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At This Time Can We Recreate Full Range Live Music In The Home?

I read on this web site some members claim they go to the symphony orchestra and are "convinced" their system reproduces the experience. I agree with vocals, light percussion, acoustic music, light jazz, the best systems come very close. My experience comes from being a semi professional drummer for 40+ years. I currently have acoustic and electronic drums in my home. I play in a huge open space with 20 foot cathedral ceilings. I think I can state that I know what live drums sound like. Can even the six figure systems reproduce the attack and decay of a 20 inch crash cymbal? I say "maybe" in the future but not now! What makes me laugh is we audiophiles myself included will spend many, many thousands of dollars trying to reproduce the sound of a $20 triangle or a $15 woodblock or a $10 shaker. Play the song Aja by Steely Dan. I can play on my system the drum solo by the great Steve Gadd at realistic volume levels-if you dare -but it is not the same as real drums!! I don’t know if I can’t convince people that are not musicians. Not putting non-musicians down. Quoting my dad, "You don’t have to be a horse to be a horse doctor." Another quote by John Lennon. Someone asked him what he was listening to. He responded, "Dripping water."  It would be interesting to know how many of the greatest producers/engineers are or are not musicians or vocalists.
Some statistics: Soft drums 105dB, hard drums up to 130dB, kick drum/timpani 106-111dB, ride cymbal 101dB, toms 110dB, ride bell 115dB, crash 113dB, snare 120dB, rimshot 125dB. I have a system that could produce 125dB, would I -NO WAY I value my #1 instrument -my ears. So the drums are playing at 125dB peaks, now add in the other 80+ members of the symphony orchestra-how loud now? I ask again, can we at this time reproduce accurately the power of a symphony orchestra in the home? For many of us this is the Holy Grail of being an audiophile - Keep Searching!
wweiss
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
A fascinating aspect of this I forgot to mention, it was Eric Alexander being a professional drummer who was upset with the inability of even SOTA audio to reproduce that sound that motivated him to invent his MTM array. His Tekton speakers are phenomenal success. So in spite of the fact no one really wants an actual drum kit in their home (well almost no one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVFFjp90ouU ) we do appreciate being able to get reasonably close.
jbl-4345
58 posts
 
Altec voice of theater 
Jbl big studio monitors.  
Most Home audio speaker are designed to sound good to our ears in so many different ways at low medium volumes.  Listening to a live jazz or orchestra performing using compression drivers 15-18 inch low frequency drivers . These speakers are designed to be more efficient more dynamic and take a lot of wattage to produce the dynamics you are experiencing.  I personally have four different set of large speakers with a sensitivity at 95 to 97db at 1 watt. Some have 15 or 18 inch woofers but all have compression drivers. I prefer the sound I hear from my speakers to regular dome or paper tweeters with 8 10 or 12 inch woofers.  Don't get me wrong the smaller speakers sound fantastic. My ears 👂prefer the dynamics of the larger speakers but I am running out of room in my man cave
oldhvymec
5,101 posts
 
I like live music MAYBE twice a year and that is a push.. I can reproduce what I LIKE at the levels I like.. That's all that really matters right..

The guy that's making the music count's right up until I pay for the rights to play it on my equipment.. LOL That usually means I turn it DOWN...
They turn it UP...

Regards
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
@phusis , I have been at every kind of live acoustic event you care to think of from string quartets in churches to Boston Symphony Hall where I have heard anything from Beethoven's 9th to Cassandra Wilson, to Dave Holland, McCoy Tyner, Ron Carter, Oz Noy and more at the Regatta Bar, to Tower of Power at Scullers, to Allison Krause at Meadowbrook, to Solo Elton John, The dead, Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails at the Garden. This is going to take several pages. I think you get the picture. 
The question was, "can this be done." My answer is yes it can. You can get the very same chills up your spine you get at a concert right at home.
I wish everyone could have the resources to do it. But, others prefer to buy a Summer Home or go on an insane vacation. Whatever. Most people simply do not care. For those who do there is light at the end of the tunnel.
@rauliruegas, That was very true in the old days. Layers of distortion were added at every step on the way to you. Even so there are many old classical recordings that can still raise the hair on the back of my neck. But, it took pop recordings a while to catch up. Now however, the signal is immediately digitized and additional distortion essentially stops until the conversion to analog which may not happen until you get the recording home. Maybe you and I are talking about different things. I am not saying that I can exactly mirror a live performance. I am saying that I can reach and frequently pass that level of musical involvement and pleasure. Creating a situation where if you closed your eyes you could easily envision yourself at a live performance. I have heard several systems reach this level of performance. I stick to my answer. It can be done.
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
@mglik , Studio recording is a crap shoot. Artists like Kate Bush use it as art. Others have no idea what they are doing. Painfully few studio recordings make me feel like I am at a live event. This does not mean they are not enjoyable. It is just a different experience like Herbie Hancock's Sextant. I prefer recordings where all the musicians are playing together and not spliced in here and there. I find the discontinuities bothersome. 

JBL-4345, it is not just about volume. It is very easy to make a system that goes loud. It is much more difficult to make a system that presents the music as an array of individual instruments and voices in space, each with its own special characteristics. 
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