[Vintage-Audio] Re Speaker Performance

Mon Aug 19 12:14:05 2002

All,

I was raised in a home with very eclectic musical tastes. When my =
parents put a record on, there was approximately an equal chance of it =
being Glen Campbell, Black Sabbath or Beethoven. I purchased my first =
music system at the age of fifteen with money I had earned washing =
dishes at a steak house. It consisted of a pioneer integrated, kenwood =
tuner, teac cassette deck and radio shack turntable. Speakers were not =
an issue because the close quarters- I listened to my home stereo =
throughout high school on a series of major-brand headphones.=20

In that environment, as beloved as my Bartok String Quartets box was, =
the pumping bass and vintage compression of Led Zeppelin had the =
greatest impact. Especially on my mass-market gear. (I think the effect =
of Bartok on me was in fact profound and long-lasting, but an adolescent =
doesn't necessarily recognize or enjoy moments of profundity.)  As a =
result I inadventently chose to attend live performances completely =
filtered through support electronics. My notion of live acoustic =
instruments was marred by the inevitable moronic bar staff at the mixer, =
who ran all of the acoustic sound source (usually just vocals and drums, =
but occasional piano, horns and guitar) through the inevitably lousy =
house PA. As I grew older I tired of this excuse for live music and =
eventually listened to music almost exclusively in the house, car or on =
a portable.

Later I rediscovered classical music. I was encouraged by a friend with =
whom I swapped records. We steered a deep course into my dusty classical =
record collection together for a while. We were inmates at a state =
college in a small town together, there was little else to do when not =
studying. I discovered quite by accident a local concert series that had =
been going on for many years and took the plunge. I have to admit, my =
first response to hearing a symphony orchestra live was sonic confusion. =
Where was the "left" or "right" channel? My brain kept trying to =
recreate a muddled soundstage from years of training with mediocre audio =
equipment. Where was the thundering bass? And then, by the middle of the =
first movement, I began to adjust to the sound. I could see the =
orchestra but also "see" the players when I closed my eyes. I spent the =
better part of a movement with my eyes closed, letting my ears hear =
these instruments for the very first time. I entered a flow state, =
forgetting all about the movement of time. It was transcendent. I've =
been addicted to quality music reproduction ever since. Now that I have =
attend many live classical performances, I know what it *can* sound =
like, and I know when stereo components can't reproduce it. Good stereo =
can place instruments in the soundscape with amazing precision. Boxes =
can disappear like magic. You forget you are not in the presence of live =
performers. Time melts away.=20

I have heard surprisingly thunderous bass from acoustic instruments. it =
just depends on the acoustics of the room and the placement of you and =
the instrument in question. I'll never forget the concert I attended in =
which I just hapenned to be in a sweet spot. I have never heard such =
authoritative bass before or since in a live setting. So the complaint =
about lack of bass is not because bass is not there- most musical =
consumers either must not have enough experience listening to live, =
acoustic music (loud bass is not a constant presence in classical music, =
unlike *all* pop music; like all instruments in the orchestra, the bass =
instruments ebb and flow), or they simply lack the patience to wait for =
those superlative moments.

I agree, Bob. Live performance is the Thing, the ultimate musical =
experience, the reason we all pursue quality reproduction of it. I'd =
much rather have a resurrected John Coltrane in my living room, no =
matter how deft Neshui Ertegun's production was. Hence the term "high =
fidelity-" faithfulness to the sound source. And you won't find real =
hifi in about ninety percent of the audio products on the market today =
or since about 1980, for that matter. But we've all found it in some =
form or another, otherwise would we be on this list?

Michael Salmons
=20
-----Original Message-----
From: Robert J. McKee [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Sunday, August 18, 2002 12:54 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Vintage-Audio] Re Speaker Performance

----- Original Message -----
From: Bob <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, August 18, 2002 12:46 PM
Subject: Re: [Vintage-Audio] Re Speaker Performance

> I really envy your source material. I wish I could get such
> recordings from some source. I wish I could insert my own
> compression for listening in noisy environments or for
> background music. When I sit and listen, I would appreciate
> 40 dB of DR.
>
<snip>
Sometimes, as you suggest here, that which makes the music
source so good becomes a curse.  My first wife just could not
accept the fact that the dynamic range of the source and the
recording is so wide that it goes from a whisper to window
flexing powerful.  So from the standpoint of practicality for
wife-pleasing and neighborly considerations in appartments
compression is a "good" thing.
For the most part I have never thought of music as being a
background thing.  It is foreground and the only thing the
mind
is to concentrate on at one time.  Even soothing music such
as Sheharrazade (sp?).  More than once I have sat down or
layed down with every intention of hearing each note of each
measure, appreciating not the screeching violins of Montavony
(sp? again), but the carefully tuned artistically played and
captured silky sound of... of... of....   well, realism.  Then
awakened to seel reels not turning and silence from speakers.
For the majority of the population absolute accuracy of
reproduction is more than they could cope with.  It forces a
certain amount of understanding... thinking... realizing what
a
live performance sounds like.  And I have heard comments
in an audience "there is not enough bass" or some other thing
based on the home-sound of Bose or equally horrible
experience.  The sound of recorded/broadcast music is so
burned into brains that real cannot be real, if you get my
message.
A few dollars for tickets to a live music presentation is
still
the best there is.
Go for it people.
Bob McKee

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