FloridaBoy Posted August 19, 2015 Share Posted August 19, 2015 (edited) Referencing the original performance is only possible if one attended it, and the perception of that would vary with where one sat. Then, there's the question of whether it is really possible to recreate an original performance in one's listening room. Perhaps so with a small chamber ensemble, but a full orchestra in Carnegie Hall? Two forks in the road. Artto's point about accuracy was in reference to the recording of the event. Not about what you may have heard at the event crammed into a corner. The best you can do is reproduce the recording as accurately as possible. People with experience know what a piano or a violin etc sounds like in person. If you go down the path of it's just not possible to reproduce the live sound down the chain then I can see where people justify screwing with everything to make it sound like they like it. So pick your poison. Obviously the person recording the event should make every effort possible to be true to the sound. Search Mallette and his thoughts and experiments with recording. I'm not sure that any of us have a system that can re-create Carnegie Hall event. I am sure that most of the recordings produced today are not true and are compressed. That said, the last thing I want is a straight wire with gain. Theory is fine but listening is where the rubber meets the road. Great audio gear is a mix of art and science. There will never be enough recording engineers available with the skill and knowledge to capture a live event. I have been to live events that sounded awful and would not want a recording. PWK, said long ago that we needed better quality recordings and a good 5 watt amplifier. Just the way it is. I do not expect my system to mirror a live event. I do want it to draw me into the music. Why do Rudy Van Gelder's recordings sound so good? Or Steve Hoffman's re-masters? Are they accurate? To chase perfection is noble but futile. My 2 cents. P.S. Watch the documentary about the now defunct studio Sound City. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_City_(film) Edited August 19, 2015 by FloridaBoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tube fanatic Posted August 19, 2015 Author Share Posted August 19, 2015 Referencing the original performance is only possible if one attended it, and the perception of that would vary with where one sat. Then, there's the question of whether it is really possible to recreate an original performance in one's listening room. Perhaps so with a small chamber ensemble, but a full orchestra in Carnegie Hall? I'm not sure that any of us have a system that can re-create Carnegie Hall event. I am sure that most of the recordings produced today are not true and are compressed. That said, the last thing I want is a straight wire with gain. Theory is fine but listening is where the rubber meets the road. Great audio gear is a mix of art and science. There will never be enough recording engineers available with the skill and knowledge to capture a live event. I have been to live events that sounded awful and would not want a recording. PWK, said long ago that we needed better quality recordings and a good 5 watt amplifier. Just the way it is. I do not expect my system to mirror a live event. I do want it to draw me into the music. Why do Rudy Van Gelder's recordings sound so good? Or Steve Hoffman's re-masters? Are they accurate? To chase perfection is noble but futile. My 2 cents. P.S. Watch the documentary about the now defunct studio Sound City. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_City_(film) Quality recordings are one thing but, as you said, recapturing the live event is doubtful. There's no way of knowing what Bernstein was hearing when he was conducting! The object of our systems is, as you said also, to be drawn into the music. Whether we achieve that with tone controls, remastering the recording to what we think it should be (that certainly is not accurate to the live event in my opinion), allowing some 2nd harmonic distortion, room treatments, etc. really makes no difference. We can spend our time obsessing over the unachievable, or simply enjoying the music. Maynard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaBoy Posted August 19, 2015 Share Posted August 19, 2015 (edited) Maynard, I agree 100%. The Sound City documentary was produce by Neil Young as is very interesting, insightful and worth watching. Some pretty good performances in it too. You can get so obsessed with this hobby that you forget it's about enjoying music. Been there, done that got a T-shirt. Edited August 19, 2015 by FloridaBoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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