will reside. Once you go beyond a rather modest system, the space the system resides in has as much if not more to do with what you experience than the actual equipment used. While the MBL system is quite impressive, both visually and sonically, there may be other systems which may be better suited for the space and the music you wish to reproduce. If heavy metal at concert levels is what you wish to experience and you have a reasonable size space, a well designed high efficiency system may be a good choice. If your tastes are more varied and you sometimes listen to string quartets and other times Ozzy Osbourne with other genre's thrown in the mix then MBLs would surely be a good choice. I have listened to them twice, the only negative comment I have about them is; I found the sweet spot where the imaging and soundstage came alive to be rather small. This does not mean they did not fill the room, they did. But if you are looking for the magic of "seeing" a jazz ensemble right before your ears you must be in the sweet spot. This may have been the room, as I was at a show.

[@ridirefain6606]

I listen to a lot of Metal and hear the concern. Especially when it comes to speakers. With most Hi-End brands, artist like Sade sound great but Metallica sounds anemic. The biggest issue is the bass rolls off far too quickly or the design does not have enough surface area given to its woofers. So, they are not able to move the necessary amount of air. On them you hear great articulation, but the kick drum has no resounding boom. All you hear is the drummer's tom striking the skin and nothing else beyond that. The music is not well suited for Magneplanars, micro towers, or book shelves. I found you need a large tower that can get down and growl; paired with an amp with enough current to have an iron grip on the low-end drivers. A 2-watt SET, may not be the best choice, even when mated with a pair of giant 106 Db efficient horns.

[@jimeadie4415]

Maggies paired with a good subwoofer(s) can play plenty loud.

[@ridirefain6606]

@@jimeadie4415 Love Maggies. The issue is not how loud they can play. Very few subs can ever keep up with their speed. So the transients on the low end always seems to be slightly off. To me, the drums always sound like they are playing catch up with the rest of the band. On metal, I never found the combo to work as well a true full range tower that can get down to 20 Hz.

[@shiraz1736]

You will find that for at least the last 15 odd years bass drums are tuned pretty tight for double kick clarity. You don’t often hear that wonderful Bonham, Rudd style bass of yesteryear.

[@DesignVisStudios]

Metallica sounds anemic because they record their albums poorly.

[@Brian-vr1rh]

@@DesignVisStudios This is one thing that sort of gets unnoticed of unspoken of. There are numerous "masterpiece" type albums that are IMO, painful to listen to on audiophile equipment. Just to mention some of my favorites that I feel are poorly recorded. Pyromania, 5150, Heaven & Hell, early MSG albums, AC/DC (Bon Scott albums)

[@kobiljaglava3138]

Sure, there's no better feeling then when you switch to high end system and actually hear the music for the first time 😎

[@josiahneice2174]

Meshuggah - Combustion is one of my test tracks. Some speakers top end can make your ears bleed with this track. If it's clear, un-fatiguing, and full of impact we have a winner. I think it's excellently recorded and mixed. Really gets people's attention after some Sade and Steely Dan.

[@kobiljaglava3138]

@@josiahneice2174 Ouch 🤪 I think I'm gonna withdraw the claim 🤠 20 seconds and had enough, like thousands daggers hit me 🥺

[@josiahneice2174]

@@kobiljaglava3138The crescendo that occurs on the guitar solo gets me everytime. I liked your description. What I look for in Metal!

[@kobiljaglava3138]

@@josiahneice2174 Ideal for Gitmo torture playlist 😎 Oh man, I didn't now till now that my KEFs could be turned into acoustical torturing weapon 😀

[@portcorner_noise]

guitar with the drill on it... that was funny. Now, seriously, not going into much detail but it took me years to get my setup to sound right for Extreme Metal (modern death/doom/black)... I have the best amp I could get, good pair of KEF speakers with optimal cables and I can now say I can hear every detail in Chaos Echoes 'Kyorakushugi'. Now go give this a spin, no drills.

