|
Home
/ FAQ
/ News Classifieds / Events |
Audio Asylum Thread Printer |
Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
64.13.14.96
In Reply to: RE: And I believe they do like! posted by Don Till on May 08, 2009 at 12:43:52
Very good point. How I would put it is the annoyance associated with the coloration or distortion is the main thing, and that's an individual call. I've heard systems that make me want to run from the room that other folks think sounds swell. And vise-versa I'm sure.
All the world is a compromise and we are just the compromised...
Rick
"How I would put it is the annoyance associated with the coloration or distortion is the main thing, and that's an individual call. I've heard systems that make me want to run from the room that other folks think sounds swell."
I agree. I know some say, but I disagree for a variety of reasons, that there's some point where the focus of the reproduction gets so great that the characteristics of the recording become an annoyance or a distraction. It doesn't make sense to me that if accurate reproduction of music is the purpose that there's some reason why some recordings would be better served by less than accurate reproduction. I think I've heard all the arguments, some of them sound smart and reasonable, but my experiences and individual call is they are just excuses for stereos that aren't really working that well.
... Doesn't seem like a great recommendation to me. I'm with you, it indicates a stereo with problems. Push comes to shove if you are aware of your stereo system it isn't doing it's job very well. The idea is to listen through them, not to them.
Accuracy isn't a scalar. In the real audio world there are usually so many tradeoffs that the question devolves into accuracy in what parameter at what cost to which others. Fortunately we are adaptive and can adjust to many shortcomings of our systems, but not to all, and those are the ones that become annoyances or dictate what sort of music it's good for.
I sometimes wonder why binaural recordings and headphone listening aren't standard fare for AA folks. I'd venture to say that it's the most 'accurate' recording/reproduction system available for real sounds, and one that's affordable and practical.
Rick
"I sometimes wonder why binaural recordings and headphone listening aren't standard fare for AA folks. I'd venture to say that it's the most 'accurate' recording/reproduction system available for real sounds, and one that's affordable and practical."
Or active equalizers for those who claim accurate reproduction of the recorded waveform is all important.
"I'm with you, it indicates a stereo with problems. "
Or one that's colored to favor the owners preferences.
I like to think my systems are about getting the most music out of the most recordings. Not everyone will share my purpose. Where ever there is a claim of "most" or "best", except for measureable accuracy, there are going to be colorations involved. Whether it's most live, most real, most music, most recordings, etc. I think there will be a degree of colorations involved leading us to our conclusion.
If someone wants to minimize colorations there's plenty of test equipment and tools available for such endeavors but I'm confident in the end they will end up with a system that sounds pretty average but one that measures the best.
While I'm not a big tube power amp fan (pre-amp is a different story) designs that take various types of output tubes provide, I think, a clear example of coloration tradeoffs.In particular in designs that can accept either EL34 or KT88 (common) I find the KT88 provide a more "linear" sound, accurate, transparent... then swap in EL34 and its (in my experience anyway) pleasant colorations of the "euphonic" sort, easy on the ears, etc.
I can appreciate the EL34 "sound" but I would opt for KT88 for most material. However I acknowledge that's just me, my preference and priorities... nothing more.
Everything matters, don't forget to tweak your placebos!
Edits: 05/09/09
Post a Followup:
Top of Page ]
[ Contact Us ]
[ Support/Wish List ]
[ Copyright © 2009, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
[ Go Green ]
[ Take5 ]