and that it is why I find some music is just meant to be listened to in the car. I am capable of loving the music and hating the recording at the same time. I have found this in my life for as long as I can remember. I love my system and enjoy listening to almost everything but as I said ALMOST.
I have a question though
Why at audio shows do people want to listen the the thing over and over and over till death?
there probably is a conspiracy of people pushing the same songs, great sounding recordings that mostly sound as if the plastic shrink wrap was never removed from the music, nobody I know really listens to that type of music...can we somehow avoid that stuff at shows by creating a blacklist?
That’s like asking why is there a hell… maybe it makes us appreciate our real lives and what we have at home even more.
I suppose we get the industry we ask for or need. When we get addicted to sonic thrill rides and only chase the sonic dragon then add a good dash of audiophile compulsion and an underlying audio nervosa it’s easy to forget that nirvana perhaps already exists in the storehouse of our music treasures. Building a system to help you access music beautifully rather than spending too much time primarily playing recordings to assess and enjoy your system is my goal… though it took a long time to realise when I had it out of order. I also get for some the audiophile first thing can also be their overwhelming fulfilment. I love great gear and amazing systems but feeding it bad music is like poisoning the well.
Being in the industry you must be going into full anaphylactic shock hearing those albums...my exposure is high enough to dislike them and get a rash...
I'll bring some Huun huur tu to Munich for a small distraction
but they don’t put on things that are hard to reproduce well in general ( I think Peter McGrath is a notable exception)
a recent online reviewer was very critical that at Axpona they didn’t play exciting music that it was boring
I don’t know much about contemporary music, but I cannot judge a system I would be interested in, without acoustic instruments and preferable some strings
I'll be calibrating my hearing this Friday at the Volodos concert in town, I usually need a piano, some vocals and some strings and an orchestral work to assess a system. Let's see what Munich brings.
That's interesting, because I have to have good sound quality as a foundation. For me, bad sonics poison everything else. The quest, of course, is to find both in the same recording!
It has been referred before, but a great, well balanced system also improves the perceived sound quality of our recordings.
Many times equipment or set up choices that make just a couple of recordings sound exceptional have a detrimental effect on the majority - it is why I always need time to make a choice.
Currently I find that the majority of my music sounds good enough to be listened with great enjoyment - although the Raidho's are more specific than the XLF .
but they don’t put on things that are hard to reproduce well in general ( I think Peter McGrath is a notable exception)
a recent online reviewer was very critical that at Axpona they didn’t play exciting music that it was boring
I don’t know much about contemporary music, but I cannot judge a system I would be interested in, without acoustic instruments and preferable some strings
i cant speak for anyone but myself at Axpona however I don't play that stuff. I play all kinds of music including acoustic instruments, orchestra, full band jazz and rock. Shows are by nature a 5 to 10 minute cycle of new visitors, it is impossible to please everyone. BTW pleasing online reviewers is not a priority, I am sorry he didn't have fun. BTW which "reviewer" were you referring too?
I hope to hear some variety in Munich since I am a visitor not exhibiting, maybe helping a little.
Ideally when checking out gear over time it’s great to be also enjoying the best performances from a mix of small and large scale jazz bands… from a good smattering of live recordings… full spectrum jazz with piano, plenty of brass, drums, double bass, electric guitar… small and large scale classical with symphonic and chamber works, piano and violin or cello for sure but also maybe oboe, brass or guitar concertos… some choral and opera or song… and a nice hit of rnb, edm and rock just to round it out. It’s great to be checking out a range of gear and also walking away with a list of music you want to get in as well as a having a better sense of how easily that gear can engage you in music.
Ideally when checking out gear it’s great to be also enjoying the best performances from a mix of small and large scale jazz bands… from a good smattering of live recordings… full spectrum jazz with piano, plenty of brass, drums, double bass, electric guitar… small and large scale classical with symphonic and chamber works, piano and violin or cello for sure but also maybe oboe, brass or guitar concertos… some choral and opera or song… and a nice hit of rnb, edm and rock just to round it out. It’s great to be checking out a range of gear and also walking away with a list of music you want to get in as well as a better sense of how easily that gear engages you in music.
Another video with Peter Q from Audio Note UK. The discussion talks a lot about the industry particularly pertinent to this thread when he says we never compare new products with what they replace. I guess this could pertain partly to the new technology is better camp promoted by some VS vintage sounded just as good if not better than modern stuff and modern doesn't equate to better sound camp.
His comments at 34min are particularly interesting.
This is one of the most interesting discussions (monologues) i’ve ever heard about audio. Notable, how he takes the industry to task for not doing more exploratory research (as he describes Audio Note doing). I don’t know how fair that necessarily is, but it’s thought-provoking and actually pertinent to this thread.
The best bit is when you are getting into the music together and the conversation loops back to the music more than just only the sell or the analysis of the gear.
I'm curious about the relative absence of reflected sound: Is this reflected sound that is part of the performance or reflected sound in the room where the system is?
If the latter are you saying the directivity of a horn system causes its sound to be less influenced by its own environment?
Catching up on this thread, so I'm a few pages back ...
Q: How does that manifest itself sonically?
I'm curious about the relative absence of reflected sound: Is this reflected sound that is part of the performance or reflected sound in the room where the system is?
If the latter are you saying the directivity of a horn system causes its sound to be less influenced by its own environment?
Catching up on this thread, so I'm a few pages back ...
Q: How does that manifest itself sonically?
I'm curious about the relative absence of reflected sound: Is this reflected sound that is part of the performance or reflected sound in the room where the system is?
If the latter are you saying the directivity of a horn system causes its sound to be less influenced by its own environment?
cup your hands around your mouth and speak, it's louder and more directed. take your hands away, the sound now is lower in volume and the resulting sound is more a part of the room. adjust your hands while they are cupped and the sound changes. cup your hands and speak in various rooms. similar sound. but no hands near your mouth the sound varies more with the room. pretty basic.
Imo if you sit farther from the horn or cupped hands say 5 meter or more the sound will become a part of the room too. Interestingly somebox speakers can present unbelievable detail of recording venue. So much it is unreal and keep reminding the disbelief instead of creating suspension of disbelief. That sound field is never part of the room. It is like a giant screen with border right behind the speakers. And some people got fooled thinking it is a suspension of disbelief. I have not yet heard of a decent horn system separate sound presentation like that. It is always part of a room as if the room ambient fused together with the recording ambient. I have also heard box speakers like Avalon that fused together the two ambient so very well.
cup your hands around your mouth and speak, it's louder and more directed. take your hands away, the sound now is lower in volume and the resulting sound is more a part of the room. adjust your hands while they are cupped and the sound changes. cup your hands and speak in various rooms. similar sound. but no hands near your mouth the sound varies more with the room. pretty basic.
Just going by that analogy, what if you change the shape of your hand cup, and add 15 cups next to each other pointing in different directions? What if the cup is curved back? what if you change your mouth's sound output to suit the cup used, so that resultant sound spreads? When micro is talking through a cup, what if sound is also coming out through an opening in the back causing a rear wave?
Keep in mind too much complex food in the gut can leads to burps while talking, simpler food might help
Separately, even with cones, do you want to reflect more sound or less when they are in the room?
The biggest issue with show music choice is that often the demonstrators play it (too)safe .
Some dealers do it too, so its very hard to conclude how gear especially transducers would act in ones home .
Thats why i view shows more as entertainment .
Its rare that you hear something really good .
I hope to get a surprise , but real good sound takes care and time .
May be wadax will surprise me or the new wilsons or darts who knows .
I ll try to hear what single components contribute but its not so easy
