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How close to the real thing?

Recently a friend of mine heard a Chopin concert in a Baptist church. I had told him that I had gone out to RMAF this year and heard some of the latest gear. His comment was that he thinks the best audio systems are only about 5% close to the real thing, especially the sound of a piano, though he admitted he hasn't heard the best of the latest equipment.

That got me thinking as I have been going to the BSO a lot this fall and comparing the sound of my system to live orchestral music. It's hard to put a hard percentage on this kind of thing, but I think the best systems capture a lot more than just 5% of the sound of live music.

What do you think? Are we making progress and how close are we?
peterayer
pubul57
3,712 posts
 
"Isn't it amazing though; just how much a great system can fool you into thinking it can reproduce the sound of a piano, until you actually have one in the room? Then, you're right, not even close." Precisely -- on all counts. What %, who knows, the thing is you know it's not a baby grand in your room (or horn, or drums, or voice....), if you could compare them in the same space. Close? Not close? I don't know, but almost always a discernable difference that you could pick "real" almost 100% of time, unlike figuring out if it is a tube or SS amp you are listening to.
hotmailjbc
571 posts
 
i love photgraphy and looking at pictures. i have been to the grand canyon. i think i'll vote for standing next to the rim for the real thing. since i,m not there right now the pictures will have to do. i would not want to be without my experiences or the pictures. i,ve never had tom petty drop by the house and play a set.
nilthepill
842 posts
 
"Yeah, and if you still have the piano in the same room as your stereo system I'll slide the cover off the keyboard, play a single note and say:

"Gosh was I being generous when I said 5%!" "

Very profound statement indeed!
tbg
5,263 posts
 
Hotmailjbc, your photo versus reality is right on. I was just on the Serengeti plains with thousands of animals all around. I took many high quality photos but none could capture what I saw.

Today I tried a new H-Cat dac and got clarity and imaging that thrilled me, but sorry not real like being there and Frank is dead.
irvrobinson
295 posts
 
We have a Steinway. You guys are exaggerating. I'm guessing none of you have ever recorded your own piano and replayed the recording on your system? If you're using a recording made in a huge venue it won't sound as dramatic. Also, have you used a sound meter at a given distance to see if you're playing the recording at a similar volume? If you haven't, you'd be shocked at how loud a live piano is. If you're using speakers like Thiels, or something else with limited cone area, forget it.
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