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In Reply to: RE: Michael S., about your by-line..... posted by vinnie2 on March 02, 2014 at 04:40:21
"There is only one thing wrong with your argument Jim, and that is we are totally unable to reproduce the listening environment in which these recordings were made."
I don't agree Vinnie. Maybe we can't exactly duplicate the environment, but we get enough ambient info in good systems that we can tell the difference between halls/recording studios/etc.
But what is so important to realize is that NONE of the above really applies if what we are trying to do is to faithfully reproduce the recorded material supplied to us. Changing the nature/tailoring of the recording is not "high fidelity". For us as listeners that recording is the "original" which we strive to reproduce with the highest level of fidelity in whatever our listening environment may be.
I can really enjoy listening to music in my car. It has a very good audio system in it - but it is by no means high fidelity. My home system offers excellent fidelity, not because it is more pleasing to listen to than in my car (although it is), but because it is more faithful to the source.
Follow Ups:
I will be willing to bet that there is more to your home system sounding better than just being "faithful to the source". The quality of the reproducing system is a big factor too; ie car radio vs tricked out HK system.
The other thing is that the overall reason for listening to music is to enjoy it. I think that can best be done on a system that test instruments may not show as being as faithful in reproduction but my ears and common sense tell me is closer to the original SOUND and much more pleasant to listen too.
The simple fact is differnt people like different systems for different reasons and no one system or format will ever be right for everyone, and no one type is "better" than the other, just different. Which takes us full circle back to my origanl comment to Mike. Tha, tha, that's all folks!
Edits: 03/03/14 03/03/14 03/03/14
Hi Vinnie,
It looks like we'll have to agree to disagree, but one last thought...
"I will be willing to bet that there is more to your home system sounding better than just being "faithful to the source". The quality of the reproducing system is a big factor too"
Actually no - my goal has always been fidelity. That's what drew me to the Citation amps years ago, and to hi-rez digital and top shelf analog. Excellent program material + excellent electronics + excellent transducers = excellent fidelity. At least to me (and the people who have heard my system)...
Thanks for the interchange of ideas my friend!
I agree to disagree. : )
If none of us were present when the material was recorded, any judgement on fidelity is based on playback using a particular system. If, if fact, you were present during the recording process, the next question becomes "how good is your audio memory"? Can you remember exactly how something sounded years later? And, yes, most recordings are "engineered" to sound a particular way. Not all, but most. The goal is rarely to reproduce a performance exactly. Not never, but rarely.
So, if we accept that the accurate reproduction of the recording is the goal, who decides which system serves as the "control", against which other systems are judged, in determining how faithfully a recording is reproduced? If faithful, distortion free, reproduction is based on measurements using testing equipment then wouldn't we all be listening to SS equipment?
I love, and am inspired by, music and great songs. I enjoy their reproduction on some systems and combinations of components more than others. Listeners may compare playback on a variety of systems and rank them differently. Is only one listener "right" about the question of which is the most accurate system?
Don't take it to extremes. "High" fidelity is not the same as "perfect" fidelity. There's some wiggle room there, but IMHO moving beyond that is counterproductive."If faithful, distortion free, reproduction is based on measurements using testing equipment then wouldn't we all be listening to SS equipment?"
No, by no means. Remember that ALL systems distort, there is no such thing as distortion free. One of the limitations to us reaching "perfect fidelity" is that fact. SS gear produces different distortion spectra than tubed gear. So many of us choose tube gear because the distortion spectrum it presents is more pleasing to our ears. But carried too far it becomes a detriment to fidelity - as Mikey in essence says in his own inimitable way (I'm paraphrasing here) "Euphony is not fidelity".
Edits: 03/02/14
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