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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
stibi
51 posts
 

@mrdecibel Great post! This is exactly what makes for me the difference between true high end gear and the rest, or even among so callled high end. Recently I changed my very, super, ultra or whatever high end speakers for the very reason of not being able to engage although sounding very well. I painfully discovered for myself the difference between these two qualities.

realworldaudio
174 posts
 

I have expectations from a performance, whether live or recorded that is secondary for me. That consideration is: genuine, deep, human interpretation, where the musicians take me from the mundane to a special place of their own purpose. 

Also, I expect the stereo system to be HONEST. If the original performance was not capable of achieving it, I don't want the recording to manufacture an artificial illusion to keep me addicted to something that steers me away from reality.  

tatyana69
269 posts
 

I wouldn;t say Adele recordings are any good at all. If you think they sound good, well ... it stopped me readung the rest of your post

femoore12's avatar
femoore12
683 posts
 

Great post.

Horns plus tubes equals bliss (to me). Once I heard this combination I knew I was done looking for a system that works with the music I like. 

Some people are audiophiles because of the cool gear. Some people are audiophiles because of the music. I think some people are listening to the gear and not the music. Listen with your ears and not an oscilloscope.  

 

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.

 

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