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In Reply to: RE: Old-school, and the quest for musical nirvana posted by SoundMann on April 24, 2016 at 11:32:46
"Am I alone in finding the majority of modern equipment amusical?"
Probably not, if the equipment isn't tubes and/or analog.....
It also depends if you are listening to a lot of recently-produced music, which could lead to such perception. This is maybe the reason why recent gear often gets shortchanged. (I could be guilty of this.) It's also the reason why it's difficult to get younger people interested in high-end audio.
"Is the pursuit of imaging and resolve really more important?"
Once again, depends on the playback medium and recording.... I cannot tolerate an Auto-Tuned singer on a resolving system..... (It's a lot more tolerable through a cheap radio.) But can be heaven with Ella Fitzgerald on vinyl.....
"Why can I only find true contentment in the best of the old?"
I tend to be old school personally.... (I wouldn't get caught dead with a computer tied to one of my two big systems.) But some of the gear I own is relatively recent. I personally think loudspeakers are the one component which the best stuff out there is the recent stuff.
You have to pick and choose. The music you listen to will be the biggest influence.
Follow Ups:
... Recordings made in the last 10-15 years are more likely to be better than anything made earlier. Perhaps Auto-Tune or other processing technologies are used less in case of classical.
Almost all my listening is to lossless computer files, (FLAC or ALAC and a few Monkey), via Foobar2000 using WASAPI. I usually use the Electri-Q equalizer which is highly, (to my ear, perfectly), transparent.
I started my hifi hobby with home-built Dynaco solid state components. Maybe my feelings would be different had I choose Dynaco's tube components instead.
Speaking of old solid state, the Phase Linear 400 I used for over 20 years was possibly the most unmusical piece of equipment I ever owned.
I love the music of Dmitri Shostakovich ...
The classical catalog is probably the best place to go for *natural* sounding recordings. Un-amplified acoustic instruments provide us with hard references for what "good sound" actually is.Fantastic and *unnatural* sounds are often the mainstay of the pop catalog and are often difficult or impossible to judge by naturalistic standards as they sometimes contain mere traces of naturalistic tone, timbre, and texture (just enough to be recognizable as music made by humans in an earthly atmosphere, at times), and as they become a sort of reference unto themselves, sound-wise. The hifi enthusiast is left guessing about exactly what it is that constitutes "hifi" with some types of pop recordings. Reproducing pop music engages the imagination and the resources of the hifi enthusiast differently than naturalistic classical recordings do.
I find that both types of recordings can be equally *good*, as recordings go, but in different ways and for different reasons.
Edits: 04/25/16
Yeah - like, not at all! ;-)
Actually, I'm speaking only of AutoTune. Certainly, I've never heard a classical recording which has used Auto-Tune.
I'm hearing it more with classical...... Acoustic jazz too...... The depressing part is I'm hearing it applied to classic singers on remasters..... It's as if the recording producers/engineers think nobody will notice, but it's blatantly noticeable.
Just another digital conundrum.
I think modern tube amps are quite a bit superior to the vintage ones I have heard. I don't necessarily think speakers have truly improved all that much.
After hearing some vintage Western Electric movie speakers and some modern Western Electric replicas, I can say that there is some powerful and convincing sound to be had from these old designs that make most modern speakers, even big ones, sound rather emaciated...so I can relate to a lot of what this guy is saying...but not completely.
I think if you take the best from the past and mix with the best bits from today then you can find a truly convincing way to go.
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