Interesting thread, all opinions included.
FWIW I concluded some time ago that the 'problem' in our hobby had its seeds in the development of 'stereo' sound including multi channel sound, where the objective became creating/sustaining the fantasy of listening to a live performance in a manner more grand that 'mono' sound allowed.
The focus was on, and I think still remains in great part, the creation of that sonic 'stage' in your home. Not the replication of live music as heard live from an optimum position, although some effect was made and abandoned at various time at recording with a single or two closely spaced mikes.
Refer to all of the terms inherent in describing reproducing recorded sound. Sound stage height, width, depth, specificity, warmth, accuracy, linearity etc. What do any of these terms have to do with a live performance. Not much I suspect, and this may be why, were it otherwise possible, that we will never hear a reasonable reproduction of live sound that isn't at odds with the formats we are given to live with.
We will always be at the mercy of the recording engineer's and the industry's pursuit of a format that injects an artifice that is not consonant with the experience of hearing music live. Small wonder that many folks, myself included, who have graduated to a POV that allows them to set up their environment so that the music they play sounds good to their ear. I'm now at a stage that all that is important to me is that the equipment, software and hardware, not get in the way of the performance that I'm listening to. That alone is a tough enough task and its full of compromises but its easier in the long run than pursuing a Dulcinea.
Thanks for the chance to rant! :-)
FWIW I concluded some time ago that the 'problem' in our hobby had its seeds in the development of 'stereo' sound including multi channel sound, where the objective became creating/sustaining the fantasy of listening to a live performance in a manner more grand that 'mono' sound allowed.
The focus was on, and I think still remains in great part, the creation of that sonic 'stage' in your home. Not the replication of live music as heard live from an optimum position, although some effect was made and abandoned at various time at recording with a single or two closely spaced mikes.
Refer to all of the terms inherent in describing reproducing recorded sound. Sound stage height, width, depth, specificity, warmth, accuracy, linearity etc. What do any of these terms have to do with a live performance. Not much I suspect, and this may be why, were it otherwise possible, that we will never hear a reasonable reproduction of live sound that isn't at odds with the formats we are given to live with.
We will always be at the mercy of the recording engineer's and the industry's pursuit of a format that injects an artifice that is not consonant with the experience of hearing music live. Small wonder that many folks, myself included, who have graduated to a POV that allows them to set up their environment so that the music they play sounds good to their ear. I'm now at a stage that all that is important to me is that the equipment, software and hardware, not get in the way of the performance that I'm listening to. That alone is a tough enough task and its full of compromises but its easier in the long run than pursuing a Dulcinea.
Thanks for the chance to rant! :-)