Heard it live in Zurich about 15 years ago...great concert...I like the swell in this song as well plus he portrays a story .
Reminds me of john lee hooker a bit .
Gonna order a whole series of the tape project as well , they have also john lee hooker on tape
First, It totally depends on what type of Dynamic Scale is present in the Live Performance of the Music being recorded. The "They are Here" as opposed to the "You Are There" Listening Perspective has to be accounted for at the time of the Recording. No amount of "Fixing the Sound" in the Production Studio is really going to satisfactorily make up for Dynamic Contrast relationships of the various Instrumental Orchestral Choirs that exist within the Orchestra. Simply put, a Symphonic Orchestra wouldn't sound very good playing in your Living Room. In this case, we would definitely find a better sense of Dynamic Contrast in the "You Are There" recoding perspective. On a side note, we're still calling this the "What Sounds Best" Forum?Not sure how to describe this but, I'll try based on my limited experience.
Hoping for some good feedback and postings.
If one has a system in which they feel that the performer/artists is playing in front of them.
But, is looking to get a feeling of "Being there" rather than experience of "They are here in the room with me"
Where does one start? Or is this nonsense?
I assume it's the room/speaker interaction as a larger transducer or different type such an Omnidirectional (MBL) could provide that experience.
Thoughts?
View attachment 62017
Very creative and vivid description. I've had to mull it over a bit, but I think you are describing what I find lacking about "so many mega systems with cones."
Tell me if I'm understanding the "no detachment" you are describing: It feels like you are hearing actual voices and instruments in a real space even if they are sometimes imperfect, as opposed to the virtually perfect rendition of something that is ultimately unrealistic, which would be the "crystal ball". I think related terms might include "engaging" or "palpable", or maybe "presence". Is that in the ballpark?
Tango, what are your thoughts on what makes the difference between the "crystal ball" presentation and the "no detachment" presentation?
I think there are some relevant points here but mostly it's just an interesting read:
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190729-how-the-sound-in-your-office-affects-your-mood
"Mainstream architecture typically considers a building’s sonic voice only in the construction of concert halls, where acoustic perfection is key. The idea that you can take this a step further, and have a building itself act as a sort of musical instrument that envelops people, that’s capable of inducing feelings of tranquility, exhilaration, tension or even a trance-like state is unusual. However, it isn’t unknown." (my emphasis)
The key seems to be the shape of the ceiling.
Never heard anything there...but I have heard some excellent concerts in some very old churches...The best sound I have heard is always the Sheldonian in Oxford, which was built in the 1600s.
I think there are some relevant points here but mostly it's just an interesting read:
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190729-how-the-sound-in-your-office-affects-your-mood
"Mainstream architecture typically considers a building’s sonic voice only in the construction of concert halls, where acoustic perfection is key. The idea that you can take this a step further, and have a building itself act as a sort of musical instrument that envelops people, that’s capable of inducing feelings of tranquility, exhilaration, tension or even a trance-like state is unusual. However, it isn’t unknown." (my emphasis)
The key seems to be the shape of the ceiling.
I was reading the Wikipedia article on whispering galleries: those places where voices carry long distances in a room even if at just whisper volume. Instead of building the complex curves of those spaces, the writer said you could use "In a similar way, two large concave parabolic dishes, serving as acoustic mirrors, may be erected facing each other in a room or outdoors to serve as a whispering gallery, a common feature of science museums."Excellent article - thank you for the link!!
Here is a twenty-minute lecture by David Griesinger on room acoustics, speech comprehension, and recall, mostly applicable to lecture halls, but with some applicability to high-end audio:
Imo one of the more useful concepts is this: While we are usually able to understand individual words in an excessively reverberant environment, it takes the ear/brain system a certain amount of time and concentration to do so, giving us correspondingly less time and brain-power available for comprehension and retention of complex ideas. By the time we figure out what a given word is, the instructor is already saying the next word or even the one thereafter. Thus if we are sitting in the back of an overly reverberant lecture hall, our brains quickly become fatigued and our recall is poor.
So if you have kids or grandkids in college, tell them that they really need to sit up front so they can effortlessly comprehend the instructor's words, as this will give their brains sufficient time to wrap itself around complex ideas and put them into memory.
Here is another twenty-minute lecture by Griesinger which is more about listening to music, though the focus is on the acoustics and psychoacoustics of concert halls rather than on home audio. Again imo some of the principles are applicable:
True story: There is an old restaurant in Zurich called the Johanniter Brassiere that I used to go to regularly. One night I was sitting at one of the circular tables near the entrance with my back to the wall but I started hearing voices behind me! At first I thought I am going nuts but after awhile I realized I was hearing a conversation from somewhere else in the room, despite it being a bit busy and therefore pretty loud. After listening and looking at people I saw that it was a couple of guys at the other end of room at a small table. Then I started looking at the ceiling...all multiple curves and quasi-parabolic shapes. The ceiling was collecting and reflecting that sound towards me. Amazing.I was reading the Wikipedia article on whispering galleries: those places where voices carry long distances in a room even if at just whisper volume. Instead of building the complex curves of those spaces, the writer said you could use "In a similar way, two large concave parabolic dishes, serving as acoustic mirrors, may be erected facing each other in a room or outdoors to serve as a whispering gallery, a common feature of science museums."
You wouldn't want to do this in a concert hall but I imagine it might work well for a listening room with a single listening location.
![]() | Steve Williams Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator | ![]() | Ron Resnick Site Owner | Administrator | ![]() | Julian (The Fixer) Website Build | Marketing Managersing |