When did you ever hear a system sound so life-like

Dear Pedrillo: +++++ " on a stage next to live musicians and do an a/b test between live and recorded playback. " +++++

so what you are suggesting is R2R live recording against " live ". This could be interesting and obviously different from live music against LP playback.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

Hi Mr Pedrillo I believe this has been done a few times in the past.A couple of examples though a bit humorous come from smart advertisers that tried to catch the attention of the masses.
1959 Fisher electronics demonstrated to a shocked audience live VS their new stereo sound and most could not tell the difference.
1970s remember the TV commercials with Ella Fitzgerald, is it LIVE or MEMOREX?

Interesting thread... I think you can make a good case for how good an audio system can reproduce music. I have had 2 channel systems for 40+ years and have enjoyed a lot of good music. I have also attended quite a few concerts and have enjoyed those performances as well.

The real separation comes if you are a musician. I have played piano for 50+ years and the guitar almost as long. Nothing comes close to being part of the performance. You hear it, feel it, touch it and the music is part of you and you are part of it. You become "one" with the music.

Pickup a used acoustic guitar and start learning to play. It's never too late to learn. As you caress the instrument, hear the music and feel the vibrations in your chest, you'll understand and be changed forever.

Paul

Pedrillo, when you live it, whatever notions you had before are erased. I think that is why it comes off creepy- you **know** that it isn't real, assume that it can never **sound** real, so when it does it can be a bit freaky.

FWIW we did exactly as you described at THE Show a few weeks ago with VMPS Audio. We had live musicians, recorded them and then played back in the same space.

Having worked with live recordings a lot over the years, its the media that has the most limitation- certainly far more than amps, speakers and microphones, as flawed as they can be a live microphone feed sounds very real.

John Atkinson of Stereophile fame recently undertook an analysis of the sound of a recorded piano recital and THE live recital itself. He wrote about his experience and conclusions in the Feb issue of Stereophile. Interesting reading even if the conclusion would seem obvious.