Videos of Acoustically-Coupled Audio Recordings

[bonzo75]

I saw videos of Mike's system. They Don't do it justice possibly because videos can't get the sweet spot and room acoustics right which are so important for his set up.

General's system is in my top 3. I have heard videos, they show some aspects of the system beautifully and some not. However, based on that background, I found two Russians who had the same driver, plus a bass horn, and one a bass tower of 4 maxsonic drivers per tower, that I was able to relate to over video. Do I have an accurate view of the room? Of course not. But the speakers are doing many things similar to a system I am regularly listening with additional bass crossover (something the General himself is against).

At lower budgets, I haven't seen too many tannoy videos I have liked on YouTube, or devores. At the same time, Altec and lowther videos have got my curiosity going big enough to investigate.

Videos are a great tool but I don't think the anti video brigade is getting what to use it for. It's the concept they find shocking rather than try out the experience

I think my Munich videos are fairly accurate presentations of how I thought the rooms were, except in person differences were higher

 

[NorthStar]

Mike is not much into music videos, he's more into LIVE, like inviting friends to his home and listening. That's the best for people who can.
For the ones who can't I think I suggested to him before, and I believe I am not alone, to improve his music video recording skills. Mike is a first rate audio/music teacher, one of my top mentors, with a heart of gold (Francisco is equal in mentorship); expanding his recording skills (Bruce could help here), is expanding his generous and educative high end audio music teachings.
We live in a world where we are much more open telecommunication wise, and physical is not always an option for everyone.

...In my honest opinion.

* Mr. Kedar, I think you too can improve your video/music recording skills.
This is a positive.

 

[Audiophile Bill]

I saw videos of Mike's system. They Don't do it justice possibly because videos can't get the sweet spot and room acoustics right which are so important for his set up.

General's system is in my top 3. I have heard videos, they show some aspects of the system beautifully and some not. However, based on that background, I found two Russians who had the same driver, plus a bass horn, and one a bass tower of 4 maxsonic drivers per tower, that I was able to relate to over video. Do I have an accurate view of the room? Of course not. But the speakers are doing many things similar to a system I am regularly listening with additional bass crossover (something the General himself is against).

At lower budgets, I haven't seen too many tannoy videos I have liked on YouTube, or devores. At the same time, Altec and lowther videos have got my curiosity going big enough to investigate.

Videos are a great tool but I don't think the anti video brigade is getting what to use it for. It's the concept they find shocking rather than try out the experience

I think my Munich videos are fairly accurate presentations of how I thought the rooms were, except in person differences were higher

Agreed. I also think that certain system attributes easily come through on the vids - I know it sounds mad but tone seems to be one thing that is very easily discernible as is dynamic contrasts (I know it sounds weird to say that).

But I’ll make the point again - it was very easy to immediately tell a hifi from your live recording. That being the case, the medium easily has an ability to discriminate.

 

[RogerD]

I remember when I posted my first you tube video about 3 years ago. The recording was A night in San Francisco and right off the bat...Imir commented that it sounded like shit...in so many words. I had just moved my system downstairs and had removed all my then small ground wires and still had the iron rings on my digital cable. That was the best thing that happened to my system. Up in Reno all the audiophile friends I have known are no longer around. The feedback is important...if you don't take it personally and I use my videos as a tool.
I think it is a way to learn how to listen...more acutely.
I enjoy all the videos posted....you just must leave your ego at the door. WBF tends to be honest and very knowledgeable with opinions....in a world of grown ups that share this hobby....opinions are helpful....Thanks.

 

[Tango]

I am glad a dealer like Rhapsody in NY does not find a youtube of a system devalue this hobby or his business. His video actually attract me enough to want to visit his studio when I go to NY again. What I think of the sound from his videos is a different matter but I very much appreciate his honesty letting us hear the system as recorded through simple mobile phone. Just be wise and use your wisdom when listening to a video of a system. That's all I want to say.

I very much agree with what Bill and Bonzo commented on this thread.

