Hi @charles1dad
I couldn’t agree with your comments (below) more. In theory, reproducing music at concert levels sounds like a good idea. In practice however, I think that for anything other than a string quartet or solo guitarist, live concert levels would violate OHSA regulations.
My wife was trained for the Broadway stage, and when she belts it out in our listening room, it's LOUD. She still has a wonderful voice but it can be a bit too much in a small space. Back in the day, you were trained to reach the back of the auditorium without the benefit of a microphone ;-)
I’m all for rock and roll but I also like my hearing, and loud demos are more frequently than not a sign of an unimpressive system.
One little secret of better systems (especially horn or electrostat based ones) is that the resolution level is such that lower level listening can be quite satisfying.
People conflate horns (for example) with playing loud, and they surely do that, and with low distortion. The real benefitis that they’re superb for late night listening.
... Thom @ Galibier
Good observation. Over the years I have attended my fair share of high end audio shows. For the most part I have enjoyed these experiences quite a bit. I do get annoyed with the high volume level demonstrations. Personally I do not fine these displays impressive. Even with the very high powered amplifiers driving difficult to drive speakers.
Good quality music sounds better on a good system played at what I consider reasonable listening levels. I do not understand the attraction of the “crank it up” approach.