Ron’s New System

[Johan K]

No one can if he is on weekly basis. You really need to take a long time to optimize something. And that's why you learn more when you visit people who have optimized something.

True - I really agree with this. Well written!!

 

[Johan K]

how to manage them is the same way as managing old audiophiles

Or grumpy crane pilots☝ !!

 

[Ron Resnick]

Your ears were trained on vocals.

This is exactly what I meant to say. You put it much more succinctly than I did. Thank you.

Regarding #2, I'm assuming you heard an amplified Stevie Nicks. The amplified version could not have been distortion free (no sound system is).

This is an excellent point.

Are you trying to achieve the version you heard live or an approximation of hearing her live without amplification?

I am not trying to achieve the version I heard live.

If I try to dissect it I am trying to achieve what I think Stevie would sound like if she were in my listening room. So this, I guess, has two components:

1) I want to feel like there is a living, breathing human in my listening room. (This is what I mean when I say "breath of life" from tube electronics.)

2) I want that human to sound like Stevie Nicks, unamplified.

 

[PYP]

Or grumpy crane pilots☝ !!

the ones who deliver those 130kg amps to our homes?

 

[Johan K]

the ones who deliver those 130kg amps to our homes?

Yes Sir - That’s Me☝ !!!

 

[LarryK]

I think vocals are a lot harder than most people think. If the system gets it right, you should be having on occasion the experience of thinking someone got into your house and is singing along with your stereo. That can be a bit spooky.

Yes, I often call it bringing the dead back to life.

When I hear Dame Janet Baker, who is not dead, sing Elgar's Sea Songs, I am brought to tears, every time.

There is something powerful and ineffable about the human voice.

 

[hopkins]

I think this is a very interesting conversation, Todd. Thank you.

1) This is going to be unsatisfying, and I cannot prove any of it. I have focused on vocals literally my entire life. It started when my father started bringing home LPs from Columbia and playing them on our home stereo in the living room when I was very young. I am recalling Olivia Newton-John and Karen Carpenter. I never heard any jazz or classical growing up. I literally grew up listening to vocals.

I have written previously that I think each of us is more or less sensitive to different kinds of sonic attributes. I have said candidly that I think I am relatively poor at perceiving concert hall ambience reproduced by stereo systems. I think I'm good at channel balance and tonal balance. I have never claimed to have great, let alone superior, hearing. I tell Don Saltzman all the time that he has much better hearing for this hobby than I do. That's why he's the reviewer.

But I think I'm good at perceiving the subtleties and nuances of vocals which may elude others.

I know that people feel "vocals are easy," and that vocals make every stereo sound good. I don't agree. I am extremely focused on and picky about vocal reproduction.

2) To answer your specific question I want Stevie Nicks, not a romanticized version of Stevie Nicks. I am not looking for a Vaseline beauty filter or a smoothing effect.

But digital and solid-state based systems which prioritize maximizing resolution and detail do not give me (my ears) Stevie Nicks. They give me an electronic-fied, sometimes slightly dry or otherwise unconvincing version of Stevie Nicks.

Perhaps you will appreciate Edith Piaf singing in the very end of this video:

Good "presence" that you can feel even through the video.

 

[adyc]

LOL. Lampi was the dac I played in my system (which outdid the mediocre dacs you sold). Koetsu coralstone platinum signature, Allnic 7000, Dava Reference, vdh colibri, Ayon Orthos XS, Atmasphere m60 mk3, Berning Zh270, valves, etc were shipped around after I decided not to have a system, just to do so compares. I also paid a couple of dealers for their journeys to visit local audiophiles so that we could compare gear.

Why do you assume I am not familiar with these systems? Why do you always try to mislead by getting in random talking points

Am I reading correct that you are not going to have your own system even if you have a big house? Isn’t having a Hifi system to enjoy music?

 

[Al M.]

Perhaps you will appreciate Edith Piaf singing in the very end of this video:

Good "presence" that you can feel even through the video.

Here is the track direct via YouTube:

In comparison the horn sounds quite colored.

I am not particularly impressed.

 

[hopkins]

Here is the track direct via YouTube:

In comparison the horn sounds quite colored.

I am not particularly impressed.

You are probably correct, but we all focus on different aspects, and there is something in that sound that I find appealing.

 

[Alrainbow]

Am I reading correct that you are not going to have your own system even if you have a big house? Isn’t having a Hifi system to enjoy music?

It's far easier to tell all and not own to deal with triels of making real decisions .
I think we need a 2 million dollar system to be allowed to post to people below lol.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Perhaps you will appreciate Edith Piaf singing in the very end of this video:

Good "presence" that you can feel even through the video.

Thank you for trying. That one just happens not to work for me. To me that sounds very vintage-y (and not in a good way) -- like I'm listening to a Victrola from the 1920s.

 

[Al M.]

Thank you for trying. That one just happens not to work for me. To me that sounds very vintage-y (and not in a good way) -- like I'm listening to a Victrola from the 1920s.

Yes, I thought it colored too, and indeed, the coloration is vintage-y. Actually, the male singer in the video prior to Edith Piaf singing is even worse. In comparison, Piaf sounds rather acceptable.

 

[Holmz]

The OP started the thread about 2-1/2 years ago with pictures of crates being unloaded…
I am also pretty slow to a system together, but at some point it just needs to come together in whatever form.

….
I am not trying to achieve the version I heard live.

If I try to dissect it I am trying to achieve what I think Stevie would sound like if she were in my listening room. So this, I guess, has two components:

1) I want to feel like there is a living, breathing human in my listening room. (This is what I mean when I say "breath of life" from tube electronics.)

2) I want that human to sound like Stevie Nicks, unamplified.

I am getting a bit confused…
How can it sound like a living breathing person and NOT sound like the version one heard live (of a live/living person)?

 

[Ron Resnick]

How can it sound like a living breathing person and NOT sound like the version one heard live (of a live/living person)?

Live is electronically amplified.

 

[microstrip]

Piaf voice was raspy and strong - an unique timbre. What we ear in her voice in a good system is not coloration - it is the rawness of her extremely dramatic and powerful style. Listen for enjoyment to Mylord or l'Homme a la Moto in your own system and forget about the poor videos ...

Most of her recordings are from the 40's to early 60's.

 

[Audiohertz2]

Can you clarify what you mean by this? How are you learning? If someone has "optimized" something, are you listening with and without the "optimization"? You are listening to a complete system, so how else could you discern the "optimized" effect of something?

Hahaha, now we wait ….!

 

[Holmz]

Live is electronically amplified.

OK Thanks - it makes a lot more sense now.

We saw a family friend singing last Sunday, and I was impressed with the quality of the audio.
I am not sure exactly what she was using, but it is helping a bit, but not dominating things.

 

[bonzo75]

Finally, video - Soular energy on Ron’s system

75 reactions | The Ray Brown Trio Performing Soular Energy at Audio Café #highendaudiosystem #musica #audiocafebeverlyhills #whatsbestforum | Ron Resnick

The Ray Brown Trio Performing Soular Energy at Audio Café #highendaudiosystem #musica #audiocafebeverlyhills #whatsbestforum.

www.facebook.com

 

[Johan K]

Finally, video - Soular energy on Ron’s system

75 reactions | The Ray Brown Trio Performing Soular Energy at Audio Café #highendaudiosystem #musica #audiocafebeverlyhills #whatsbestforum | Ron Resnick

The Ray Brown Trio Performing Soular Energy at Audio Café #highendaudiosystem #musica #audiocafebeverlyhills #whatsbestforum.

www.facebook.com

What’s your impression to this clip? How do you find the sound? Do you like it or not?

/ Jk