[Andrew Pielet]

My opinion is that Hi-fi is completely different than live music, and they should never be confused with each other. The idea of trying to reproduce a live concert in your system is ridiculous. We all make it sound how we want. Who is to say which equipment get you closer to the perfect REPRODUCTION? ATC? Linn? Meridian? They might say they have the same goals, but they all sound completely different!! I love hi-fi, and I love concerts. I do not try to make them the same thing. In my house, I am the engineer. That is why I have the equipment I do. Another thing. I heard a Boulder system ($80,000) And by gosh, it sounded nothing like a concert.

 

[D-EJ915]

I think concerts completely taint the sound of the music, I like my music to sound good, and quite frankly, most "concerts" have such poor sound systems, it's basically an overpowered boombox, that's played way too loudly, so you can't even enjoy the music, a few bands (underground, mainly) don't blow people out of stadiums and stuff with tinnitus, but some do, and it's pointless, the point of going to a concert is to have fun and enjoy the music, and I know a lot of my friends who think concerts are just big drug-fests where you're likely to get mugged...some bands just attract a bad croud (DMB), but that's life, at least they could put some effort into making the music enjoyable even if the surroundings are not. 1300

 

[TimSchirmer]

I totally agree. With hifi, my goal is to hear what went into the microphones. Nothing more, nothing less.

I dislike all of the "pleasant" coloration which is prominent in many hifi components.

 

[TravelLite]

Quote:

Originally posted by Andrew Pielet My opinion is that Hi-fi is completely different than live music, and they should never be confused with each other.

Yes, I would agree. I (happily) think of recorded music as an abstraction.

TravelLite

 

[Mr.PD]

Live music is loud-fi.

I agree that the ultimate Hi-Fi setup is for studio recordings. Trying to reproduce a live concert accurately is not something that can usually be accomplished. Your home lacks the ambiance that a big outdoor concert area has.

There are those live performances that are done in small clubs that could be reproduced at home. But, why? Crappy club sound systems and below par production quality make the task a waste of energy.

Of course I am sure there are exceptions.

 

[Rizumu]

Quote:

Originally posted by TimSchirmer I totally agree. With hifi, my goal is to hear what went into the microphones. Nothing more, nothing less. I dislike all of the "pleasant" coloration which is prominent in many hifi components.

w0rd, Tim. The goal is not to make your music sound "real" or like a live performance, I think it's to reproduce exactly what's on the recording.

 

[Calanctus]

If you're listening to an amplified concert, then you're probably listening to speakers and amplifiers designed to be loud, and not necessarily good.

But if you listen to unamplified music, then you're hearing (relatively speaking) more of the instruments. I've heard many recordings of unamplified music on my system that sound pretty much exactly like what I would hear at a live performance.

 

[grinch]

my first thought on seeing this thread's title was "hey! that guy stole my idea!"

i understand the want of using live music as a reference, but in actuality it's just so ridiculous. would i compare a picture of a porsche on my wall to the one in my garage (i wish)? "oh well the picture's red isn't quite as red as it is in real life.." gimme a break.

i also agree on trying to hear what went into the mics, since that's all there is in any recording, and not everything goes into the mics so you can't mimic a real live concert.

i recently have been around acoustic guitar a lot more lately, and what i'm finding is that it's the imperfections in sound that make it real. it's the complete lack of soundstage that a live show might have, or the abililty to hear the sound vibrating off the wall next to you. also, if you're listening to a violin solo from a world famous performer, how is your local college's symphony supposed to be used as a reference?

it just doesn't make sense to me, though i understand why people feel the need to keep it in mind. personally, i just look for what sounds better than my current system or what else i've heard. get to know a recording and you'll know what it's capable of, just my opinion though.

 

[averydonovan]

I definately agree with live music and hi-fi being in two different categories. When I am buying stuff I am looking for something that will sound pleasing to my ears, not even all of what went into the mics since that has already been changed by the recording engineer. I just want the end results to be enjoyable, it doesn't have to be anything like the band, the producer, or the engineer imagined it. I just have to like the end result that goes into my ears.

 

[Trawlerman]

Personally, I think it would be folly to try to build a hifi system that recreates music as if it were live.


Much of the modern music is synthesised which has no real refernce point for us to pin it down with. Just what should a Korg blah blah sound like anyway? Only the designer will be able to tell you if it is correct.

The same goes for electric guitars. Take Jimi Hendrix for example. One of his musical traits was to distort the sound as much as possible in a really freeform way. He even changed his amplifiers and tubes periodically until he found a certain type of distortion that he liked.

To add to that a lot of music is not recorded 'Live' in the studio but rather laid down onindividual tracks, sometimes over weeks and in different studios and then patched together to create a master.


The main front end to my system is Vinyl which most people would say is technically (on paper) inferior to CD. I have an all Tube Phono Stage, SS Pre, Tube Monoblocks and BBC Monitor speakers.

Overall, I wouldn't say that this system is 100% accurate. It is not. The BBC monitors impart some of their sound onto the final performance as do the tube amps but to me it is a sound that I love. I've heard $$$$ systems in the past that cost the value of a small house and have been left cold by them.

I suppose in the end it falls down to the individual to use his/her personal listening skills and make educated decisions on what is good or bad from subjective auditions rather than trusting to what Stereophile or Head-Fi says.

Music is very much a personal experience and the decisions should be left to the individual.

 

[chadbang]

Quote:

If you're listening to an amplified concert, then you're probably listening to speakers and amplifiers designed to be loud, and not necessarily good. But if you listen to unamplified music, then you're hearing (relatively speaking) more of the instruments. I've heard many recordings of unamplified music on my system that sound pretty much exactly like what I would hear at a live performance.

Very well said. I agree. I've heard naturally done, unamplified recordings reproduced well enough through systems that they could fool many people into believing they were hearing live music (myself included)! I once walked into ashowroom and was certain I heard a live Dixieland band in another room -- it was a pair of big Quads that fooled me!

 

[Calanctus]

Quote:

Originally posted by chadbang I once walked into ashowroom and was certain I heard a live Dixieland band in another room -- it was a pair of big Quads that fooled me!

For some reason, it seems to be mostly the planar speakers (Quads and other electrostats, Maggies, other ribbons) that really elicit this reaction from people.

To those who said (paraphrasing here) "lots of music is distorted, synthesized, edited in the studio", etc., I would simply reply: a hifi system that can reproduce unamplified live music in a realistic way will give you the SAME DISTORTIONS/EDITS AS INTENDED BY THE ARTIST. One that changes the sound in some way will give you a musical experience which is different from what the artist created. But hey, that's cool too, and in many cases it may not matter one bit to your enjoyment.

 

[Vertigo-1]

I'm a member of this camp as well. Reproducing a live performance has never been my goal...heck it's never even crossed my mind as I built my system.

 

[tanfenton]

I have no goal other than the reality I'll never hear. Approximating it with the least amount of distortion is all I work towards.

NGF

 

[HD-5000]

Live sounding is Hifi's goal, when you're talking about classical and jazz. Don't overlook those.