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Propeller Head Plaza Technical and scientific discussion of amps, cables and other topics. |
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Propeller Head Plaza Technical and scientific discussion of amps, cables and other topics. |
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In Reply to: When is Accurate Musical Recording the goal ? posted by tomservo on April 19, 2007 at 15:04:06:
Hello Tom,I realize reproduction encompasses all the links in the chain including the highly variable end user’s room and speakers. The best way to know how much the room and speakers are effecting the music (and they are) is to know what these instruments really sound like. This is why I believe that each individual should:
1) Familiarize themselves with as much live unamplified music as they can. Only through doing this can our ears become accustomed with how the different instruments really sound like live and unamplified.
2) Then when setting up an audio system in one's room. They could use a small jazz ensemble with say a piano, bass, sax and drums. These would provide a nice variety of instruments that has the bite of brass, the quick transients of drums and quick piano strikes, woody sound of bass and a fairly wide frequency coverage. Plus it's recorded in a smaller room than say a symphony would be. This smaller room that is most likely closer to the dimensions of our audio rooms, should provide nice, viable spacial clues.
3) Next I'd suggest concentrating on getting the vocals correct, I like to use mostly female, but some male vocals with different styles, ranges and arrangements.Typically once the system will do these vocals and instruments correctly or as correctly as I'm capable of achieving, the other music, in different enviroments, symphonies, larger jazz groups, rock etc. are done the best an audio system can reproduce it within today's limitations of the software and equipment.
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tomservo: What are recordings supposed to sound like anyway?TG1954: IMHO a recording should sound like the individual instruments sound like live and unamplified. The engineer should alter the recording as little as possible. That's another reason why I suggest people need to familiarize themselves with as much live unamplified music as they can. Then when they listen to recording they can hear if the engineer is altering the sound of the instruments too much. Of course this isn't easy as a many recordings are created by engineers who view themselves as artists who are improving the musical performance. I think a lot of people would be surprised just how much many recording are altered with by the engineer. Direct to disk, sans any recording tricks is best. But that of course is just my opinion.
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tomservo: It takes a rare system to produce realistic stereo images, the rare listener who cares much, the average is the target in the studio most of the time.TG1954: BINGO! You're 100% correct. I cannot tell you how many times I've visited another audiophile/music lovers home, be they objectivist or subjectivist, who doesn't attend ANY live unamplified musical events and doesn't play an instrument. I've seen these people confuse an oboe for a clarinet or amazingly enough a clarinet for a soprano saxophone (probably because both are pitched to B flat -- but one is almost always made of wood and the other metal and still they cannot hear that difference?) let alone not be able to differentiate a french horn from a trumpet! These same people often proclaim to me how accurate their systems are???!!!! How could they possible know that? Granted many of these systems are pleasant enough to listen to, but they don't sound anything like what I hear when I listen to live classical music. Then of course there's those who don't even realize there system is backwards. I'll put on something classical and BAM! the violins are on the right hand side, when they should be on the left as I face the orchestra. Don't even get me started on speakers postioned near back and side ways that shouldn't be. I know some speakers are designed to be, but most like some breathing room & dipoles should NEVER be positioned as such! There's also listening chairs postioned closer to one speaker than another or nowhere near forming a proper triangle with the speakers.
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tomservo: The recording business is big business now run by comparatively few conglomo corps instead of a zillion independents as it was in the heyday of hifi recording, they are focused on money. The goal of most recordings is not to have a pristine accurate real sound but to sound like a hit.TG1954: Of course you're correct in this statement Tom. That's why we as individuals, that's if you honestly care about getting the most accurate reproduction you can within the limits of our finances & the available hardware & software, need to familiarize themselves with as much live unamplified music. They also need to search out and find recording that aren't altered with a lot by the engineer who considers himself and not the musician to be the artist. This is what will enable one to build the best audio system they can. After that you don't even need to listen to the CD/LP/Tape that enabled you to build your system if you don't like that style of music, because you'll know your system has been assembled on sound practical technics and ANY software you now use will be replicated at the highest degree of accuracy that you can obtain. For you'll have done everything within your power to remove the faults of the system and it's interaction with the room from the audio equation. Now it will really be all up to the software, which as it always has been, will be the one thing you have no control over in the system.
We'll probably never have 100% accurate musical reproduction, but as an audiophile/music lover who's honestly striving for the very best they can achieve within their means and capabilities, it's up to each one of us to remove as many faults as we possibly can. In the end your best tool is an ear that's been well trained via as much exposure to live unamplified music as is possible to obtain.
Thetubeguy1954
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- Re: When is Accurate Musical Recording the goal ? - thetubeguy1954 08:40:09 04/20/07 (0)
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