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LOUSY SOUND AT LIVE CONCERTS

I went to a concert at Bank America Pavillion in Boston last night. I saw Tedeschi and Trucks, and The Black Crows. A terrific concert; The Tedeschi and Trucks Band was especially terrific.

Unfortunately, these bands sound better in my living room than at this beautiful, outdoor venue.

Many venues have extremely poor acoustics and/or poor sound systems. The music is often terribly distorted, details and nuances of the instrumentals and voices are lost. The sound presents as a congealed distorted mess. The art of these incredibly talented musicians cannot be fully appreciated without clear sound. Listening to music in these crappy venues is like looking at masterpiece paintings in dimly lit museums with dirty glasses. The colors, details and brush strokes are indistinct. The artistic genius cannot be fully appreciated. The Comcast Center in Mansfield, MA., Fenway Park and The Boston Garden are just as bad as The Bank Of America Pavillion, if not worse.

I am frustrated with these venues that cannot provide great sound to accompany the great music. What is the sense of attending live concerts if the sound quality sucks. Does anyone else share my frustration?
matjet
59 responses Add your response
rrog
1,958 posts
 

08-01-13: Matjet

"My son says, in jest, that I have ruined it for him."

You have also ruined it for yourself.

rrog
1,958 posts
 
This topic has been discussed previously. Many audiophiles believe Live music should sound like their stereo system. I believe this type of thinking is ludicrous and a good reason why one system can't do it all. We have all heard about "sins of omission" in equipment or a system, but many systems suffer from "sins of addition". The definition of high fidelity is "The reproduction of sound with little distortion, giving a result very similar to the original". You may prefer the sound of your system over live music, however, if your system is not faithfully reproducing the original it is not high fidelity.
matjet OP
111 posts
 
Most people in the audience don't seem to mind that the music/sound is very distorted. I think most people are completely unaware of the poor acoustics. My son says, in jest, that I have ruined it for him. When he goes to concerts with friends and complains about the poor acoustics, they do not understand what he is talking about.
robsker
132 posts
 
I often marvel at how audiophiles lament that "no stereo reproduction can match a live performance in terms of sonics." Not true. At all. The vast majority of venues for live music have terrible acoustics. Most live events have a sound quality well, well below the sound quality of a fine controlled reproduction on a home audio system of distinction. It is true that a live acoustic performance of a jazz trio or other small group (for example) in a close seat where the venue is designed for excellent sound will present sonics that are tough to rival on a stereo system... perhaps impossible to match. But most live concerts --- especially of rock/pop/blues etc. --- have sonic quality that is easily below that of a good studio recording played on a good stereo. Now the energy of the overall event --- that is something different --- but good stereos using good studio recordings often sound better than most live (especially amplified)concerts.
jadem6's avatar
jadem6
1,074 posts
 
I saw Clapton/Winwood in an arena and discovered a source of distortion I was surprised by. I had a bottled water from the concession stand and was holding it in my hand. I heard this distortion that was fogging the sound and after a few minutes discovered that if I covered the bottle with my hand the distortion went away. take my hand away and it was back. I pointed to my wife and she heard it too.

Now imagine how many open bottles are in the arena and there is just one source of noise we don't have at home.

BTW, I'm jealous that you heard Tedeschi Trucks, trucks was actually the back up band to the Clapton/Winwood concert. He is amazing and Susan is even better. She is one of my favorites.
paulsax
275 posts
 
a more recent trend that is only occasionally acknowledged is to make new sports venues loud. Rose garden in portland for example is specially designed to reflect sound fron the stands down to the floor and presumably back. even has panels to lower o make it louder. idea it to have loudest arena in nba. I was told that several others do the same thing and its the new hip thing to do in civic arenas. acoustics really suck. like ipod in toilet bad.
eldonparet's avatar
eldonparet
26 posts
 
Normally natural sound inside a performance hall is the way to enjoy live music at its best. This is usually the case with classical music although chamber concerts with even small bands of any genre and no amplification are awesome too.
The problem with most outdoor venues is the amplification. It can change everything.
I agree with your frustration. Done properly outdoor concerts can be enjoyable if the sound system is "invisible" meaning it just adds volume and nothing else. Very hard to do.
Go to venues that have natural sound performances. Your city symphony orchestra being the top choice usually.
More options available at local colleges, churches, museums, etc.
Like I said you find mostly classical music but also some great jazz, vocals and pop from less known bands will allow you to enjoy music heaven.
Then come to your home system for a close to live natural sound experience and keep working on your equipment to make it as enjoyable as you can.

Luis D. Paret
Keller, TX
hifiharv
351 posts
 
Yup, might as well stick to Boston's Symphony Hall. I remember it as sounding very good. Lots of wood. Here in Sarasota, Fl. we have the famous Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall. Designed and shaped intentionally with sound and acoustics in mind. Sounds like a transistor radio compared to our local Opera house. Lots of wood in the Opera house as well.
czarivey
5,946 posts
 
If I shared all of your frustrations, I'd never be in any live concert.
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