2. speakers
  3. 1290549211

How close to the real thing?

Recently a friend of mine heard a Chopin concert in a Baptist church. I had told him that I had gone out to RMAF this year and heard some of the latest gear. His comment was that he thinks the best audio systems are only about 5% close to the real thing, especially the sound of a piano, though he admitted he hasn't heard the best of the latest equipment.

That got me thinking as I have been going to the BSO a lot this fall and comparing the sound of my system to live orchestral music. It's hard to put a hard percentage on this kind of thing, but I think the best systems capture a lot more than just 5% of the sound of live music.

What do you think? Are we making progress and how close are we?
peterayer
mikewerner
119 posts
 
That's a thoughtful reply.
Does the real thing have to be real?
What are the goals?
I think feeling the presence of live music is different, and being within it is even more so.
Do you ever sing in church? How does that feel? Is it live?
To me there is no percentage comparison. They are different things. Maybe that is what such a low 5% ranking is about from "The Violist."
mikewerner
119 posts
 
How close is a lap dance to the real thing?
Oops!
Honestly, lately I feel this is like pornography. Here we sit, bring it on!
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,474 posts
 
Regarding sound, at least the frequencies that humans can hear, anything is possible today with enough knowledge, focus and a budget.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,474 posts
 
Regarding live sound, the hardest part to reproduce at home is the venue. No two venues are exactly the same, public or at home. So you are always working with that handicap. Otherwise, it is not so hard to get very lifelike sound out of recordings designed to sound that way.

Getting the exact perfect sound that you like all the time is not possible unless you are also making your own recordings.

Its like Hanna Davis and Kate Upton. Or ever see Ronda Rousey out on a photo shoot versus prepping for a fight? WHich is the most perfect?
hifisoundguy
630 posts
 
I believe a Very Large Part Of It has to do with the Frontal Horizontal Directivity Measurements of the speakers! The better the measurements, the closer your get to... LIVE MUSIC IN YOUR HOME!!

http://www.princeton.edu/3D3A/Directivity.html
More to discover