[gilency]

I listened to Joshua Bell (violin) at the McCallum theater in Palm Desert, CA last sunday night. The place is relatively small and intimate with nice acoustics.
Never mind the JBell is a virtuoso, his violin projected sound in a magnificent way. Even when played soft, it conveyed music all over the auditorium.
I kept thinking of my electrostatic phones!
Although no headphone will ever give you a complete natural sound like live classical music, my Stax sure sounds pretty darn nice.
Other live performances I have enjoyed include The Academy Of St Martin in the Fields, Daniel Barenboim, LA Phil, Yo-Yo MA, Boston Pops amongst others.
Joshua Bell's performance was magical..............

 

[moogman]

I recently went to a few lunchtime concerts at a church near my work. Sorry to say the experiences have put me off live events a bit - the acoustics were just awful and there was plenty of coughing, children crying, and rattling of crockery in the church kitchen!

Would love to hear a full orchestra in a concert hall at some point, though.

 

[artforme]

REO Speedwagon in 2001.... does that count?

 

[DavidMahler]

Great poll question!!! Because I think there's something to be said about being familiar with true acoustic music presented in a wisely engineered hall. If you've never heard it, then you may or may not be aware of how colored or unrealistic your setup is. When judging a classical performance on my speakers or headphones I consciously ask myself if the recording sounds realistic as well as the set up I'm using....for me its the best way to "be there in the moment"

Great thread, and I voted yes

 

[oqvist]

Different halls add different colouration though... So you have still not heard live sound just because you have been in one hall

 

[pp312]

Quote:

Originally Posted by k3oxkjo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, I have some sympathy for this, but the problem is there is no one concert hall sound! The balance in the hall can vary greatly depending on where you sit. I go to concerts in NYC and on vacation in London (Barbican, RAH, Southbank center) and Monte Carlo (MC Philharmonic). I have sat all over the hall, but personally enjoy the sound best in the front half of the venue. I heard Mahler 9 at Avery Fisher from front row center and it was the most overwhelming sonic experience. The sound there is powerful, with a brighter treble balance than further back but with the bass to balance. With no treble artifacts, that brightness is never harsh, just beautifully exciting. So there is a variety of balances that could be called "concert hall sound". It's a matter of where YOU like to sit... Kevin

Of course there are different balances depending on the hall and where one sits. But I think any regular concert goer trying the various phones recommended here for the first time is going to have some pretty immediate reactions, such as rejecting certain of them out of hand as making no attempt at a realistic balance. Obviously a number of manufacturers have no interest in a concert hall balance; their aim, if it involves accuracy at all, is to emulate the more up-front experience of a jazz concert or pub gig. Still others just want to impress with boom and fizz. Sennheiser I think have always adhered to the realistic balance ideology, which means their phones sound far from impressive to those coming off more flashy phones.

I've been genuinely shocked by some of the anti-595 comments here--not just that they're "boring", which is an old complaint, but that they're "no good with music"--an astonishing claim of a phone that not only has rave reviews all over the Net but won the Hi-Fi Choice award as the best phone under 200 pounds. What are people using as the standard by which to make these absurd statements? Certainly not the sound of live music--in any part of the hall. No, they're using the Grado SR80 they've been listening to since they were 15. And the music? Probably rap or electronica.

Don't get me wrong--I'm not knocking other people's choice of music, even if I wouldn't listen to it myself in a fit. It's just a pity so many people have forgotten what this hobby is about--Hi-Fi--high faithfullness to the original sound, which, when the term was coined at least, meant live music. If people prefer boom/tizz phones that's fine; no law against that at all. The problem is when they condemn out of hand phones with a more realistic balance, a concert hall balance, due to lack of experience.

Sorry to rant, but as you can tell two or three people on another thread really got my goat, and I just had to vent.

 

[Dexon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ear Damage /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes, I've enjoyed quite a few classical performances both indoors and outdoors but I really like enjoying classical music performed in the Walt Disney Concert Hall

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif Very insightful. As for concerts, I've been to at least a couple hundred. In undergrad, I knew a lot of performance majors from being in the marching band. I went to the small on-campus performances constantly to see my friends perform and enjoy the music. I'm also a big fan of the LA Phil and the Disney Concert Hall might be my favorite building ever.

Oh, I so envy you. I imagining how this hall sounds for years. Especially after hearing some of the recent records with Dudamel there, idea of visiting that place doesn't go out of my mind. Unfortunately, to actually do so I need exactly the same amount of money as I need for HD800. Right now I'm closer to going there and hear the LA phil since I'm not much impressed with senns but would still like to own them. I guess If i decide to go, when I come back AKG will go out with new flagship costing the amount I just spent on concert

Ahh, choices choices..

