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"Breathing" of the air

Hi folks, I would like to ask you the following. With some audiophile set ups I'm able to hear what I call "breathing" of the air, as if the air surrounding voices and instruments is a living entity, as if one is capable of hearing individual air molecules, if you know what I mean. Are you familiar with this phenomenon? Is this quality inherent to some amplifiers or speakers? Can you mention set ups that have these characteristics?

Chris
dazzdax
rleff
1,065 posts
 
I think tvad and atmasphere (ralph) probally hit it correctly;but there sure a lot of other points of view to consider as well.
Mrtennis there a lot of recordings in which I can hear a artist/player take a breath;or the valves of a instrument opening and closing;what would you consider this,just wondering?
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,483 posts
 
It's the air, and 3 dimensionality that really gets to me as an audiophile. I think that it comes from the maintenance of correct phasing throughout the recording and playback chain.
saki70
907 posts
 
Whatever you call it... I like it and treat it like soundstaging . Just an added bonus/trick of the equipment .

So obviously I agree with Mrtennis's evaluation of it as compared to live .

Rleff ,
I believe that what you are refering to would be considered micro detail .

Happy tunes .
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,936 posts
 
Mrtennis, its true that you don't hear air, its simply the medium. But- the audiophile term 'air' means something different from what you are getting at in your comment. When audiophiles use this term, it implies a quality that the system is doing that is also something you experience in real life. At least this is true for me; refer to my earlier post.
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
my reference is live music. when attending a symphony orchestra concert, i don't consider the word "air" applicable to my experience of listening to music in the audience.

the term "air" brings to mind the distinction between "audiophile" terms , listening to a stereo system ,and the expoerience of listening to live music.

many terms used to describe the performance of stereo systems are irrelevant to the live music experience.
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