Magico M3 speakers, Octave and Spectral DMA500 mono block amps, Spectral preamp, ARC phono stage, Basis turntable and arm, Benz Ruby Z cartridge, MIT cables all in a large treated room with my own LPs.
ying and yang--Lamm ML3 and darTZeel 458
- Thread starter Mike Lavigne
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Magico M3 speakers, Octave and Spectral DMA500 mono block amps, Spectral preamp, ARC phono stage, Basis turntable and arm, Benz Ruby Z cartridge, MIT cables all in a large treated room with my own LPs.
Hi Peter,
The way we define a problem or frame a question shapes how we and our fellow hobbyists understand things, answer threads, and act. To answer your question, NO!
To those of us who see high end audio hobby and the live music experience as distinct experiences, it doesn't even cross my mind to compare. For those of us into food, it's like comparing a nicely cooked meal in a bar in a small town to a meal in a top restaurant by a world class chef in NYC. Both are extremely enjoyable, but completely different. I just enjoy each individual experience for what it is.
Thanks Caesar. I asked two questions, so I don't actually know which one you answered.
I also see the two activities of listening to live music and to an audio system as being distinct from each other and having its own special qualities. However, I also often compare things, even if they do not seem too similar. I once was served a plate of three dozen escargot by the owner of a small restaurant in his back yard on a beautiful afternoon in Alsace, France, along with a delightful bottle of local wine. Twenty years later, a Japanese farmer in Hokkaido, Japan, offered me a snail from his garden before dinner. It was still slithering across my plate and needed to be stunned with a squeeze of lemon. I enjoyed both unique experiences for different reasons, and even now, as I sit to write this, I think of the comparison and how they tasted.
and some of us prefer the hifi experience musically to the typical live experience musically for whatever reason. maybe it's just more predicable and comfortable.
no right or wrong regarding preference, and like no two live experiences are the same, no two hifi system experiences are the same either.
Which activity one actually prefers is another subject for discussion. For me, it depends. Convenience is certainly one factor. So is cost, quality of the performance, quality of the audio system, etc. etc. I rarely ever go to live rock concerts anymore because they are usually way too loud and I value my hearing. Some jazz performances are ruined, IMO, by the PA system and venue. Some orchestras simply are not that good.
I agree with you Mike. No right or wrong, and there is lots of range in quality and enjoyment level. It is all about preferences and priorities.
I think we need to get past a slavish comparison to unamplified live ie only this comparison being the correct comparison. I myself am going fortnightly to live classical gigs since I moved to the chapel, and it’s a total thrill ride and education. And to some extent the sound live informs more and more how I feel about my sound at home. But it’s just a series of reference points, not a benchmark I want to copy. Indeed there are some things about live I wouldn’t want 100% at home. For me, my comparison points are also hearing well sorted systems that are dramatically different from mine (I have 3 such systems I very much respect). Put these, and live unamplified experiences, in the mental blender, and out come my preferences and biases.
What I can say is that reducing noise floor via my stellar room acoustics, isolated power feed, dedicated lines, balanced power, and vibration isolation platforms, do enable me to get that little bit closer to the clarity and effortlessness of a live classical gig.
What I can say is that reducing noise floor via my stellar room acoustics, isolated power feed, dedicated lines, balanced power, and vibration isolation platforms, do enable me to get that little bit closer to the clarity and effortlessness of a live classical gig.
indeed. No need to give up on live amplified rock music though...you can simply buy some ear plugs with variable dB attenuation adjustment. They save your ears and you can still enjoy the full frequency range (mostly) of the performance (not muffled). $50 gets you a satisfactory set.
Well, for one thing, at home, no lines, no one eating popcorn in front of you...and I can work while the music is playing which is 99% of how I listen to the system anyway in the evenings and weekends. Plus, I can change artists by getting up and flipping a disc over to something else...not so easy to do in a concert!
Agree...I love listening to music period. But i enjoy listening at home because i simultaneously get to enjoy my favorite music...and enjoy the 'toy' that I have assembled as my wife calls it. Listening live is a little adventure where my wife and i can go out, have dinner, enjoy a performance and have a night out.
I’ve had it w live rock.
