@russbutton Yesterday I listened to a local jazz band (Nice fake jazz quintet) sitting six feet away from the drummer, playing in a large living room. Very interesting in terms of sound. Drums and cymbals do need 'bite', and can sound distorted, even live (no amplication). I have a decent recording rig - Tascam DA3000 and two Rode mics on stands that can record up to double DSD - and maybe could follow up on your idea, but I think it could be difficult to get permission to record. I also have a small handheld Zoom H6 recorder with inbuilt mics but it wouldn't be able to capture a full concert well.
Wasted Years.
When I think of all the years I wasted listening for sound rather than music I am totally chagrined . After a very long period of placing the quality of my stereo above the beauty of music I’ve finally come around to what I started listening to music for in the first place. It’s especially a source of embarrassment for me since I spent the first few decades of my life as a musician!
My quest for getting better sound actually replaced my quest for the greater appreciation of my art.
What a pleasure it now is to search for things to play based on what I really love rather than picking out something because I want to hear how it sounds. What an empty pursuit that is for me!
It actually took many of my (and others’) postings on this forum to achieve this state of mind.
Now I appreciate all the work I put into the sound even more.
Nirvana!
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This is the conundrum faced by audiophiles. We are concerned with sound quality and we wish to enjoy the music without concern for sound quality at the same time. I don't think its possible for a 'true' audiophile to always avoid listening for the quality of sound produced by the systems we've spent so much time, effort and money assembling. While I do believe there are times when most of us can transcend sound quality and just listen to the music, I doubt this is a constant with any audiophile. So, assuming audiophiles do indeed listen to the sound at least some of time I'd posit the only reason for dissatisfaction when doing critical listening comes from dissatisfaction with the quality of sound factor. I can't fathom why one would want to avoid listening for quality of sound if the quality of that sound pleases them. My definition of a happy audiophile is one who can enjoy both the quality of sound reproduced by a fine system and the sheer enjoyment that comes from music we love performed by wonderful musicians. |
@sns + 1 |
@o_holter Getting permission of the artists to record is essential of course. My wife is a professional violinist, so I get permission to record any chamber music events she plays in. I recently recorded an antique theatre organ by chatting up the organist. I once did a demo session for a classical pianist for a program of music he wanted to present. |
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