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General Asylum General audio topics that don't fit into specific categories. |
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General Asylum General audio topics that don't fit into specific categories. |
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In Reply to: Which do you prefer, Truth or Beauty. posted by HiFi Guy on February 24, 2006 at 10:42:45:
I think too much is made of these concepts as polar opposites (is that redundant?) I can't imagine truth without beauty or beauty without truth.I do understand the audible characteristics that are being discussed though, and people do have their preferences, but I don't think recasting these characteristics as "beauty" or "truth" is helpful; nor is making them mutually exclusive. It only adds a layer of interpretation that leads to more misunderstanding. It is hard enough already to talk about audio qualities without making it more confusing by charging these characteristics with vaguely defined aesthetic values.
Also, though I feel faily confident that I know what is "beautiful" in what I hear, I don't have the same certainty about what is "truth" in what I hear. How do I know what is the "true" sound of a piece of music? I have heard studio tapes of sessions that I've played in, and they are vastly different than the sounds I hear on an LP or CD. But then studio tapes are mastered for playback according to the wishes and ears of engineers, producers, musicians, etc. The ultimate accuracy, if we want to go there, is the sound the engineers hear on the studio monitors when they finalize the master. I guess we could reproduce that by reproducing the studio in our homes and getting a hold of master tapes. That, I guess is "truth" or accuracy.
Since most of us are not going to go there, we make our versions of beautiful music at home. I think all of us want the feeling that the music we are hearing is beautiful, that's what we are seeking. Some of us find in the details and the precision, some in the tones and harmonics, some in the timbres and dynamics, some in the attack and decay. We're all looking for different things at different times, but it's still about the experience that tells us: this music is something special and beautiful.
don't you think?
Jim Kain
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Follow Ups
- False dichotomy - JIm Kain 11:56:41 02/24/06 (1)
- Truth and Beauty perhaps are not the right terms.. - Lynn 12:09:17 02/24/06 (0)
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