I think "largely" may be correct, but I've cringed a time or two in live performances..... Or, listen to an operatic soprano hit a powerful high note unamplified in a decent hall. Yes, there is tremendous power but the voice doesn't make you cringe the way it will on many, even most audio reproduction systems. Operatic soprano voice has acquired a bad reputation for being obnoxious largely because of the problems most audio equipment has traditionally had reproducing it. ...
I think "largely" may be correct, but I've cringed a time or two in live performances.
Terry, watch out, I see you're starting the tail-chasing thing.
The things you're pointing out just show the reason why one needs a clear reference for making such decisions. You CANNOT use studio-created recordings to make these judgments--at least as long as you were not there listening at the mixing desk. You have to use recordings of players who played together in real time in the type of venue you've heard similar playing in before. And you have to be quite familiar with what REAL LIVE UNAMPLIFIED music sounds like in a decent venue. If you are, these choices are quite simple.
Sorry to be so blunt.
But folks who aren't familiar with live unamplified music have no business making such judgements, much less recommending components to others. High-end audio has moved away from "the absolute sound" as the reference not really because one doesn't know what the original recordings are supposed to sound like, but simply because most of a whole generation or two of audiophiles could care less about how live unamplified music sounds and has constantly pushed for another evaluation paradigm. Sure, you have to make assumptions about the quality of the recordings you use for reference, but the same is true for any kind of recording, not just classical, and with classical, there are fewer assumptions simply because there are (or at least can be and are in "audiophile" recordings of classical music) fewer electronic links in the recording process.
If you are like me, with some measured responses, you will be scratching your head wondering how ANYONE can like that sound.
There are also a couple of other significant confounding, variables. The room plays a major role on how a speaker sounds (far more than any electronics being used). This is a very hard variable to control for unless one auditions speakers in a setting similar to one's home or at home.And on top of all that, we have the little matter of our audition material!!! (how I know my speakers are the best on the planet is I play track three of the album, and at 2.49 into it the guitar note 'rings out majestically', soaring beautifully above the music. No other speaker does that, and that is how I know mine are the best).
There are also a couple of other significant confounding, variables. The room plays a major role on how a speaker sounds (far more than any electronics being used). This is a very hard variable to control for unless one auditions speakers in a setting similar to one's home or at home.
The second variable is the sub. The reviewer mentions a sub in his system. Now for the moment we can ignore the issues of placement, integration, and eq. If I remember correctly, the SUT were not being listened to with a sub, this places certain constraints on these speakers the Harbeths did not have. E.g. the reproduction of lower octaves, the effects on the amp since it did not have to deal with the bass, the placement of the subs in a better position than the mains for bass reproduction, and so on.
YMMV,
Raul
Terry
One mans passion is another mans poison
(2) Take a look at the kinds of target curves almost everyone who uses a sophisticated DSP equalization device uses. I think you'll find that most everyone uses target curves which are a few dB up in the bass and which roll the top octave or two a few dB. Many keep the midrange flat, although some prefer a steady downward slope in response from bass to treble.
If you are like me, with some measured responses, you will be scratching your head wondering how ANYONE can like that sound.
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