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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: Reality Check posted by Bob Neill on February 12, 2007 at 15:35:05:
I once attended the Fall London audio show and spent many hours listening to some very fine systems. Taking a break, I went to a lounge to get a cup of coffee. There was a string quartet playing Dvorak's American Quartet (how appropriate for a visiting yank!). While they weren't superstar quality, they played with enthusiasm and energy. Just 10 seconds into listening I was struck by how far anything I had heard that day was from the sound of these live instruments. Everything paled in comparison. The players looked like students, and I'm sure their instruments were not very expensive, but my first thought was "how do I order a set of these?"The second instance was very different, a superstar violinist playing a great instrument. I was in about the 15th row when Pinchus Zuckerman played the Mendelsohn violin concerto. I will never forget the sound of that violin. Just a few notes into his playing and I realized I had never heard anything sound remotely like that on any audio system anywhere. He could have just been playing the scales, and I would have been stunned. I later bought both vinyl and CD versions of him playing the work, but they sound like a very poor imitation of what I heard live.
I have also heard random street muscians trying to make a buck (including one ambitious fellow who decided to play all the Bach unaccompanied cello suites during one afternoon- I couldn't pass up putting a large contribution in his tip jar) and many times was struck how much better instruments sounded better live than on audio systems, regardless of whether they were being played well and even though they were situated in storefronts.
Since for now it is not possible for an audio system to accurately reproduce the sound of live instruments, (though it is nice to come as close as you can), my goal is to re-create the experience, the impact of listening to live music as realistically as possible. That does require attention to accurate reproduction, but there is a certain almost undefinable sense of musicality, of "being there," that is crucially important and very ellusive.
Joe
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Follow Ups
- Three related experiences. (long) - jsm 12:38:31 02/13/07 (1)
- I'm with you... - Wellfed 07:53:36 02/16/07 (0)
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