Which voices do you generally prefer, male or female? Do you like higher or deeper voices (within the 'gender category') better?

For me, it depends on the overall mood of the song. For instance, the male baritone at the start of the "Ode to Joy" in Beethoven's Ninth and Mahler's Des Knaben Wunderhorn are really good. For females, ones which readily come to mind are Mahler's 2nd and 3rd, and Solveig's Song from Peer Gynt.

just so the perform on the 'simple' side, i'm happy.

dj

For solos male, it hard for me to listen to a female voice up in the high registers. On the other hand i do prefer female voices in a choral song, an angelic, full yet subtle sound, if that makes sense.

Do men generally prefer female voices and vice versa or is it the opposite?

I usually find men's voices easier to listen to, perhaps more pleasant on long terms, but I couldn't say they are more expressive. Both the tenor in Berlioz's Requiem and the soprano in the closing of 'Lucia di Lammermoor' are expressive. So is Fischer-Dieskau singing lieder and Renée Fleming in Händel's airs. It's hard to decide. I guess it's much more in the music itself than in the singer.

As for ranges, my favourite are tenor for men and alto (or mezzosoprano) for women.

I like mezzo-soprano's voice for women and baritone/bass for men.

Favorite voices for listening are Tenor (male) and Contralto.
I had a female tenor in my choir years ago - I must say that is was a pleasing tone. Her range was equal to the male counterpart.

This is interesting, very loosely I generally prefer Sopranos whereas my my Wife prefers Tenor or Bass, this is with out any visual input.

That is interesting, as I generally prefer the tone of male voices, and usually look for all male choirs when buying choral works. However this is sometimes not appropriate, especially for bigger works like Carmina Burana, which I think need sopranos rather than trebles for strength.

Sopranos and counter-tenors I like the best, but I can't choose between them in order to answer your first question.

I sang in a choir with an Italian Bass. Ok, he was Swiss-Italian, but every time he opened his mouth, half the soprano section swooned. (Rather prone to swooning, those sopranos).

I'm glad you appreciate lady tenors, Krummhorn. I had one choir director tell me that I was just a lazy alto, and if I worked on it I could "fix" my range. I'm quite proud of my low C, and I don't think it needs a bit of fixing. Besides, it was great fun smashing the A above middle C while the other tenors (male) turned purple.

I have to say male solo, but I prefer a female section.

The recording I've got of Vaughan Williams Sea Symphony; the baritone is awsome, but when the soprano comes in it's just anoying!

I prefer mid-baritone to alto.

The extremes just annoy me.

That seems to be the opinion in popular music, I'll challange you to find a pop artist (excluding Barry White) with an extreme range.

Freddie Mercury
Bobby McFerrin