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It's All in Your Head

I commented in an earlier thread that the emphasis on components, cables and room treatments obscures the fact that the music all happens in your head.

This is from John Atkinson at RMAF 2012 reported on Stereophile:

"Stereophile editor John Atkinson used everything from a drumstick to a cowbell, both sounded “live” and played back on the seminar room’s stereo system, to convey the message: “Nothing is real. How the recording art affects what you think you hear!” As John proceeded to point out that the brain combines information from separate left and right loudspeakers into a single stereo image..."

"I showed that it is a fallacy to assume that “the absolute sound of live music in a real acoustic space” resides in the bits, pits, or grooves, even when such a live event existed. Making recordings is an art, not a science and there may only be a coincidental resemblance between what is presented to the listener and the sound of musicians playing live, even when all concerned with making the recording were trying to be as honest as possible. Even the fundamental decision of what microphone to use moves the recorded sound a long way from reality..."

What we aim for when we put an audio system together is a pleasing facsimile of the original musical performance that happened in a studio or at a live venue. But, ultimately, the music's all in your head. It sounds like it's in the room because that's the way our brain makes it seem. Music is essentially a spiritual experience mediated by the brain.
Systems that are not in the "best" category may reproduce music in a way that moves us but the "best" systems have the ability to involve us on even deeper emotional and spiritual levels.

Getting really close to the essence of the performance means we need "special" gear. That's what "gear chasing" is all about -- trying to get closer to the essence of the performance on deeper and more satisfying levels. "Gear chasing" that involves trying to reproduce the actual performance is an illusory pursuit. Many audiophiles have observed that the "best" systems are not necessarily the most expensive ones. This has also been my experience. But it will still take quite a bit of cash to put together a system that enters the realm of the "best".

All of the above is IMO, of course.
sabai

Showing 5 responses by mapman

mapman's avatar
mapman
22,772 posts
 
"I have not been myself but I've talked with musicians who are typically amazed at how much is "lost" in the final product."

Few recordings are designed to capture what the musicians hear at ground zero when playing. Part of this is the intent of the producers and part of this is technical limitations in many cases.

Its not nearly as hard to produce a reasonable reproduction of what a listener might have heard were they present say in the audience during a similar live performance.

Whether one hears exactly what one would hear if live or not is a moot point for most, save perhaps professional musicians who are regularly immersed in what is happening at ground zero when playing live. Dynamics will be the greatest there and hardest to reproduce. Other aspects of the sound will vary as well due to the unique sonic perspective of an artist playing at ground zero compared to that of most any actual listener.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,772 posts
 
" "This continuing refinement is part and parcel of the spiritual nature of all of this and cannot be separated."

Not for me.

The equipment is a means to the end...the music. I am much happier when I feel no need to change or upgrade a thing and can spend all my audio time just listening and enjoying the music.

Not to say even then I am not still at least investigating new options that might be worthwhile as time permits. But that is a separate and secondary enjoyment. Not sure I get any spiritual satisfaction out of that alone. IF I am getting that from the music currently, I am good.

Getting good sound is not as hard or complicated as some might make it out to be. THere is however an almost infinite number of possible sounds one might seek or achieve since no two setups sound exactly the same. I do enjoy experiencing different sounds, but seek to achieve the one that works best for me at any particular time. My solution is to run my systems into multiple rooms in order to be able to experience alternate sounds when desired. I have 7 different rooms "wired" for sound running off two core systems and a single music server to accomplish that.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,772 posts
 
BTW, this is a hobby whose main purpose is entertainment, so there is nothing wrong with spinning through gear, tweaks, etc. regularly if that is part of the enjoyment factor and budgets enable.

The problem scenario is when one who is a music lover that just wants to be able to enjoy listening cannot get off the equipment "merry go round". The equipment remains a barrier for whatever reason no matter what. I empathize with people in this situation! If it were me, I would seek out someone local with good ears that one trusts to see if some additional expertise can help remedy the situation. Or if you can afford it, rather than buy more gear, hire an acclaimed Jim Smith-like expert/consultant to come in and help with solving the problem.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,772 posts
 
"as i said, there can be two totally different perceptions of the same event"

I'd be willing to take it further and say that there pretty much always will be to some extent.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,772 posts
 
I like the quote from the original Star Trek pilot episode "The Menagerie" something to the effect of:

"She has an illusion, and you have reality. May your way be as pleasant."

May our audio illusions as we perceive them also be as pleasant ......

No doubt enjoyment of music is largely due to emotional responses to what we hear, that may also invoke a spiritual response as well. These can only be attributed to the listener. The source/system/recording is merely a representation or reproduction of the actual product produced by the artists + engineers. If the end response is a pleasant one, all is good. If it becomes unpleasant for any reason known only to the listener, then the value proposition is not there. THat's pretty much it. All the rest are just various means to the end. In the end its, all in the mind.
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