John,
Like you we listen to acoustic music, non-amplified human voices and non-amplified instruments, mostly classical. The goal for most who love that kind of music is a convincing reproduction of a live concert. No two ways around it, this is difficult.
I entirely agree with Slappy (!) about the relative difficulties of reproducing the different types of music. The more processed the music (eg, pop and most rock), the less critical the system. The more naturally acoustic the music, and the larger the forces in play, the more critical the system. Large scale orchestra + chorus + soloists is the toughest of all, and will show up ANY flaws in a system.
One mandatory first requirement is a good recording using minimalist techniques. Recording engineers who feed a forest of microphones through a 48 track mixer will never recreate a natural acoustic. That's patently impossible with so much technology in the signal path. So search out recordings by engineers/companies who understand that for acoustic music, less is more. Mapleshade, Analogue Productions and Reference Recordings come to mind, and of course the old stuff like RCA Living Stereo and Mercury Living Prescence.
We spent a large number of dollars (for us) seeking musical satisfaction, which we only achieved very recently. Until last month something was always wanting or just a bit wrong. That has just changed. Click on my system to see where we are now.
I don't know why you chose to post this in the "speakers" forum, had to put it somewhere I guess, but if you're just starting out I urge you to think and work and buy from the source forward, not from the speakers backward. You may come to discover, as we did, that acoustic music is most satisfying when your source material is as close as possible to the original event. The best thing is a live concert. An analog session tape would be second best. Since you probably won't ever hear either of those in your home, the next best thing is an analog copy of the analog master tape, ie, an LP. Give serious thought to finding someone with a good analog front end and inviting yourself over for a listen ;) You may be astonished at what is possible in musical playback, if you're willing to work at it.
Hope this helps, enjoy the music!
Like you we listen to acoustic music, non-amplified human voices and non-amplified instruments, mostly classical. The goal for most who love that kind of music is a convincing reproduction of a live concert. No two ways around it, this is difficult.
I entirely agree with Slappy (!) about the relative difficulties of reproducing the different types of music. The more processed the music (eg, pop and most rock), the less critical the system. The more naturally acoustic the music, and the larger the forces in play, the more critical the system. Large scale orchestra + chorus + soloists is the toughest of all, and will show up ANY flaws in a system.
One mandatory first requirement is a good recording using minimalist techniques. Recording engineers who feed a forest of microphones through a 48 track mixer will never recreate a natural acoustic. That's patently impossible with so much technology in the signal path. So search out recordings by engineers/companies who understand that for acoustic music, less is more. Mapleshade, Analogue Productions and Reference Recordings come to mind, and of course the old stuff like RCA Living Stereo and Mercury Living Prescence.
We spent a large number of dollars (for us) seeking musical satisfaction, which we only achieved very recently. Until last month something was always wanting or just a bit wrong. That has just changed. Click on my system to see where we are now.
I don't know why you chose to post this in the "speakers" forum, had to put it somewhere I guess, but if you're just starting out I urge you to think and work and buy from the source forward, not from the speakers backward. You may come to discover, as we did, that acoustic music is most satisfying when your source material is as close as possible to the original event. The best thing is a live concert. An analog session tape would be second best. Since you probably won't ever hear either of those in your home, the next best thing is an analog copy of the analog master tape, ie, an LP. Give serious thought to finding someone with a good analog front end and inviting yourself over for a listen ;) You may be astonished at what is possible in musical playback, if you're willing to work at it.
Hope this helps, enjoy the music!