How Do You Live The Audiophile Life

stringreen,

"I suggest going to real live concerts....the sound is way different than are the recordings. The difference is animation vs reality."



Yes, the often repeated but no less relevant advice. 

I'd have to travel an hour or so to get to a concert, hopefully all acoustic, but I do need to.

The last time I went, ages ago, was a solo piano recital. Not for one moment did I even think my system could ever sound like that. 

And despite all the many upgrades since, it hasn't. Not even close.

Comparing a ‘live concert‘ to your home system is a bit odd in my mind.  Unless we are talking classical/orchestral concerts in a non-amplified venue or jazz in an intimate room. 
Even then Jazz and Classical/Orchestral recordings are rarely recorded as you would hear them. Multiple mics are used, instruments and performers are mixed in with live ‘room mics’ to come up with a pleasing ‘live sounding’ result. 
If we are talking Pop, Rock, Techno, Rap, ProgRocComparing a ‘live concert‘ to your home system is a bit um, a bit odd in my mind.  Unless we are talking classical/orchestral concerts in a non-amplified venue or jazz in an intimate room.
If we are talking Pop, Rock, Techno, Rap, ProgRock, Hip Hop, R&B, Metal, Trance, Disco, Dance, Country, Soul, Reggae....live concerts are amplified and generally live venues, especially ones with amplifiers elements, are an echoey mess. 
Everything is going through microphones, or microphones on speakers, there are tape loops, direct sends from keyboards and tons of vocal effects all mixed through a board and re-presented to you again via amplifiers and speakers...
It’s cool to hear a recorded concert you attended played back on your system. But the two experiences will sound different. 
You could try binaurally recording a show you attend. That might be revealing of your home system. But again so many variables.
If you’d like to chase solo piano recitals and their reproduction, I am certain you can come very close to matching that ‘live’ sound on your home system. And I honor your pursuit and look forward to hearing your system.

We will chase what we will chase.
(The heart wants what the heart wants.)

*if the aforementioned solo acoustic piano is your goal I would suggest, in the broadest sense, electrostatic speakers, a solid state power amp, an airy holographic tube pre amp, balanced power and balanced interconnects. **The BAT VK-500 with BatPak does pianos beautifully!

brettmcee,

You're right, it makes no sense to try to replicate live sound in your home.

The infamous Toole/Olive 'circle of confusion' that exists in audio renders it unlikely. For sure some live albums do a good job of recreating that live feeling, but whether it is accurate, who knows?

Your have to have been there, and even then it's down to how well the engineers captured the venue acoustic.

The fact that there are so few reference points tends to steer everything into subjectivity and makes the pursuit of accurate playback extremely confusing.

But the point remains, some familiarity with real instruments will still give you a better starting point than none at all. I might not be able to, or even want to recreate a piano recital at home, or a pub rock band for that matter. But knowing what they sound like doesn't hurt, does it?

Picture the scene, a late night Jazz club. The acoustics are good, the music is unamplified and well known. People are enjoying the intimacy of the performance.

All of them except the unfortunate lone audiophile who is rather surprised and unsettled by the unfamiliar racous sound of the trumpet, saxophone and the drums. So he hurries home back to his soy latte and smooth sounding uber expensive home system which never sounds this harsh.

Kind of explains why there is a pro and domestic audio market, doesn't it?

I know this can sound a bit forward but honestly if you have to ask the above question then your not going to be an audiophile. It's not just about what equipment you need to own or how to get started and what needs to be learned but rather it's part of your being from an early age on (a state of mind) and usually is an obsessive hobby that don't always go away in time. I know audiophiles that have downsized in an attempt to control their compulsive behavior but as soon as they see a piece of gear they love it will rekindle their love for this hobby.
Audiophiles are music lovers but the gear is an integral part of the equation. No worries though, people that are involved in other hobbies are just as compulsive.

phd,

Many good points there. They certainly resonate with me.

I think it got me early as I remember being aware of how the sound of our school audio system changed for the worse when they replaced the previous huge speakers with smaller ones.

I guess I was already a dormant audiophile at the age of 5/6 even though I couldn’t do anything about it until after university. Without the money to buy the equipment it would have remained dormant.

Agree that it doesn’t go away with time. Even now the craving for bettere sound remains, despite experience teaching me of the many false roads that may thwart this desire.

I also went through downsizing, mainly because the money I was pouring in wasn’t related to any perceivable increase in satisfaction and the shift in priorities after marriage and children.

The biggest difference to me was when I realised that a lot of what I had read about CD players, amplifiers and cables was misleading. It was all implied and suggested, not promised, so I have no legal recourse. The better dealers left all of the purchasing decisions entirely down to me, even when in moments of doubt I sought a second opinion.

I will always respect them for that.

So nowadays I look for good recordings, this wasn’t an issue in my vinyl days as you just bought your LPs locally, and keep an open mind towards a future loudspeaker upgrade.

You’re also right about other more expensive hobbies. At best I have probably spent around £20k all in on audio over 35 years.

My brothers and cousins have spent a whole heap more on their cars, various BMW coupés (yuck!), executive Honda’s (nice) and in one case a fully equipped Lexus (wow!).