[@KillerKojak]

"I remember when i listen "Wasted years" from Iron-Maiden (in a use audio store) in 1986 on a pair of B&W DM-1400 with Counterpoint amp I WAS BLOW AWAY by the reality of the HI-HAT and then my life change forever !!! Now i have Maggie's MG-12 and Triangle antal esw with 4 subs ( 2 Paradigm PW2200 back of the Maggie's...SVS PB-2000 in center and a 15inch Sound-Dynamic on back) with a YAMAHA RX-A3070 as receiver who drive a Musical-Fidelity M8s500s power amp to the Triangle and a SONY N80ES amp to the Magnepan and a Counterpoint SA-12 (tweaked) for the two 3A MM Master as "center"....all the ATMOS speaker (Martin-Logan with motion flow) drived by the receiver in a small room and ARCH-ENNEMY and MAIDEN LIVE SOUND TERRIFIC AND ENORMOUS WITHOUT ANY STRESS of course..... and the sub's on back add good rigidity of the Magnepan (with a damper ) and they sound more FOCUS and clear.... the 3 guitars of MAIDEN sound just awesome....."

[@essendon72]

Dynaudio is what I use for metal matched up to a 200w/ch Plinius amp ;)

[@God-yb2cg]

I do agree that heavy metal heavily benefits from good speakers. As for black metal, as long as it reaches the desired SPL any shitty speaker will do. Distortion doesn't matter, because the recording itself is already distorting more than the speaker ever could, frequency range doesn't matter, because all bass and high-end was already cut off.

[@sleeper1023]

For the longest time, this was my problem with speakers. Happily camped with a couple of towers for now: Polk R700 and Acoustic Energy AE520. And I did a demo of tons of options in different price tiers.

[@sleeper1023]

@@robertv.d.woning5352 Polk is more forgiving

[@thomasgotz2090]

I can confidently state that DAC and Amp make a hell of a difference as well as speakers obviously do. I upgraded from a Hifiberry DAC2HD to a denafrips ares 2 and this was a significant jump in detail and resolution. Since I moved away from a vintage K+HSB280 and a Nakamichi 610 pre to a McIntosh MA6600 there is even a stage becoming audible, really incredible! Listening with ELAC LAJet10 and XTZ Sub. These are the next thing to upgrade 😉

[@dandonna852]

Addie Van Halen used the drill Makita 6012HD intro to Poundcake, I love hear Nightwish's few songs I can't hear back round vocals, it would awesome hear separation On revealing high end system

[@janklingel5662]

I am glad Paul liked my letter 😁🤘

[@jeffstewart4162]

So what system are you rocking

[@janklingel5662]

​@@jeffstewart4162Passive OrbidSound speakers from the south of Germany

[@ChiefExecutiveOrbiter]

Now I know why they play Heavy Metal music in Jack in the box commercials.

[@janinapalmer8368]

This question is SO hard to answer ..... heavy metal is meant to be loud ... period...... and the human ear becomes less discriminating at high volume levels ( and even more when you're pissed..!) so really all you need for heavy metal is much the same equipment as the musicians used ! High power amps with high power speakers and then go deaf 🧏‍♀️

[@snakeoilaudio]

why not listening to heavy metal on a high end system, get a KT88 PushPull Amp and a Klipsch or JBL speaker and you are good to go. Sounds like a Marshall amp.

[@Kowinaida]

Many of you seem to think metal just means Metallica, Iron Maiden, Megadeth etc..all the well known names. Metal is a massive umbrella encompassing many sub-genres & quite a few of those bands employ different recording techniques giving more of a natural 'room' sound.

[@BB..........]

"I believe you have my stapler." - Milton

[@joeythedime1838]

Another Channel ! Paul when do you find time to sleep????

[@MorbidBlessing]

“The guitar with the drill...” That would be Paul Gilbert. One of the best of all time!

[@TheCyberMantis]

The fact that he didn't even know his name, tells it all.

[@bluelines1792]

I remember asking about 99% True at the bookstore and they asked if it was a self-help book, I said it was a hifi book.

[@siguz6070]

I'd say it's worth it. I listen to many things, mostly prog-rock and prog-metal, but from beethoven over billy eilish to black metal pretty much everything goes. I've heard the greates improvements in live recordings, and by now I prefer modern live albums over studio albums pretty much every time. Just concider what you are looking for. You want a live feeling? Go for some horns and a pretty good amp! You don't like the harshness of modern recordings? Try tubes! You want to hear every note your favourite guitar player is shredding? Go for a detailed speaker with good separation! etc. I personally went with a pair of Magnepan 1.7i and am more than happy. They are very fast and detailed, have a huge soundstage and you completely forget they are in the room. They might not image well, but for Metal this isn't too big of a problem. As a drummer, I pay much attention to the reproduction of drums, and this is the first speeker I've heared, that can reproduce snare drum or cymbal hits pretty believable. That being sad, there will be albums that do not benefit from a good system. With my current system for example I tend to hear quantization artefacts pretty well, which I can't stand.

