When I listen to my system.......


As I have stated many times, I listen to the musicianship and the composition. As I listen to SRV, just as an example, there are three musicians working together to create a "performance". How is it that anyone can put tone, sound staging, or anything else with the "sound" before the performance. There is much information on our recordings, and generally, many of these recordings are just so so with the fidelity. In fact, why do many listeners only listen to top notch recordings of higher fidelity, of the "sound", rather than appreciate those qualities I look and listen for. Is it because I was a singer / vocalist in my youth? Is it because I was around musicians who shared the joy of "music"? Is it because at a very early age, I was introduced to big band music and eclectic performances by so many, via my dad (he would have been 100 today; happy birthday dad). Yes, I consider myself an audiophile, because I spend money on gear and am careful with my dedicated room....my system allows me to hear more of the performance. But, it is the "music", the "performance", that matters most to me. I suppose I am feeling a bit nostalgic today, because of my pops. I am bringing this up again, because I do not understand the mentality of folks who listen differently than I. I know this subject might be ad nauseum to many, but some of the folks I used to design systems for, became less interested in the music, and more about the sound, placing the music and performance secondary, or not at all. I am just venting. If you would like to add to this post, I welcome all thoughts. No judgement from me. I wish everyone well. Enjoy! MrD.

mrdecibel

Back when I was drinking and/or indulging in the recreational use of illicit and licit drugs while I was listening, my standards were different.  

@immatthewj ....for yours unruly, it only made me worse and more demanding of being 'closer to the edge'....

But, such as it is......

mrdecibal are you related to mrtennis? What was the question again? My attention span is not what it used to be to digest such a lengthy post..

Why do we listen to music?

Dancing, Sex, Communicate with the Gods 

Influence Nature, Communal bonding, Eliminate Stress

Honor the Gods, Enlightenment, Impress the neighbors

Politics, Religion, Hedonism, Sophistication, Economic

Protest, Frenzy, Reduce fear. Catharsis, Competition 

Insecurity, Boastfulness, Fad, Being cool, relive the past

Experience musical genius. 

That's it...Mozart and dancing.

As soon as we turn on our equipment, we are NOT listening to music - we are listening to reproductions of music on our equipment.

This is a FULL STOP moment. None of us are listening to music on our systems, which truly invalidates the performance vs. sound conundrum that is discussed above!

This strikes me as absurd. Even if we were all in the original venue or recording studio, what we would hear would differ for each of us due to differences in our hearing!

Mozart, Ellington or Hendrix heard on a transistor radio is still Mozart, Ellington or Hendrix...

At least to those of us who play, music is not defined by sonics.

Following your line of reasoning, every one who enjoys visual art should stop kidding themselves that what they see and enjoy at home in the form of photographic reproductions of paintings is not art.