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It Happens Every Time I Calibrate

It happens every time … being disappointed with the sound of my system after recalibrating my ears to a live performance.  I just returned from a performance of Mendelssohn/Balanchine A Mid Summer Night’s Dream at the NYC Ballet sitting first tier/center at the  David H. Koch theater enveloped in the sweet, liquid sound of the orchestra and chorus, and entranced in artistic cue of the choreography.   The design intent of my system is founded on reproducing accurate timbre, reproduction of micro and macro dynamics, and organic imaging. Friends that have heard my system comment on the natural, sweet, liquid, dynamic and dense reproduction of recorded music. But it does not come close to a live performance. Much has to do with the recording.  Some of the better ones get close.  Regardless, even with my best recordings, there are certain artifacts, such as the way strings are reproduced where the sweetness and liquidity is not as pronounced, or the complexity of woodwind or brass instruments is not as prominent that make it clearly evident reproduced sound is far from absolute.  My disappointment in my system will last a week or so until my ears loose there calibration, and I will be happy again with my system until the next time I go to the Met, Koch, or Carnegie.  Do any of you have similar experiences?

jsalerno277
jsalerno277 OP
246 posts
 

@goose To my ears, it is not muted strings I hear in a live performance.  Rather, I hear crystal clarity and vivid detail. Recorded music on a good system can produce the same clarity and detail.  What I continue to try to articulate is that clarity and detail is, completely sweet and liquid and without any artifacts producing a harshness that is not natural to my ears.  This, I feel, we have become familiar with as hi-end clarity and detail rather than a problem with the state of the art of recording and playback.  Even the best multi 6-figure systems I have listened to cannot achieve this level of sweetness and liquidity. 

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kennyc
1,659 posts
 

If one ponders both an analog and/or digital audio chain, seems to be a miracle how close to reality one can get.  But audio chains can be (preferences) built to approximate reality/live music, not replace it. Also, the quality of the recordings also play a major sonic part.  Comparison to reality often leads to disappointment, seems best to avoid and just enjoy both.

cdc
1,850 posts
 

Looks like you’ve taken your current technology as far as you can. Maybe it’s time to try some Avantgarde, Voxativ, Volti, or Art Dudley’s beloved Altec speakers with a low powered (SET?) amp. Maybe even some Triangle’s with the paper cone midrange would be worth a listen.

mapman's avatar
mapman
22,515 posts
 

Live concerts done well are the reference standard for sure. 

Acoustics of a concert hall is way different than any room at home.  So it's not realistic to try and replicate. 

You can measure the spl at the concert with a smartphone app and keep that for reference to see if you can match it at home.   Then you might work on replicating the soundstage you heard at your location at the concert on a smaller scale at home.  Then see what you got with some high quality recordings. 

 

Very wide dispersion/omni design speakers like mbl and Ohm are especially good at creating a live like soundstage in your  room at home.   At the other end of the spectrum highly directional designs, not so much. 

 

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