[@thevintagehifiambassador8524]

try this :-) and tell me if you like it Ps: B&W DM 601 S2 snare and cymbals are quite good kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z6iyppepj6eHeZI&ab_channel=GilProg

[@hugoromeyn4582]

I've heard "Whole Lotta Rosie" being played on an Accuphase amp powering a pair of Sonus Faber loudspeakers at an audio show. It was funny that those guys played that song after some Jazz music, Adam Cohen and Chesky Records stuff. Some people started to laugh when they announced that the next song was good old AC/DC. But it was so impressive!

[@edmaster3147]

Those Japanase Accuphase guys play metal in their breakroom :), those amps like to be driven hard. Mine takes care of amplification and heating :)

[@vladimirdjokic5741]

Hey paul, love your vids, big fan. Love from Serbia! I know this is a wayyy out there question, but have you ever heard of or seen the ATL Trans series of speakers? I'm a guy who's into vintage stuff, so I was just wondering...

[@dwightballard3868]

Ya, I listen to a lot of electronic music like Brian Eno- it sounds fantastic. Quality is quality regardless of the type of music. BTW- quite the circumnavigation there Paul. VW Beatles and Fried Tocos meet High End Audio. Ha!

[@ericweil8843]

What speakers and amp can bring out the bass-guitar on the album Injustice for All? 🤔 It's a trick question 😜

[@pfslik]

no combination on the planet can do that. Did I win? ;) The kick drum on that album with a good system and flac file is jaw dropping tho

[@kjeldpedersen666]

Hifi is about authentic representation of the source, right. You want to hear, say, the closest possible representation of the sound the musicians heard when listening back to the music they made in the studio. The sound they approved to release as a record. That goes of course for heavy metal too. If the musicians chose a completely compressed low fi sound I would want to hear that that was their choice. And if they chose a more refined, dynamic sound that’s what I want to hear... And nowhere can you tell the difference better than on a high end sound system. High end sound can never be “too good” for anything. I want to hear the truth😊👍

[@daveycrockett5738]

Short and quick answer, it doesn’t matter what kind of music you listen to for the most part high end audio will make a great difference. Just depends on you. I run 4 rf7iiis 1 rc64iii 2 rb51iis and jtr captivator4000ulf lp. Ran with anthem mrx720 and powering the front stage with parasoumd a31. I have a feeling this system would fulfill all your needs and then some to the person the mailed Paul. Tho it is about a 20k system but it’s worth it to me.

[@budgetaudiophilelife-long5461]

🤗👍IF QUALITY MATTERS …AND YOUR TASTES MATURE…THEN YOU STILL HAVE A GREAT SYSTEM TO ENJOY 😊😍😍😍

[@georgeradulescu7175]

Are you saying only immature people enjoy metal?

[@strqrt70]

@@georgeradulescu7175 No, not the person, just their tastes. Lol

[@budgetaudiophilelife-long5461]

@@georgeradulescu7175 😂 NOT AT ALL🤗😍😍😍

[@matronix1977]

I am a metalhead myself. I admit that beyond speakers my new DACS changed way more the feel and true energy than everything ! I listen from my pc with SHIIT AUDIO and DRAGONFLY COBALT in my car (everything custom here) from lossless Apple music in my ipad. This is a serious upgrade. You are not serious anything beyond this ! MOUAHHHH (Jabba the hutt LAUGH) Metal never dies…

[@justins.1283]

Personally I think most heavy metal needs high efficiency large cabinet,large driver systems. That and paired with dual left and right powered subwoofers. Pair those with a clean 80-100 w amp and then no matter what the source you'll get all the impact of a live set without having to play it at ear bleeding levels.

[@Kowinaida]

I'm afraid you're talking shit. I've been into metal for 35 years & playing in bands for about 30 years & currently have a $70k system which doesn't include massive floorstanders or subs & I achieve all the impact I need in comparison to rehearsals.

