Soundstage...How to determine what's right?

Here is a link that which explains what audio engineers do to drums

Is it any wonder that so very few recordings sound realistic and like live music?

If you want something that sounds like live music with excellent soundstage (if your system can handle it - note the warning about drum transients in the link above) then try the Sheffield Labs Drum Track test CD. If you have trouble convincing yourself that there is a real drum kit in the room then your system has "congestion" and the depth of your soudstage will be limited to a more laid back or more distant presentation (not necessarily bad as many people enjoy listening to classical concerts from the first balcony - a less intense or dynamic sound than front row center).

Congestion is closely linked to a lack of dynamics. Live music is highly dynamic and there are all kind of peaks that stick out and act as cues to the ears about position and detail. Our hearing suffers from an effect called "masking" (a loud sound completely masks other sounds close by in frequency). Careful musical compositions and careful arrangements and careful recording techniques can allow you to hear the most from a recording despite your hearing limitation due to "masking". Of course none of this is much good if your speakers compress the sound or your amplifier clips. Harmonic distortion from tubes can really help bring out detail in a system that is dynamically limited. Essentially there are two ways to increase the perceived strength of a note....loudness/dynamics or by adding harmonics (makes the note sound fuller without making the peak amplitude louder). Recording engineers know this all to well and tubes are often used on vocal microphones and to process drums to get a fat or fuller kick drum sound (the richness of the harmonics increases the audibility without actually making it louder and risking breaking an average speaker). Analog tape compresses dynamics very well too. Anyone who plays an electric guitar knows about tubes and this is why guitar amps use tubes and have such a rich sound.

A very good example of a good recording with no congestion is Grace Jones "Slave to the Rhythm - hot blooded Mix". You can download this from iTunes. Another good example of a live recording is George Benson Weekend in LA "On Broadway". The George Benson recording has quite realistic drums and it will only shine if your system can be cranked and yet still produce the dynamic range in the music....otherwise it will tend to sound a bit thin at lower volume levels (remember a real unamplified drum set plays up to around 115 db SPL - enough to blow up most speakers or drive them to severe distortion - so it is no wonder that most music is heavily compressed for the capability of consumer systems). In the George Benson recording the drum set is close-miked as in funk music...this gives a very dynamic short drum sound that allows you to hear the bass guitar better (less masking)....classic jazz recordings use this technique also so you can hear the double bass whilst Rock tends to bury the bass guitar under a more fuller kick drum sound (rock being the more compressed or "congested" genre).

Another good example of creating a good tube full sound from a kick drum is ACDC "Back in Black" - this is very different from the George Benson recording mentioned above. ACDC Back in Black works extremely well on dynamically limited systems (car, most home stereo) as it has just enough compression to give it a nice punchy sound without stressing most systems.

I expect you can download all three tracks from iTunes and compare...contrary to popular audiophile belief you will not lose too much audio quality from an AAC 128 KBPS file. The tracks will still sound impressive and depending on which recording sounds best you will have an idea of the capability of your system...congested or not!

Anyway - it helps to understand how your hearing works and the recording techniques being used when evaluating a system. A system that consistently brings out new emphasis in one particuar area (compared to other systems) does NOT necessarily make it more resolving and it is NOT necessarily a good thing (no matter how pleasing). Look for clarity or increased distinction BETWEEN recordings....a system that shows greater the differences BETWEEN various recording techniques and instruments is likely a more resolving system. In this sense you are able to distinguish what the system does without being heavily influenced by an individual recording or "test CD", as unfortunately you can almost always find a track/CD that you prefer the sound of on a particular system...even ACDC may sound its best on your crap factory standard car speakers. This is why aiming for the most pleasing sound on a test CD is a bit of a minefield...a wide collection of diverse music is probably best.

Your description on tube miking in order to add harmonics brought up questions. Does the same type effect occur with amplification, processing, etc.? Is this why so many people feel that tubed components sound so much better? It would be very difficult for me to go tubes in my pre and amplifiers due to using them both for 2 channel and h/t. Would there be a significant improvement in 2 channel using a tubed cd player? Funds don't allow the ultra hi end but would like to get a bit closer.

Yes and No. I will try to stay away from any argument about which is better. Both are good when used CORRECTLY. Good tube designs can sound pretty much identical to good solid state designs when driven below clipping...at the end of the day it boils down to the way the circuits are implemented and how they are coupled (high impedance ouput transformers often used with tubes will certainly modify the frequency response, for example - is that good or bad - your choice!).

One of the world's top Mastering Engineers, Doug Sax, and founder of Sheffield Labs still uses tubes in his mastering console (built by his brother) - so yes tubes can be used to modify the sound in line level equipment too (and very nicely in a CD player, for example). The main advantage of tubes is that they sound nice when clipping...solid state sounds terrible...and as my drum link above illustrates ...clipping is all to common....even the pop CD's you buy today often have lots of clipped signal on the CD!!! Tubes make a lot of sense for live music or recording live music if you are not sure what levels you may drive the equipment too - like an electric guitar, where musicians always crank it and tubes just sound wonderful when cranked!