The sh!t acoustics (London O2 anyone?), the scalpers, the extortionate re-sellers, the queuing online, the queuing in line, the guys next to me climbing over me dozens of times to buy overpriced fizzy beer and burgers or go to the toilet endlessly (that overpriced fizzy beer LOL).
No, give me the joys of classical in The Sticks, generally good acoustics, ease of buying tickets, convivial atmosphere, punctual performances, no one let in late, no Prima Donnas, no IPhone filming, no mad rush for the last train home, no “that’s the last time I see them here again” feeling.
And yes, the solid acoustics of most live classical is a big big plus point as I get older, more fussy, and have a stellar sound at home.
The sh!t acoustics (London O2 anyone?), the scalpers, the extortionate re-sellers, the queuing online, the queuing in line, the guys next to me climbing over me dozens of times to buy overpriced fizzy beer and burgers or go to the toilet endlessly (that overpriced fizzy beer LOL).
No, give me the joys of classical in The Sticks, generally good acoustics, ease of buying tickets, convivial atmosphere, punctual performances, no one let in late, no Prima Donnas, no IPhone filming, no mad rush for the last train home, no “that’s the last time I see them here again” feeling.
And yes, the solid acoustics of most live classical is a big big plus point as I get older, more fussy, and have a stellar sound at home.
Well, for one thing, at home, no lines, no one eating popcorn in front of you...and I can work while the music is playing which is 99% of how I listen to the system anyway in the evenings and weekends. Plus, I can change artists by getting up and flipping a disc over to something else...not so easy to do in a concert!
Wow, Lloyd, 99% of the listening you do to your main system is while multitasking? That's interesting. I think Tango wrote that he does work while listening too, and I think his listening seat is an office chair based on his videos. I used to try to read while listening to my system, and found I became too distracted to enjoy either activity. Now I only listen in a dedicated way, in the sweet spots while doing nothing else. But this is only me.
I wonder how many of us listen to our main systems while doing something else. This could be another thread topic. Sorry Mike, back on topic.
PS, I've never had anyone eat popcorn in front of me. At the movies, sure, but never at the BSO or other venue.
I love big open plan spaces and wish I had one. This is a great way to listen to music. My system is in the living room, but unfortunately, the room is small and in an old house, so I compromise as I must. Choices are great. I started a separate thread on this topic as to not derail Mike's thread.
I work better to music...call it state dependent learning...most of my university study was done to music.
Well, i tend to work long hours and throughout the weekend, so if anything, i find that having music keeps me going. In fact, my 'break' believe it or not, is flipping over on my laptop from my work to WBF! Since i was about 12, i used to write all my papers and study listening to music...and the same is true for work today. The better the music, the better the system, the more i really can dig into work knowing the system is really playing awesome music that allows me to keep in the flow.
The only time i just 'listen' is if i am testing a new piece of equipment. And other than isolation/grounding...i have not bought any new equipment in several years.
Hear, hear! Funny...i literally just typed those exact words! In fact, i wrote my final freshman paper to INXS full blast all night on infinite repeat until about 8am and was nominated for one of the best papers of the freshman class!
Funny thing...if i go running, i CANNOT listen to earphones...i can listen to whatever is playing at the gym...but i NEVER use headphones. The only even odder thing is that i got in the back of a taxi in Germany once, and started talking to the driver...and he said the EXACT SAME THING...he said he was going straight home to tell his girlfriend there was another crazy guy who HAD to listen to music to work...but could NOT listen to music while running.
I am only at work 50-55 hours a week, but the job is 24/7......and I'm always available. so I'm multi-tasking quite a bit of time, even watching on line sports on my lap top while listening. and the multi-tasking time is almost all digital. I'm listening about 30-35 hours a week. I will do playlists, and those can be very long lists. it may play for three days sometimes. I fade in and out of focused listening. if I'm reading a book i'll just set it down and dim the lights, then later fade the lights back on and read some more.
vinyl or tape gets my full attention; but those are 15-30% of the time.
my special zero gravity chair is the all time most comfortable chair ever; and basically there is no limit to how much time I can sit there.
vinyl or tape gets my full attention; but those are 15-30% of the time.
my special zero gravity chair is the all time most comfortable chair ever; and basically there is no limit to how much time I can sit there.
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