In Reply to: It's time to open our eyes and close our wallets! posted by Revelation Man on October 3, 2003 at 10:15:14:
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If throwing money at your audio problems doesn't result in sonic perfection, you're not trying hard enough: Apply more cash until it does. Repeat as needed.The truth of the matter is that the microphones used to produce our stereo recordings by and large do not perceive sound as our ears do, and these recordings are really more of an "artistic rendition" of a real event, and you must not confuse them with pure, unadultered reality distilled into a 5.25" optical disk. If, for instance, you're expecting Dusty Springfield to sound like she's on the same stage as the band as she sings "The Look Of Love", something is very wrong with the playback gear because my ears tell me she was singing in a different room altogether, and quite close to a microphone: There should be nothing whatsoever "lifelike" about the soundstaging of this cut. This does not make the recording BAD: It's just a reflection of the recording engineer's art, given the limitations of his gear and studio space and his or her personal tastes. The real goal of home hifi though speakers then, is to be able to enjoy the colors, textures, intonations and pacing of the recorded music, much like an art lover can enjoy a great painting.
The closest thing you are going to get to simulating a real live space is via BINAURAL recordings and playback through headphones, and for $3K, you should be able to get a stunningly good headphone amp and headphones! But how odd that that this technology gets so little mention from those claiming to seek absolute truths in their audio.
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Follow Ups
- The deep, dark secret of the matter is... - 4season 08:36:09 10/04/03 (0)