If you were serious about sound you would...

@tablejockey Thanks for the kind words, I do have a unique perspective in audio I've been a professional working at the highest levels of the movie industry for a long time but I do like audiophiles because they love music and equipment and don't get paid for it. I was always the sound guy with the best equipment and that was an advantage for me. Starting out I worked for many successful sound mixers that weren't very good but had great personalities and got top projects that part of the sound profession was alway strange and it meant to me that professional sound jobs are not objective but ultimately emotional. There are enough different people working on the different aspects of a movie project that they can cover any single persons shortcomings. 

@nonoise Thanks for the note about Tony Minasians, I remember when I was starting out I did some really great recordings by accident just using 1 stereo mic. They were recordings of choirs using a Neumann 190i mic it was a special mic because it was M/S and you could change the polar patterns after the original recording was done. Since then I generally used many microphones sometimes hundreds but I'm not sure they were any better using a single mic. Crazy to look back at your career and make a statement like that. 

How do you find recordings that are not mainstream?

So you finally get a chance to produce your first album. You use a great studio with top mixers and you hire musicians you can't really afford, you go through problems with temp vocals drummers and bass players not understanding what the songs are all about, you have scheduling problems with musicians availability, some don't like the food you have in the green room next to the studio, your wife doesn't understand why you mortgaged the house your families future to do this project. Then after the extra loan from the bank and the emergency credit cards, you finished tracking, you cut extra parts you ended up not using (dear god why did I do that), editing, mixing buying extra time at the studio  then mastering you invite your closest friends to listen to your dreams in the control room. You are at a moment of complete vulnerability you push the play button on the mixer. Then slowly you notice the slow smiles and even a tear coming from your crusty oldest friend. 

This story is common and and is why music is so emotionally moving people give their all for projects like albums and movies. The only way you are ensured that your audience will see what your best work is to see it in the room you mixed it. I can't tell you how many times a director has been distraught about satellite compression or out of spec theater equipment. If you had studio equipment in your home you could see and hear the artists and directors vision.

If you have a playback system at home that is built on personal preferences you have no way of knowing if what you are listening to or watching is even close to the effort the artist or film maker put into the project. If you were serious about sound you would use professional equipment for playback.

Thanks for your interesting story...It is moving and well written...

I dont get it though  if we speak about jazz and classical...

I am serious about sound...

But i have read about acoustic and i experimented with it...

You want to make your work known as a studio sound designer and i understand that...😊

But listening japan koto, or religious russian music or Bach organ i dont need professional mix engineer equipment at all...Neither for jazz..

Basic good gear well embedded mechanically electrically and acoustically is enough for any music serious appreciation ..

Am i wrong because i dont buy the gear suggested to listen to some designer creation ?

What about the other designer creations on completely different gear in their own studio ? 😊

I dont understand your thread it seems...Nor irony... I am french speaking and dont always catch the implicit humor in meaning and the implicit meaning behind humor ...

@donavabdear I apologize for my earlier post.  I should have looked at your system before writing for you are clearly a serious music/equipment person.  That said, I don't think most audiophiles are looking to recreate what is heard by the artist at final mixdown or at the mastering stage.  You can argue that should be their goal, but unless you were in the room at the time you really don't know what it's supposed to sound like.  As a practical matter the best most can do is make the majority of their music collection sound good to them.  It's imperfect, but can work out quite well for most experienced audiophiles.