Kind regards,
Tang

 

[RogerD]

The things that videos do well is tonal balance, amount of stress, clarity , and openness. Borderline is phantom image, sound direction, and focus.Lousy is punch, power, gestalt. Non existent soundstage, separation, multi dimensional imaging, projection. Much more.....

 

[Tango]

The things that videos do well is tonal balance, amount of stress, clarity , and openness. Borderline is phantom image, sound direction, and focus.Lousy is punch, power, gestalt. Non existent soundstage, separation, multi dimensional imaging, projection. Much more.....

You are a wise openminded listener knowing how to use a tool.

Tang

 

[NorthStar]

I remember when I posted my first you tube video about 3 years ago. The recording was A night in San Francisco and right off the bat...Imir commented that it sounded like shit...in so many words. I had just moved my system downstairs and had removed all my then small ground wires and still had the iron rings on my digital cable. That was the best thing that happened to my system. Up in Reno all the audiophile friends I have known are no longer around. The feedback is important...if you don't take it personally and I use my videos as a tool.
I think it is a way to learn how to listen...more acutely.
I enjoy all the videos posted....you just must leave your ego at the door. WBF tends to be honest and very knowledgeable with opinions....in a world of grown ups that share this hobby....opinions are helpful....Thanks.

To say that it sounded like "$h!t" was not positive criticism.
Sounds more to me that the critic has a big ego of superiority.

Roger, the sound in your videos, I close my eyes and I try to get a sense of your room's acoustics. It sounds on the "lively" side to me. I like lively, and I appreciate listening to more of them, and with the music you like because I like it too.

 

[Tango]

Is it a mere coincidence that the best systems at Munich 2019 (according to most people) sounded best on their respective iPhone videos? Is it a mere coincidence that Kedar’s videos of an actual live classical performance sounds real and definitely not a hifi? Does one hear a video sounding crap yet everyone there said it was fantastic?

The answers to these questions should give us a hint that vids can be useful tools for the purposes of evaluation. Be all and end all, no.

Kedar sent me videos of the Wigmore Hall and Purcell Hall. I thank him for that. I would never have been to those venues. It was easy to hear the difference how hall influences sound that you hear. I still have a few questions to ask him if what was on the videos were heavily influenced by position of his seating. But anyway, It reminds me of how Marshall Nack of Positivefeebacks tried to describe how different halls sound in one of his equipment review. Only Mr.Nack took the whole paragraph full of words to describe and did not give me as much feel as two simple videos Kedar sent to me.

Tang

 

[RogerD]

To say that it sounded like "$h!t" was not positive criticism.
Sounds more to me that the critic has a big ego of superiority.

Roger, the sound in your videos, I close my eyes and I try to get a sense of your room's acoustics. It sounds on the "lively" side to me. I like lively, and I appreciate listening to more of them, and with the music you like because I like it too.

Well Bob..thanks to begin with. Imir meant no harm...who hasn't had their ego bruised? You pick yourself up and fix the problem. This hobby is complex, if music stones you to your soul...ha ha....it can be a lifetime of learning and enjoyment. Seems few are called....it is a shame. Lot's of my friends were are are musicians.

My room is open ended on one corner...I think it is a plus. To lively? maybe...but I can tell you that my grounding circuit changes the SQ on the high frequencies...it tends to cycle...I can tell how quiet mechanically my amplifiers are...nuts? maybe....just a personal observation.

 

[Audiophile Bill]

Kedar sent me videos of the Wigmore Hall and Purcell Hall. I thank him for that. I would never have been to those venues. It was easy to hear the difference how hall influences sound that you hear. I still have a few questions to ask him if what was on the videos were heavily influenced by position of his seating. But anyway, It reminds me of how Marshall Nack of Positivefeebacks tried to describe how different halls sound in one of his equipment review. Only Mr.Nack took the whole paragraph full of words to describe and did not give me as much feel as two simple videos Kedar sent to me.

