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If a " system " cannot do this, I move on........

I have been advocating on here for some time, that horn speakers ( properly designed, tweeked, executed and set up ) are the only speakers that my brain and ears find acceptable, for the enjoyment of music listening. My listening standard has been live, unamplified music, for now over 50 years. I have also stated on many occasions, that as an audiophile ( as well as being a music listener ), that we are hindered by the recordings themselves, minimizing what we actually are hearing. There has been much talk lately about engineers using " auto tune " ( specifically with vocalists ). Adele ( I am a fan ), with her new hit " Easy On Me ", does not use auto tune, and I am thrilled. Besides being a great singer, she sounds " natural ", less processed. Most recordings in the past 20 years, have used this other electronic " equalization " if you will, that we find embedded in out prescious recordings. The strive for perfection, that " audio nirvana ", we all seek, with the purchase of a new speaker, amplifier, cables, etc., gets us only so far. So yes, dynamics and details are very important to me. Tone, coherence and spatiality are also very important. But the reality is, our recordings, by the time we receive / hear them ( whatever format ), have been severly altered from being close to the real thing. Yet, audiophiles continue to spend big bucks on their gear, their rooms ( their systems ), to get to that place of enjoyment. The title of this thread, " If a system cannot do this, I move on ", has a specific meaning. What I listen for, most of all, with every recording I listen to, is an engagenment between me, and the performers. Following the individual rhythms and musical lines, by the artists, is the number one factor I strive to hear. My system allows for this. My question is : how many of you actually listen for this, or even know what I am speaking of. My personal experience listening to so many high priced systems, has been very disappointing in using this criteria. I am not anticipating this thread to develop into a very large or popular one, but I have not participated in Agon for a while, and I just wanted to shine a light on a subject that is crucial to us and our time listening to music, which some of us spend much time doing. Enjoy, and be well. Always, MrD.

mrdecibel
lordrootman's avatar
lordrootman
359 posts
 

Excellent post  @mrdecibel 

dbwalek
20 posts
 

Hey, this isn't that complicated.  If you like horn speakers, that just means you like what they do to the music.  I would note that almost no one who listens to music critically for commercial purposes does so on horn speakers. But you do, and are listening for enjoyment, so good for you.  They help make the music come alive for you, and that's all that really matters.  

My main point, however, is this:  Don't fool yourself,  Whether you are listening to Adele or to any other pop artist, you are always listening to music that has been processed, and bears no relationship to a "room".  All pop music is tracked, using multiple takes, and is uniformly EQ'd and compressed, with reverb or delay, and usually with some amount of tweaking of pitch or editing of individual notes and sound waves.  Whatever you think you are hearing is there because a sound engineer put it there.  The good news is that the emotions of the music and the talent of the performer still shine through.  So, enjoy what you hear, just know what you are really hearing.

 

bigkidz
3,324 posts
 

@sns1 - you cheater - 845 tube power amp - hard to find something better especially with an horn type speaker.  We built a stereo 45 tube amp only 1 watt and used them on the Horning speaker - pure magic even with an Eric Clapton recording.

Each speaker does something that the others can't do but that comes down to preference.

 

Personally, field coil speakers are where it's at in my book!

Happy Listening.

 

 

 

 

 

jon_snow
4 posts
 

@mrdecibel 

I feel you. The more music moves me the more I enjoy it. 

The quality of lyrics , the visceral emotion in vocals , the clarity of instruments , the rhythm and beat are all important.  
 

A quality hifi system delivers these to my ears and body in a way that I either react physically or mentally. 

If I'm thinking about the resolution of the source , the recording engineer , the interplay of the preamp and power amp (or whatever component) then I'm in my head and not in my body - heart and gut. 

I either feel it or I don't. It's a personal thing but hey that's music!

Build your machine and enjoy your music :-)

 

 

au_lait
335 posts
 

I love engagement between myself and the performers, but that's only a fraction of my record collection. A lot of music I love is about making otherworldly studio magic, surreal moments, things that cannot be achieved by acoustic performance alone.

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