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Get out and listen!

Yesterday my wife and I went to the Seattle Symphony at Benaroya Hall. It had been far too long that I'd heard live instruments that weren't rock or country, thus greatly amplified. There's something very different about the symphony or chamber or classical music in general when it's live than the aforementioned genres.

We were in row L, just off center and had a great place to enjoy the performance. Not too close and yet close enough to hear nuances. Of course the second thing I did right after letting myself be immersed was to consider the contrast between my system and a live performance. I'm not going to say that my system rivals a live performance! I am going to say that within the limitations that we all deal with (space, budget, esthetics) that it acquits itself acceptably. If anything, it might be a bit heavy on the bottom end. I need to dial back my sub a bit.

Anyway, the reason for my post is simply to encourage audiophile to get out and listen to the real thing. There is a movement in Handel's Water Music that begins with a pair of french horns that literally brought tears to my eyes. Despite all the time, effort and money we spend on our rigs, there is simply nothing that compares to the real thing. Nothing... Happy Listening.

https://seattlesymphony.org/en/concerttickets/calendar/2022-2023/22bar1

 

musicfan2349
shtinkydog
741 posts
 

Could not agree with you more.  We go to a Christmas show every year that's held in a church - a symphony playing Christmas tunes.  It takes me about 2 weeks to even want to turn on my system because my ears/brain is still satisfied from that performance. 

mike_in_nc
1,198 posts
 

Totally agree. And Row L center is a great spot in most halls I've been in. Far enough back for the music to blend (and avoid craning your neck) and still with great sight lines and dynamics.

cd318
2,636 posts
 

@musicfan2349 

Anyway, the reason for my post is simply to encourage audiophile to get out and listen to the real thing.

 

 

Great advice.

I remember years ago hearing a live piano recital and then it's playback on a SD card of all things.

The playback was very close to the original  but what really bothered me was that neither of them sounded the way I wanted them to.

I later realised that when you've been listening to audio systems for years and years you become familiar by and large with how most of them sound.

You also become used used to the effect of the compression used in most recordings, most broadcasts, most television and most cinema soundtracks.


As a consequence it's easy to forget what real music and real voices sound like.

It's often not like what you were expecting. So, unless you keep yourself acquainted with live music you could easily end up with a skewed reference when judging playback systems.

What troubles me is this profligate use of compression everywhere. It seems to be readily accepted that we don't want our music or speech reproduced realistically.

All those people we see on TV and often hear on the radio rarely if ever sound like that in real life.

Yet no one ever seems to mind.

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