Tang

To get the ambient information of the halls is extremely challenging and almost impossible for hifi. There was a really interesting thread on the European Triode Fest Facebook page on that topic a couple of weeks back. Suffice to say that hifi can only approximate it.

 

[bonzo75]

Kedar sent me videos of the Wigmore Hall and Purcell Hall. I thank him for that. I would never have been to those venues. It was easy to hear the difference how hall influences sound that you hear. I still have a few questions to ask him if what was on the videos were heavily influenced by position of his seating. But anyway, It reminds me of how Marshall Nack of Positivefeebacks tried to describe how different halls sound in one of his equipment review. Only Mr.Nack took the whole paragraph full of words to describe and did not give me as much feel as two simple videos Kedar sent to me.

Tang

2 simple videos of each hall. Of which one was a chaconne on a cello... Hardly exists recorded. I found that to be better than the violin chaconne that Viktoria mullova played at wigmore. What you heard from wigmore was Isabelle Faust playing Beethoven trios. She had double billed with mullova for a 4 hour evening.

Btw you also have Andrea Schiff playing Bach at wigmore and daniil trifonov playing emperor at barbican.

 

[bonzo75]

To get the ambient information of the halls is extremely challenging and almost impossible for hifi. There was a really interesting thread on the European Triode Fest Facebook page on that topic a couple of weeks back. Suffice to say that hifi can only approximate it.

I think some recordings do the ambience realistically enough. Recordings help but also the gear. Swapping out the Allnic preamp to Soulution got us a lot of ambience in the Avalon system. Cleaning the record got us ambience but only after we got the Soulution pre, not with the Allnic pre..

At audioquattr swapping out some tubes for 242 and 101d got us a lot of concert hall ambience

 

[RogerD]

To get the ambient information of the halls is extremely challenging and almost impossible for hifi. There was a really interesting thread on the European Triode Fest Facebook page on that topic a couple of weeks back. Suffice to say that hifi can only approximate it.

If I were to disagree I would say a Reference Recording or a Living Stereo would be evidence to do so. Now Neil Young's Live at Massey Hall would be another. Most say it is added in by the RE....I don't know...

 

[Audiophile Bill]

I think some recordings do the ambience realistically enough. Recordings help but also the gear. Swapping out the Allnic preamp to Soulution got us a lot of ambience in the Avalon system. Cleaning the record got us ambience but only after we got the Soulution pre, not with the Allnic pre..

At audioquattr swapping out some tubes for 242 and 101d got us a lot of concert hall ambience

Ked - I will endeavour to retrieve the details for you should you care to read them but in essence, hifi (in our rooms at home) is unable to recreate the reverberant field of large venues by the laws of physics. Hifi can only do a “fake” yes an actual fake of a reverberant field. But yeah I agree you can hear an acoustic with some components better than others.

 

[Audiophile Bill]

Here is a link to the lecture - worth a listen if you like the science:

 

[Audiophile Bill]

Here is a segment from JC on the ETF discussion:

 

[RogerD]

Ked - I will endeavour to retrieve the details for you should you care to read them but in essence, hifi (in our rooms at home) is unable to recreate the reverberant field of large venues by the laws of physics. Hifi can only do a “fake” yes an actual fake of a reverberant field. But yeah I agree you can hear an acoustic with some components better than others.

Yep...reverberation....I listened to Living Stereo Grofe and it seems to me reverberations in the hall are very clear,especially the tympanis and during the thunder storm. A great recording.

 

[Audiophile Bill]

Yep...reverberation....I listened to Living Stereo Grofe and it seems to me reverberations in the hall are very clear,especially the tympanis and during the thunder storm. A great recording.
View attachment 54092

I also like the Living Stereo recordings.

 

[bonzo75]

The recording like everything needs to create a facsimile. I also remember when General and I did the matrix compares on the original Deccas (same Tchaikovsky 4th with different matrix numbers denoting different engineers) one had the ambient space and the other did not.