System that sounds so real it is easy to mistaken it is not live

The fun thing here is knowing that microphones, electronics and headphones have been so real sounding they can fool a jaundiced audiophile and have been able to do so for decades.

I can recount several experiences where this was underlined in spades. I won't do all of them, here's one (ask if you want more): I was doing an on-location recording of a choir concert about 30 years ago, using an Ampex 351-2 tape machine, a set of Phillips small diaphragm tube condenser mics and a set of $20.00 Radio Shack headphones. After the intermission the choir was gathering at the other back stage door from the one at which I was stationed. Apparently they were going to do a number where they walked in while singing. So I rolled the tape. All of a sudden someone started singing behind me; I figured they were a soloist going to enter the door where I was. I looked around but no-one was there; I had missed the soloist entering the stage earlier (luckily got the tape rolling in time...)!

I could never get the machine to do that off of the tape playback, but off of the mic feed it was easy. Sometime if you get a chance, get your hands on a Zoom recorder or the like and headphones and see how easily you can talk while its in record mode. If you tend to shut up when someone else is talking you may find it hard to talk in this situation until you get used to it, especially if your voice is delayed. That's how real sounding mics and headphones actually are.

When we use speakers playing in a room and using a recorded media its another kettle of fish and much harder to get that spooky real thing I referred to in my first post on this thread.

Dear @mijostyn: Sorry but  everything the same your statements are wrong, it does not matters the quality level of your room/system.

I have no doubt that your system performs really good but even that fact it's far away, more that what you believe through your first hand experiences, from live MUSIC and if you still think that way then your ears are foolishing you.

Now, you post very often that listen at 95db SPL seat position that means that peaks could goes as higer as 105db SPL. I don't know if your seat position is at 1m. or 3m-5m,, maybe between 3m-4m.. Your Soundlabs has a sensitivity of 89db SPL at i meter and I'm wondering which distortion levels you measured at your seat position at that 95db-105db SPL that seems could be higher than the live MUSIC levels.

Btw, you posted that crossover speakers degrades the signal but the transformers in your speakers does it too . Nothing is perfect.

Anyway there are a few issues against what you posted.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,

R.

We wholeheartedly agree that there is nothing that compares to a live performance, whether it’s on a street corner or in a concert hall. All of the attributes ultra high-end systems seek to replicate are experienced in these live venues. Many advances have been made in modern high-end audio equipment to optimize impulse response.

Traditional systems, especially the speakers, distort the phase on a frequency by frequency basis. This muddies the impulse response and takes away the depth, layering and imaging of sound that comes from being in the same space with the musicians.

We work extensively with Dirac Live in audio systems, and it has brought us closer to the goal of recreating the feeling and texture of a live performance.

@atmasphere , come on Ralph you just squish them in there. Hold that thought:-)

@lewm , the 6 ohm MC Diamond has more gain in voltage mode, about 3 dB. It definitely sounds better in transimpedance mode. Bass drums have more punch and the bass has more definition. I spent 30 minutes going back and forth on a number of different records. You can't hear the background noise until the tonearm lifts but then there is a hiss you can hear clear across the room and you know how tall ESLs are when it comes to projecting noise. This is at 95 dB or minus 6 dB FS. The Seta L 20 is 12 dB quieter, an awfully expensive solution. 

Is is not that a system should sound exactly like a specific live performance. It is that a system should be able to convince you that you are sitting in front of a live one and supply a similar amount of sonic satisfaction. The experience will never be the same without the visual aspects. A BluRay player and a large screen can take care of that. May not be quite the same but then you do not have to fight the crowds or the traffic. 

@rauliruegas , thanx a bunch Raul. I sit 4 meters away. You have to remember That my system is line source. It's volume does not fade with distance like a point source system will. Yes, each main speaker has two transformers. They are nothing near as complicated as the crossovers in most modern high performance speakers. I also take the bass below 100 Hz out of them with 48 dB/oct digital filters which increases their headroom rather dramatically. 105 dB peaks is not a problem at all. Each one has a 350 watt amp on it and each subwoofer has 1800 watts on it, all 4 of them.