I'm sure we've all read those interviews in Stereophile w/great recording artists or recording engineers whose home systems are little mini-boxes. I always get such a kick out of that! Of course, you can listen to music in a variety of ways and for a variety of reasons. I attend several live concerts a year, some in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall (orchestral or chamber music), occasionally a rock concert in a basketball or football arena, but most in local folk-type clubs. The sound in the Kennedy Center hits you in the chest and can hurt the ears in its dynamic range. A true orchestral experience, and one I can't duplicate at home. The sound in the rock arenas is shrill and blurred, and the lyrics of everyone are unintelligible. Rock recordings sound FAR better on any of my home systems. The sound in the folk clubs varies. The club that has the very best performers and greatest shows, the Birchmere, has kind of crappy amplification, and a long array of really huge, old, battered JBL speakers above and across the stage. Yet the concerts there are amazing, because I can sit literally a few feet from the performers I love, as if they're in my living room. Because they're all miked, I probably would prefer the sound through my own amp and speakers at home instead of out of the huge JBL's. But the performance and shared experience in that venue beat the much better reproduction of these musicians at home. There is one club, Iota, that is so tiny that you can really hear the acoustic instruments and singers' voices for themselves without mikes. That to me is the best sound of all, better than at home. I've heard people like Alejandro Escovedo, Richard Buckner, Freakwater, and Sally Timms of the Mekons there, up close and personal--incredible. Obviously you can listen to music in all kinds of ways and w/all kinds of fidelity, high and low, and still have an unforgettable experience. I guess even the suggestion of a tune from a boombox is enough to evoke the whole emotional experience for some. Which would be a LOT cheaper if that worked for me.
What are we listening to...for...with?
As a long time audio enthusiast and former professional musician (double reeds) I'm interested in hearing opinions on a couple of related observations.
First obbo: A few years ago I had the privilege of visiting with the principal conductor of one of the major US symphonies--one of the biggest of the biggies. I was doubly blessed that among the guests was the music director of another orchestra in the same league. Between them, these guys probably account for a hundred or more recordings. I found my host relaxing by listening to his home equipment--an Aiwa all-in-one-box system that sounded to me like a miniature car crusher hard at work. When I questioned him, his offhand reply was, "Oh, I know what it is supposed to sound like." I pressed further: "So then are you listening for performance practice or interpretation or what?" "Nah," he replied, "I'm just enjoying the music." At which point the other internationally famous conductor chimed in to say that his home system was 30 year old HH Scott....
Second obbo: A few nights ago, I went to a friend's for an evening of listening. His system is primarily Krell electronics and a pair of Vienna Mahlers. Among other things, we heard the Slatkin/St. Louis/Telarc recording of the Vaughn Williams Fantasia on a Theme of Tallis, Barber Adagio for Strings, etc. Conversation ranged over several topics including Telarc engineering, "Krell sound," cables (what else?), and the suitability of the Mahlers for orchestral music. Finally I said, "Isn't anybody bothered by the crappy playing and conducting on this disc?" Blank looks all around. Finally, one friend, an oratorio singer, ventured, "Well, the strings WERE a bit out of tune on the Barber." Out of tune? They sounded like cats screwing on a tin roof! Slatkin failed to totally realize Grainger's luscious harmonies on the Tune from County Derry, and the playing throughout was tentative, almost hesitant.
My question for you folks: Are these observations two sides of a common coin? Do some of us listen only to the sound and others only to the music? Are these common phenomena? What's going on?
First obbo: A few years ago I had the privilege of visiting with the principal conductor of one of the major US symphonies--one of the biggest of the biggies. I was doubly blessed that among the guests was the music director of another orchestra in the same league. Between them, these guys probably account for a hundred or more recordings. I found my host relaxing by listening to his home equipment--an Aiwa all-in-one-box system that sounded to me like a miniature car crusher hard at work. When I questioned him, his offhand reply was, "Oh, I know what it is supposed to sound like." I pressed further: "So then are you listening for performance practice or interpretation or what?" "Nah," he replied, "I'm just enjoying the music." At which point the other internationally famous conductor chimed in to say that his home system was 30 year old HH Scott....
Second obbo: A few nights ago, I went to a friend's for an evening of listening. His system is primarily Krell electronics and a pair of Vienna Mahlers. Among other things, we heard the Slatkin/St. Louis/Telarc recording of the Vaughn Williams Fantasia on a Theme of Tallis, Barber Adagio for Strings, etc. Conversation ranged over several topics including Telarc engineering, "Krell sound," cables (what else?), and the suitability of the Mahlers for orchestral music. Finally I said, "Isn't anybody bothered by the crappy playing and conducting on this disc?" Blank looks all around. Finally, one friend, an oratorio singer, ventured, "Well, the strings WERE a bit out of tune on the Barber." Out of tune? They sounded like cats screwing on a tin roof! Slatkin failed to totally realize Grainger's luscious harmonies on the Tune from County Derry, and the playing throughout was tentative, almost hesitant.
My question for you folks: Are these observations two sides of a common coin? Do some of us listen only to the sound and others only to the music? Are these common phenomena? What's going on?
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- 24 posts total
- 24 posts total