I came across a music video on YouTube this morning of solo violin and posted it in a thread which discussed system videos. I have since deleted it from there as inappropriate to the thread discussion and decided to rather post it here. Perhaps we can have a discussion on the usefulness of videos when assessing system sound quality or component comparisons. I wonder also about the whole notion of references, and what we use to judge the sound of a system, when sitting in front of it, or hearing it on a video.
Many audiophiles use live music as a reference when judging the sound quality of a music system. It seems that recently people are posting more and more system videos on this forum to share music, have some fun, and in some cases, solicit opinions about the sound of a system, either their own, or someone else's. It is the idea of judging a system's sound through videos that I would like to discuss here, not the value of sharing new music or providing a context to ones virtual system thread.
Dealers post videos of some new speaker or other component that has arrived to give an impression of its sound. I often watch these videos and others in system threads to get a sense of the quality of the sound of those systems or specific components in direct comparison videos. Many people find such videos unhelpful or so removed from the actual sound of the system, that they simply dismiss the whole idea.
I wonder if it might be more useful to compare a system video to a video of a live music performance just as some of us do when we judge the actual sound of a system we hear to our memory of a live music performance. In other words, comparisons of video to video, and of live listening to live listening.
Here is a video of a live music performance. I do not know if I have ever heard any system video of a solo violin which sounds as convincing as this one, or I'm sure other such recordings of live music. I wonder if when judging the sound quality of a system through a video we should be judging the sound compared to a video like this one rather than to our memory of actual live music. This way we could go back and forth quickly rather than rely on memory. As I wrote in that other thread, I am waiting to heard a system video that sounds as convincing as the violin being played here live sounds in this video.
I think comparing a system video to a video like this is a more direct comparison and perhaps more useful than is comparing the sound of a system video to some memory of the sound of live music, just as judging the sound of the actual system when heard while sitting in front of it is made easier when remembering the sound of live music and using that as the reference.
Many audiophiles use live music as a reference when judging the sound quality of a music system. It seems that recently people are posting more and more system videos on this forum to share music, have some fun, and in some cases, solicit opinions about the sound of a system, either their own, or someone else's. It is the idea of judging a system's sound through videos that I would like to discuss here, not the value of sharing new music or providing a context to ones virtual system thread.
Dealers post videos of some new speaker or other component that has arrived to give an impression of its sound. I often watch these videos and others in system threads to get a sense of the quality of the sound of those systems or specific components in direct comparison videos. Many people find such videos unhelpful or so removed from the actual sound of the system, that they simply dismiss the whole idea.
I wonder if it might be more useful to compare a system video to a video of a live music performance just as some of us do when we judge the actual sound of a system we hear to our memory of a live music performance. In other words, comparisons of video to video, and of live listening to live listening.
Here is a video of a live music performance. I do not know if I have ever heard any system video of a solo violin which sounds as convincing as this one, or I'm sure other such recordings of live music. I wonder if when judging the sound quality of a system through a video we should be judging the sound compared to a video like this one rather than to our memory of actual live music. This way we could go back and forth quickly rather than rely on memory. As I wrote in that other thread, I am waiting to heard a system video that sounds as convincing as the violin being played here live sounds in this video.
I think comparing a system video to a video like this is a more direct comparison and perhaps more useful than is comparing the sound of a system video to some memory of the sound of live music, just as judging the sound of the actual system when heard while sitting in front of it is made easier when remembering the sound of live music and using that as the reference.