Is "live" music sound possible for under $1K

hOPEFULLY YOU CAN SKIP THE DAC AND THE PRE-AMP AND DRIVE THE AMP RIGHT FROM THE SOURCE. tHAT WILL CUT COST AND INCREASE MUSICAL/DETAIL RETREIVAL. So you need an amp and speakers and cable. Cable; Acoustic research cheap and great, even Stereophile agrees. Check Sears. How 'bout 'Wave 8's (tube amps/ $100.00 ea. mono.) and used Klipsch spkrs.??? Forget about "LIVE" go for "GOOD MUSIC". Yamaha does good too. And Denon, Rotel, NAD, Creek,. Go used at this level!!

I started this quest about 30 years ago. Only in the past year have I accomplished my goal. I had to invent a new type of speaker and cables to make it all sound like there was no audio components functioning, just music in its most pristine state. The key to all of this are the power cords, without them the whole effect collapses. We have tried these cords in many conventional systems with similar stunning sucess. The point I am trying to make is, the place to look for the greatest impovement/advancement are the power cords but not the ones in the magazines.

The question of making a system sound like "live music" often troubles me - perhaps because I've never heard live music sound all that fantastic - per se. Admittedly, I've never been to a symphony but I have seen live jazz as well other various concerts (which often caused my ears to ring).

Most "audiophiles" would agree -- whether one likes the music or not -- that Diana Krall CD's usually sound pretty nice on a high end system. Just this past weekend, I saw Diana Krall in concert at a small venue in Oakland California - the "engineers" who set up the venue used as little amplification as possible to reinforce the performers acoustic instruments and I don't think Diana's Steinway was miked much at all. Diana's vocals were of course amplified -- but she didn't sing much - she mostly played Piano and watched the guitarist do his thang and worshiped her bass player.

I feel the engineers did a good job with this setup as it was one of the better sounding shows I've been to. The Piano was perhaps a bit soft in comparison to the guitar and drums. The bass might have been soft too, when compared to Diana's recordings. And when Diana did sing, she didn't / doesn't "BELT OUT" lyrics. She sort of whispers into the microphone. Keep in mind, this venue is/was being considered as a recording location for Diana's next album (which as of Monday June 2, is underway).

That said, and by audiophile standards, the sound was simply mediocre at best. It lacked many of the qualities audiophiles look for in their systems and had many of the qualities audiophiles DO NOT WANT.... Diana likes to BANG on the piano and ya... that can be a bit bright at a live show. Made me cringe.

Ultimately - I believe the attraction to live music and the perception that it is "so good" is the fact that you hear everything the performers and the venue have to offer -as it was performed -- which unfortunately isn't the case with recorded music. Much of that "you are there feeling" is ambiance that is lost during the recording process - and rarely (if ever) found on CD.

Make sense?

I wish I had time top be fair with this question. Since the sound of live music is not obtainable at $250,000 I doubt that it would be at $1000. Gotta get back to work before I get fired, then nothing would be obtainable.

It might be crazy, but I would suggest you take some of your recorded music out to your local dealers to see how much "live' experience or sound various amounts of money might possibly get you. As as exercise, it may put in perspective just how difficult it is to break recorded music of its elements. Beyond that, it will give you a sense of what you may want to purchase to get closer to that ideal. You might also consider getting a good headphone amp & headphones to hook up to a reasonably priced cd player to hold you through until you can make those purchases. It sounds weak perhaps when held up a speaker/amp system, but there are some very good sounding and affordable tube headphone amps out there that will take you a long way towards a more realistic music experience.