[@patricaomas8750]

So if you produced low end shit would you say no and how is it recorded on low end equipment

[@MGA_83]

I have a pair of Adam Audio T7Vs and listen to metal all day. I play guitar as well, so having a system that displays mids well is very necessary for me. I guess it depends on your definition of "high end". For me, this is high end enough. I don't need to spend thousands to hear a good riff and instrument separation.

[@dispersemedia]

First what kind of metal? Given that there's a whole spectrum of production/engineering styles that comes along with its thousands of subgenres, what we must aim for is versatility. Ideally a very neutral response speaker (like a studio monitor) then just use a preamp with powerful tone shaping features.

[@My_Legs_Are_OK]

I listen to progressive metal like Between the Buried and Me and Haken. I like hearing details like you can using headphones. It was very hard to find a speaker that could do it. The only one of all I tried was Spendor A4. It is not very bassy due to its size but the detail... wow. I hope to try and find their larger models to compare, and hope they will deliver that one missing piece. Other (floor-standing) models I tried that day - Focal Aria (meh), Opera Grand Mezza (terrible), some Cantons (bad, nothing but bass), some ~$10k Sonus Fabers, don't remember the model (OK but the price and still worse than those Spendors), Chario Cygnus MKII (not bad but same price as A4 which were better), some expensive Dalis (not good). If you like to hear all the things in your prog and can audition a pair of Spendors - do try them.

[@nncoco]

Metal sounds killer on old 3-way speakers like Cerwin Vega or JBL L-100. Get a solid-state amp with a lot of headroom.

[@TheCyberMantis]

Exactly what I am running. Four Cerwin-Vega DX-5's. Two Harman-Kardon amps pushing them. They rock. Got a 12" JBL subwoofer for the low-end. I bought all that stuff on clearance sale years ago. Got the Vega's for $99 each! Got the JBL for $200. New, not used.

[@Evil_Peter]

It's definitely worth to go into hifi when you mainly listen to metal, as I do. I've had a few different set ups with more normal choices for metal like Klipsch, but right now I have a pair of Focal Kanta No 3, which certainly isn't the standard recommended choice, but it's definitely the best I've gotten this far. I still have all the energy and dynamics as before but more nuance and detail added. Of course high end audio always comes down to synergy to make the system work as you want, so you need to find the right components to work with each other.

[@thevintagehifiambassador8524]

isn't the treble a bit too harsh? have Focal XS Book on the desk and only listen to a metal radio station 10 hours/ day with some B&W DM 580 floorstanders at 2 m helping making some background. Focal sounds great.

[@Evil_Peter]

@@thevintagehifiambassador8524 No, I don't find the treble harsh, just detailed and revealing. I guess it depends on what you drive the speakers with as there was some things in the treble I didn't like when I tried a Hegel amp, for example, but with the Technics SU-R1000 it's all just as I want it. Audio is a lot about synergy.

[@Scottlp2]

JBL-so much bass you can see the dust moving down the floor ;-)

[@AbsoluteFidelity]

The most neutral speaker in a well treated room will be best for heavy metal. In fact, it will be the best for any genre. Period. A great hi fidelity (read : accurate) system knows no genre.

[@thevintagehifiambassador8524]

so Spendor, Harbeth and Nad will be it.

[@AbsoluteFidelity]

@@thevintagehifiambassador8524 more like Revels, KEFs and Genelecs.

[@thomaspotthoff3139]

Paul... OHhhh the stories you have.. Love them all. Not to mention the advice and guidence you offer us older guys, but not intimadating or condesending to the newer folks begining thier journey down this rabbit hole. Thank you good sir!

[@svensvensson627]

Great vid!

[@BastianUllr]

Absolutely worth to have a high fidelity stereo for metal. High end? High end itself is a sketchy topic. I listen from Iron Maiden to Sadistic Intent. The only thing that I absolutely suggest is to get the MOST BRACED speakers you can get. Only purchase brands that can certify below 1% THD for 100hz and up for their speaker and that can provide the loudness you need. Why? Because metal is extremely busy music, and you want those speakers to play as clean as possible. You won’t regret it. Also, push for 3 way at the very least - double kick drums on a 2 way will have a very negative impact on the voice reproduction as some recordings have that bass really saturated. This will lead you to few brands as most are really sketchy and obscure about their measurements and specs. Be mindful from brands that have a wide dispersion if your room is bare bones.