Why isn’t more detail always better?

@larryi

"there is no difference in the musical detail presented in playback.  Can anyone point out a specific bit of information in a particular place in a recording that cannot at all be heard with one piece of gear versus another?"

Yes, I can.  The specific recording is Shostakovich Piano Concerto number 2, slow movement.  Hyperion SACD with Marc-Andre Hamelin as the soloist. This is a very quiet piece of music, apparently very simple (though I suspect this is deceptive).  On a highly resolving system, the piano notes seem to hang in the air.  (Quad electrostatic speakers, Krell class A amplification).

When I switched from a Marantz universal player to a Reavon, I immediately knew something was wrong.  The detail and the musicality just weren't there. A bit of research showed that the Reavon's Burr-Brown DACs did not support native DSD. Reavon's technical team confirmed that DSD was down-converted to CD quality both for multichannel playback, and for 2-channel playback through their more resolving 2-channel DAC.  CD quality is poorest on very quiet passages.

Switch to DSD through HDMI output into my pre-processor's AKM DACs and all the musical magic qualities reappeared.  There are 8 DACs each supporting 2-channel DSD natively.

So here is an example where the identical equipment (in fact the same pieces of gear) sounded very obviously different with exactly the same DSD source.

As a side note, this performance has just been released on vinyl and I look forward to comparing it to SACD. On Presto Music, the SACD is no longer listed!

...paying more attention to the gear v. the music?  Does seem a distraction at the end of the day....just sayin'.... ;) *S*

In describing a new album, jazz guitarist John Abercrombie said he was “getting back to the music instead of how the music sounds.”  This distinction, like many other ideas on this post, do not necessarily reflect enlightenment (as opposed to confused thinking).

Last night's listening session with this thread in mind. So I did the usual and let Roon shuffle auto play my library, so this means all manner of musical genres and recording quality played back to back.

Deficient recording sound recordings fell into these categories.

1. Opaque recordings, just sort of blah, indistinct. Likely recordings taken from who knows what generation masters. Greater resolution/detail simply makes them less blah, opaque, they become somewhat more involving.

2. Weird sound staging, like fake stereo or excess of information hard panned to one side or the other. Greater detail means more expansive sound stage so the hard panned info bleeds more into center image, and you hear more of the recessed info on the other channel. Its all good.

3. Compressed center images, especially on some 40's, 50's mono recordings. More expansive sound stage coming from greater detail makes these more highly compressed sound stages far more involving since you know hear more highly individualized images within that sound stage.

4. Recordings with somewhat compressed dynamics, not the loudness wars recordings, these are recorded at normal levels, likely fault is with recording equipment not being up to par, sounds like early generation masters since transparency is nice. Not all of these recording fit in with overall compression, some compress certain performers/instruments while allowing full dynamic expression of others. Generally I'll find this with instrumental parts being at least somewhat compressed while vocals allowed full expression, I believe the intent is to bring attention to the vocalist, wrongheaded to my way of thinking.  If one considers dynamics as being part and parcel of detail, these somewhat compressed recordings potential can be more fully realized. They become somewhat more alive in that you get to hear more of the limited micro and macro dynamics their capable of.

5. Recordings with timbre issues, Last night I heard this with some massed trumpets and or violins on some recordings. Actually, in some cases I don't believe this was timbre issue as much as exceeding peak levels of recording equipment, in other words recorded too hot, distortion creeping in at high decibel levels. Other times it may be inherent to recording due to recording equipment or technique. Perhaps this isn't solely a detail issue, goes into presentation issue. In any case take greater detail with what is hopefully a system capable of producing natural timbre and these recordings become much more palatable. Nice to have the increased detail as rest of most of these recordings can be very involving. Actually brings some Count Basie, Duke Ellington late 40's, 50's to mind, some very early stereo. A Mantovani recording with massed violins was pretty bad.

6. Volume war recordings. The worst offenders are recorded at such high levels peaks have to severely cut off, absolute butchers. I can hear this crap even on low level systems. Others may be recorded a slightly lower levels, rather than butchers these guys are barbers, just a bit off the top please. Whatever the case, these guys shouldn't be allowed in a recording studio and the artists should know better. Can't respect the artists who allow this.

May have neglected some other recording issues here. In any case, with the exception of the butchers and barbers I want all the detail I can possibly get. Continually amazed how much info with 16/44, and to think they believed it to be severely compromised at one point, same with streaming.

@asvjerry

When listening to live music, I’m only focused on sonics if they are distractingly poor -- such as painfully loud or bright. Where I want my focus to be is on emotional engagement, with my left brain, like my cell phone, switched off !

I can't imagine listening to live music as if listening to a home system-- checking for soundstage depth, resolution, etc. OK, if you're the sound guy at the the venue it makes sense but as an audience member, why pollute the listening experience by bringing along the analytical function?  Lock him in the car and leave him behind in the parking lot. After the show, you can always let back him out.