The dynamic range argument will go on and on....

Posted by srl1 (A) on August 15, 2016 at 18:23:51

In Reply to: Vanska and the Minnesotans finally complete their Sibelius cycle posted by Chris from Lafayette on August 14, 2016 at 09:10:46:

I think many megabytes were sacrificed on this subject on the old sa-cd.net site. I remember it also coming up either in American Record Guide or Fanfare when some reviewers complained about too much dynamic range in BIS recordings.

I think several issues are involved here. One, most home systems cannot recreate the concert hall in their living rooms no matter how much the audiophiles wish it so. Second, even if one can get the loudest parts to play at concert levels without distortion, living rooms are much smaller than concert halls and the sound doesn't have anywhere to go in a small space but to bounce around and smear the distort the music. Third, when in the concert hall, one has visual cues that can enhance the audio experience and make it easier to hear the quiet passages as well as the loudest ones.

Anyone who has heard the Rite of Spring played by a first-class orchestra in a decent concert hall knows that there is no way for a home system to recreate the amount of excited sound waves generated by the orchestra.

Finally, I believe that most home listening environments aren't really as quiet as perceived. I've been in a 1,000+ seat hall full of customers that can seem as quiet as a tomb when both the performers and the listeners are locked-in and involved in the listening experience.

As far as BIS is concerned, most of the time I just adjust the volume if necessary glad in the knowledge that BIS is giving me what the performers did without any intervention other than microphone placement.

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Follow Ups Full Thread

Topic - Vanska and the Minnesotans finally complete their Sibelius cycle - Chris from Lafayette 09:10:46 08/14/16 (21)

The dynamic range argument will go on and on.... - srl1 18:23:51 08/15/16 (1)

RE: The dynamic range argument will go on and on.... - oldmkvi 10:13:07 08/16/16 (0)

Really a milestone - TGR 09:22:02 08/15/16 (5)

RE: "I think the SFS actually plays better for him than for MTT!" - Ivan303 12:25:03 08/15/16 (4)

Agreed, actually - TGR 13:14:26 08/15/16 (3)

RE: " Also they play better for Bychkov" - Ivan303 13:55:54 08/15/16 (2)

I have seen him twice - TGR 16:30:21 08/15/16 (1)

I saw him in Oakland with the Vienna Phil... - Ivan303 16:39:50 08/15/16 (0)

RE: Vanska and the Minnesotans finally complete their Sibelius cycle - learsfool 20:53:24 08/14/16 (4)

Thanks for the correction - that means the Minnesota Orchestra board/administration was even more insane! [nt] - Chris from Lafayette 22:42:00 08/14/16 (3)

More like very hard-nosed bargaining. - rbolaw 07:49:03 08/15/16 (2)

Sure, I understand that - Chris from Lafayette 09:13:07 08/15/16 (1)

Sometimes the board simply closes the business. - rbolaw 10:00:44 08/15/16 (0)

RE: Sure didn't take Sibelius that long! nt - kitch29 19:26:06 08/14/16 (0)

"For the life of me, I CANNOT understand a criticism like this!" - Doktor Brahms 10:27:09 08/14/16 (6)

DB - I do understand where you're coming from - Chris from Lafayette 12:18:40 08/14/16 (4)

RE: DB - I do understand where you're coming from - pbarach 15:56:50 08/15/16 (2)

RE: DB - I do understand where you're coming from - ahendler 16:48:07 08/15/16 (0)

Interesting - Chris from Lafayette 16:36:49 08/15/16 (0)

RE: DB - I do understand where you're coming from - Doktor Brahms 13:26:39 08/14/16 (0)

RE: "For the life of me, I CANNOT understand a criticism like this!" - rjan 11:36:50 08/14/16 (0)

Follow Ups

The dynamic range argument will go on and on.... - srl1 18:23:51 08/15/16 (1)

RE: The dynamic range argument will go on and on.... - oldmkvi 10:13:07 08/16/16 (0)

The dynamic range argument will go on and on....

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