Real or Surreal. Do you throw accuracy out the window for "better" sound?

larsman

10-13-2023 at 09:40am 

I do know what sounds better to me.

I do not know how true it is to what the artist, the producer, the mixer, and the mastering engineers laid down, as I was not there for any recording sessions so cannot make a comparison. 

I'm in this general camp. Also the "smoothness" camp. Who says the bite of a trumpet or electrical guitar can't be a smoother bite and not a harsh brittle edge?

Particularly the comment about engineer, mixer, masterer - all artists in their own right creating a soundscape. AND, ask any one of them and they will tell you: change the playback equipment and it will change (more or less) the soundscape they created on the equipment they used on any recording.

@mahgister ,

No, I speak the most horrible english ever, but far better than I write.

I am not a philosopher, I am a pragmatist. As others have mentioned, there is no such thing as accurate in regards to reproducing the actual event. With most studio recordings there is no actual event, there are multiple small events pieced together in the mind of the mastering engineer. 

It is not so much that an audio system is accurate, it is with the proper recording that a system can convince you you are at the actual event. This in itself is a moving target because it depends on how the individual hears things. There is no way to absolve ourselves from the fact that this is a personal experience.  

What I have noticed, in spite of what I said above, is that everytime I am in the presence of a remarkable system everyone else seems to come to the same conclusion. There is a shared concept of accurate reproduction even if it is hard to quantify. It is one of those, "you'll know when you get there," events. 

Your english mastery exceeded mine ...I am a philosopher but in audio i am pragmatic ...

Doing the best possible with a low cost system/room was pragmatic , as reading about basic acoustics instead of possible  upgrading gear reviews ... Tuning my room was pragmatic ...

😁

There is an "accuracy" of the measures set of electrical parameters in audio material design ...

There is another concept of "accuracy" derived from acoustics basic science parameters and derived from informed musical experience , this is why there is always a consensual agreement when a playback system /room sound optimally ...

I imagine that when you speak of accuracy you refer to the second acception of the word ...

My best to you sincerely in spite of our sometimes disagrements...😉

@mahgister ,

No, I speak the most horrible english ever, but far better than I write.

I am not a philosopher, I am a pragmatist. As others have mentioned, there is no such thing as accurate in regards to reproducing the actual event. With most studio recordings there is no actual event, there are multiple small events pieced together in the mind of the mastering engineer.

It is not so much that an audio system is accurate, it is with the proper recording that a system can convince you you are at the actual event. This in itself is a moving target because it depends on how the individual hears things. There is no way to absolve ourselves from the fact that this is a personal experience.

What I have noticed, in spite of what I said above, is that everytime I am in the presence of a remarkable system everyone else seems to come to the same conclusion. There is a shared concept of accurate reproduction even if it is hard to quantify. It is one of those, "you’ll know when you get there," events.