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How Much Is Too Much?

i was musing over the recent review by m.fremer of the SF Guarneri Memento speakers as he described their wonderful sound; naturally for a small monitor, they "almost" reproduce the full impact of large scale classical music. they "almost" do justice to hard rock. and of course, they're ideal for smaller jazz groups and chamber music- so much so, that even with the $14k price tag, they would still be perfect for certain people. as i get older (i just turned 55), i am on the fence when i listen to music- i don't like it at realistic volumes as much as i used to. recently i auditioned Wilson Alexandria's, which really put the music right up in your face (i mean this in a positive way of course), whether it's Beethoven #9 or Bill Evans, AC/DC or Segovia. they are astonishingly resolving so you're not missing ANYTHING. you simply dial in the appropriate volume level for the type of music and sit back (you may want to grip the chair firmly for extra support). my impressions of those speakers spilled over in my head for days. ever since high school, i had a desire for a system that could reproduce music on a realistic scale. but NOW otoh, do i really want to listen to music hour after hour as if i was in lincoln center, or a jazz club, or a black sabbath concert? or would i rather listen to the guarneri's- maybe even turn DOWN the volume control on the amp every so often? or am i just getting too old and cranky? in addition to these other blasphemies, i can listen to my tivoli radio at my bedside for hours and not feel i'm missing that much, especially on jazz. so i humbly ask again- are there others here as well that, after you've heard alot of what a great (big) systems are capable of, you still want (alot) of music in your life, but increasingly you don't care as much about "slam" or IMPACT as you used to? come to think of it, if i go all the way back to when i was 9 or 10, my "system" consisted of a transistor radio with a 2 inch speaker; as i remember it sounded "good enough"- but then i started to want FM too...
french_fries
gammajo's avatar
gammajo
849 posts
 
When I was 14 I was playing a very complex Bach organ piece in church and did a fair job with it. Afterward the head priest came to me and said "Don't play that again, it has too many notes." I thought that was one of the most stupid and obscence things anyone had ever said.
Now at 57 I am finding myself enjoying musical pieces that are tending toward the simpler side: solo instrument, simpler accompaniment, less backround sounds in both classical and pop/rock. I am noticing and enjoying more the details of each note, its timbre, attack and decay. As we get older do we prefer less notes?
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r_f_sayles's avatar
r_f_sayles
872 posts
 
"Har Mozart, ...now and then it seemed, a bit... how do you say, it seemed to have too many notes! There are in fact only so many notes the ear can hear in the course of an evening."

Happy Listening!
shadorne's avatar
shadorne
7,491 posts
 
I find that the better the speaker and amplficiation the more natural and effortless a good recording will sound; the end result is that the music inevitably gets turned up. I agree that most systems distort on transients and begin to sound awful (dull or compressed or harsh) at higher volumes.
mcpody
73 posts
 
So, now that there seems to be a trend toward listening at low to moderate levels...this affords an opportunity to make a qualitative audio upgrade...single ended amplification. And if you have any concern about bass response, get hooked up with a PX25 based amplifier. Both Audion and Art Audio make an excellent single ended integrated amplifier...
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