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Sat front row at the symphony...

Yesterday, I got to sit in the front row to hear the Pittsburgh Symphony do Beethoven's Piano Concerto no 1 and the Shostakovich Symphony no 10.  I know we all talk about audio gear here, but I have to tell you, sitting in the best seat in the house (Heinz Hall) was an amazing audio experience.  I'm not sure the best audio gear in the world can quite match it.  Maybe I'm wrong, but I was mesmerized by the acoustics of the hall and the dynamics of one of the world's best orchestras.

128x128mikeydee

Showing 2 responses by newbee

newbee
4,751 posts
 

You are not wrong. The best home set up, at any price, cannot even come close to a live SO. Don't shoot your audio system. It just ain't going to happen. At its best it just gives you a faint idea of what the music is all about. My last live event was a Mahler 5 performance, row 8 close to center. I took a gal unexposed to Mahler - she was 'blown away' and exhausted! I should have prepped her better, but I just assumed.....! :-)  

newbee
4,751 posts
 

I've been enjoying all of this discourse about concert hall seating. No so much different from user preferences in home audio I think. Some folks want infinite  detail (they call it transparency I think) and folks who go to concerts like the big blend not so much an audiophiles 'transparency'. At home I'm hearing music I know pretty well and often I listen to it in a subdued fashion as I read or otherwise occupy myself. When I go to a concert I want to be involved! I want dynamics. I want the impact I can get in isle 8 dead center (for example). If I want to learn the music I do it at home, but in a live concert I don't want to even think about anything that might be important to an audiophile. But that's just me. :-)

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