[TerriblySorry]

It's a strange thing, live sound. There it is, surrounding me, and I take it all for granted. As I type this, I can hear the sounds the keys make as I thump down on them. Just off to the right there's the PC fan whirring away. On the left, the fan on the Power Plant is whirring too, but that's much softer, and much more delicate. From below me, the sound of the chair creaking as I shift about. And if I concentrate really, really hard there's the sound of my breathing too.

It's all mundane stuff. Nothing anyone would write home about. Yet, if I was to hear exactly this - no more, no less - coming from my rig, would anyone be able to stop me extolling the incredible resolving power on offer?

I mention all this because when I moved on up to what could be described as "high-end" sound, I was soon very, very disappointed with what I was hearing. It's taken me a long time to come to terms with the fact that high-end equipment does not make music sound like reproduced sound. It makes music sound like music. Which is to say, it makes what's on the CD sound like live sound - that rather mundane phenomenom I was talking about a few paragraphs back.

I wish, I really do wish, that I could find something to say about the Stax Omega II that hasn't been said before. I can't. Neither can I find anything new to say about either the Nordost Valhalla or the PS Audio Power Plant.

Except maybe this: the firt time I heard them all togethor I cried. Not because the sound was so wonderful, but because it was just so... ordinary. The kind of sound I can hear everyday, and for free. To have spent over 23 years reaching for this, only to find that in the overall scheme of things it's nothing special. Nothing special at all.

But you gotta love it, haven't you?

 

[jude]

Quote:

Originally posted by TerriblySorry ....Except maybe this: the firt time I heard them all togethor I cried....

That your credit card bill was in front of you likely contributed to this!

Quote:

Originally posted by TerriblySorry It's a strange thing, live sound. There it is, surrounding me, and I take it all for granted. As I type this, I can hear the sounds the keys make as I thump down on them. Just off to the right there's the PC fan whirring away. On the left, the fan on the Power Plant is whirring too, but that's much softer, and much more delicate. From below me, the sound of the chair creaking as I shift about. And if I concentrate really, really hard there's the sound of my breathing too.....The kind of sound I can hear everyday, and for free....

I think I'd rather listen to that fine rig of yours than my typing.

Seriously, though, I do know what you mean.

Quote:

....Originally posted by TerriblySorry But you gotta love it, haven't you?....

No doubt about it.

 

[raymondlin]

So you are telling us after all that money, we can hear the same thing for free? Well, that just put a massive road block on my path to achieve Musical Nirvana.

 

[jude]

Quote:

Originally posted by raymondlin So you are telling us after all that money, we can hear the same thing for free? Well, that just put a massive road block on my path to achieve Musical Nirvana.

I think what he's saying is that many of us are trying to achieve a "liveness" that we experience every minute of every day as we and everything around us makes sounds and noise.

The things is -- and I think this is his point -- that Marc-André Hamelin (much as I might try to insist) won't bring himself (and his Steinway) to entertain me whilst I work. So we try our best to duplicate the experience (always falling short, but constantly halving the distance) via our rigs.

My friend just bought a big, beautiful grand piano that I played a couple of days ago. Being there, sitting on the bench, playing that gorgeous piano.... let's just say it's remarkably clear in moments like that why it's so hard to reproduce live sound (though my piano playing could have likely been duplicated by a three year old

).

 

[Tim D]

I think he's trying to say that I should upgrade my keyboard, because it doesn't sound that great to me. My space bar is a little lacking in focus and dynamics. There is a plasticy sound that I think would be remedied if I got a wooden mahogany keyboard, or one made out of graphite.

kal;sgjoiagmlkgkl;abm,jgkljsdrsfa;lkjglasg....yup definitely lacks clarity and the keys blend together too much. Lacks that snap if you will.

 

[MooGoesTheCow]

This reminds me of a sam tellig quote (doesn't everything?) from awhile ago. Don't have the article handy, or else I'd quote him word for word. However, it goes something like this:

Marina and I went to a live concert and I was astonished how good they sounded. Everything about them was incredible. Afterwards, I told her, "This sounds just like my Fidelios (or whatever he was reviewing at the time)!" She said, "No dear, they sound like live music."

It seems as though the line between live music and reproduced music is growning slimmer. I know some of you will scoff me and say, "Live music will never be the same as reproduced! Not even close!" and I'll partly agree with you. Live anything can never be reproduced *exactly* the same, which is why live concerts are so unique. It's a one-time deal, and you get to be a part of it. Atmosphere, venue, the process of getting dressed up (or down), the audience interaction, and acoustics all play a role in live music, apart from the actual performance. However, I will argue that reproduced audio is getting a heck of a lot closer to reality in my opinion, at least in terms of the sound aspect.

I rarely turn down the offer to hear a live orchestra, because it is a magical experience that is simply lost in a recording. But when I hear a voice, or an instrument, or any particular sound, and I hear the same thing in a recording, I am often fooled into thinking I'm there. It might have to be late at night, with all the lights out, the roommate boozed out and the laptop hibernating, but sometimes I am transported into my own private concert. Neat stuff.

neruda's gonna have a cow when he see's my sig...

 

[dngl]

Wow TerriblySorry- That was totally existential. Seriously, thanks for putting this all into perspective.

 

[KR...]

TerriblySorry,

I wish I had your problems!

 

[chych]

Curses, I am TerriblySorry I do not have your problems

(ok that was really bad)

 

[KR...]

You sure been doing a lot of puns lately.

Stop it please

 

[chych]

Ok, I'm TerriblySorry KR..

I'm telling ya, its that ASL name the amp thread thats doing this to me...!

 

[huy_ha]

Be comforted by the fact that all those dead artists and those who will never tour in your town are represented well by your system.

 

[KurtW]

Speaking of dead artists, I was looking forward to seeing Etta Jones and her husband next month at Yoshi's but she died eariler this week. I saw Stanley Turrentine last year and he was great, but he was dead a week later. That's where our systems can compete, when there is no live competition, which is often the case. I feel that I have a very good system but it doesn't compete with a really good acoustic live performance in a good venue.

On the other hand, last night I saw Paula West live in San Francisco and her CDs sound better. Last week I saw Bob Dylan live in San Jose and again his CDs sound better, although there were some songs where the performances were very enjoyable and I wished I had on a recording. The San Jose Symphony just stopped all operations and cancelled all concerts and are under re-organization to try to make a go of it...and I had season tickets.

That's why all of this audio stuff is worth fooling around with.

 

[KR...]

Quote:

Ok, I'm TerriblySorry KR..

Don't make me come over there!

 

[raymondlin]

Jude, I was being sarcastic.