My audiophile take on the symphony last night.


65 piece Santa Cruz Symphony at the Civic Auditorium.

My wife said it wasn't loud enough and I agreed. The highs were rolled off and there wasn't an expansive soundstage. I couldn't "hear behind the instruments" like I can at home on the hifi. The soloist sounded small and far away and the bass drum lacked definition.

In spite of all that we were listening to a live and real performance. Our seats were the highest price available.

This was very interesting, intriguing and food for thought audio-wise. Also great people watching.
bizango1
the evidence that high frequencies are attenuated should be provided. instead, one may think they are reduced in spl, because one listenes to a stereo where high frequencies are elevated.

live music beats any stereo.

its like preferring a copy to the original.
As soon as I read the op, I was going to scroll down and post. Then I noticed Frogman already had. What he said.
Just a comment on volume - My local symphony is about 110 musicians and they play in a 900 seat theater. From my seats dead center 10-12 rows back, the volume is perfect and sonically wonderful. I just started going last year, inspired by my audiophilia, and it's true, there is nothing better than a live performance of unamplified music.

Prcinka,

I never had hifi system better then live event...
Well, perhaps you have...consider a live amplified concert in a sports arena versus hearing the album, i.e. analog - hehe, at home.

From Fleetwood Mac to Stevie Wonder and Pablo Cruise to Earth, Wind, and Fire -- the sonics were superior, read more enjoyable, on the record than at the concert...no disrespect intended to FOH pros. It was certainly LOUDER at the concerts, however.

I believe what we may often hear from our rigs is artifact, yet a potentially true facsimile of what is present in the source media, i.e., fidelity to the source which should not be conflated with fidelity of the performance...

Best regards,
Sam
****"Funny thing about live music - no matter how bad the acoustics are, you can tell it's live and not recorded." (-Chayro)

Probably true. What our ears hear when listening is only part of the story though.**** -Mapman

C1ferrari, what Mapman wrote is quite a mouthful. It all depends on what aspect of the listening experience we each find most rewarding. There is no substitute for that "hard to describe" immediacy of hearing performers live; even when amplified in less than excellent fashion, in less than excellent acoustics. IMO, unless the acoustics and sound design are a complete disaster and make the experience unbearable, there is something special about hearing music closer to the source, with fewer electronics and less processing in-between.