 

[autonomous]

I was fortunate to travel a bit and have seen and heard The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Festival Hall in London, The Berlin Philharmonic at The Philharmoniker, The L.A. Philharmonic at Ruth Eckert Hall in Clearwater FL, The Academy of St. Martin in The Fields at The Tampa Theatre, Mahaffey Theatre, and Ruth Eckert Hall, all in the Tampa Bay area.

All the above were very memorable experiences but two others stand out: The Florida Orchestra conducted by the great Vladimir Verbitsky delivered one of their best concerts ever, and The March Slav encore brought the house down. The other was Bobby McFerrin conducting The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. Bobby Mac puts on a show like no one else. The SPCO are no slouches either!

It was from these concerts and many others that made me realize trying to reproduce the concert hall experience in the home is too much to ask. But sometimes when the memory takes me back, and with a little imagination and visualization, I get to go back to those irreplaceable moments in time.

 

[TheOtus]

LOL! Thank god NO.

Did I need to tell this? Absolutely no.

 

[groovizintheheart]

I've been lucky to see van Cliburn medalists live with great orchestras:
Olga Kern and the National Philharmonic of Russia at the Phillips Center in Gainesville, FL

1. Romeo and Juliet Overture — Tchaikovsky
2. Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini — Rachmaninov
3. Symphonic Dances — Rachmaninov

Haochen Zhang and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra at the Kodak Hall Auditorium in Rochester, NY

1. Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1

Great acoustics in both halls and both outstanding performances. While in college I got an amazing chance to discover new composers and performers, I highly encourage people to support their local universities and colleges and attend the students' recitals and guest performances.

 

[tohenk2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by k3oxkjo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, I have some sympathy for this, but the problem is there is no one concert hall sound! The balance in the hall can vary greatly depending on where you sit. I go to concerts in NYC and on vacation in London (Barbican, RAH, Southbank center) and Monte Carlo (MC Philharmonic). I have sat all over the hall, but personally enjoy the sound best in the front half of the venue. I heard Mahler 9 at Avery Fisher from front row center and it was the most overwhelming sonic experience. The sound there is powerful, with a brighter treble balance than further back but with the bass to balance. With no treble artifacts, that brightness is never harsh, just beautifully exciting. So there is a variety of balances that could be called "concert hall sound". It's a matter of where YOU like to sit... Kevin

X2 very true!

And enter here all the other variables that make up the expierence... every concerthall has its own accoustics for instance. And the instruments themselves (or the handling) can be quite different also. I remember one violin solo that I really did not like... but did like on another occasion. (I didn't mark who did what, I'm not that into names.)

 

[krmathis]

Yeah, a couple of times. One in the local library and another one in a cultural centre.

 

[Bones13]

My dad still has season tickets to the Houston Symphony, I went a lot back when I lived at home.

We have a nice Mobile Symphony and Mobile Opera here, with several shows a year. I used to go more, but am usually too busy now.

We had a string quartet at our wedding. You had to go near to hear them though, as the reception was outside. Bell choir in the church was cool.

Silverwood (and their sub-band Mithril) play locally here at events. They do some really nice stuff. Not sure if their CD's are nationally available, I found them at the Library, and tracked them down to being across the bay from me.

I really think that hearing a fair amount of "natural" music helps me in my rig set ups. I tend to aim for that type of sound.

Of course there is un-amped non-classical music, a plethora of bar jazz groups, and locals playing pop/rock at local venues. We even had Tori Amos on her piano at a small place here one night.

 

[indydieselnut]

I grew up with classical music loving father and took up the cello. I've been going to concerts my whole life and feel it is an integral part of what makes me "me". I love attending live concerts with respectful audiences. However, a January concert in the Midwest can turn into an absolute nightmare with all the winter-time colds, coughs, cough-drops, etc. I don't need a perfect environment to enjoy the music but there have been a few concerts that ended up being almost unbearable.

Some of the most memorable experiences were the three summers I spent at the Aspen Music Festival. Listening to the Emerson String Quartet in Harris Hall was wonderful.

 

[spookygonk]

The British Leeds Castle in Kent has yearly Summer orchestral concerts. The instruments and vocalists set up in an auditorium in front of the castle moat and the audience brings picnics, blankets and sit out on the surrounding hillside. The two times I've been they've also had the army in with field guns for the cannon parts in the 1812 overture. Makes for a wonderful evening.