How much “suspension of disbelief do you need?”


We (or most of us) believe that it’s very difficult if not impossible to hear an exact representation of the the sound of a live performance on a recording.
The question is how much do you have to delude yourself into thinking it’s the real thing your listening to, to satisfy yourself.
To some it has to to be as close as possible. But others can make allowances for defects in the sound in order to enjoy the presentation.

‘How much do you need?

 

128x128rvpiano

@pinthrift Great post ! we share a love for Feat. What are the SOTA upgrades ?

best to you

Jim

Production vis a vis reproduction. Apples, oranges, and not attainable in any domain IMO. Doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy damn fine sounding hifi. 

Caution, if you invest in extremely expensive components such as cables costing over $20,000, you invest your ego in believing you are too clever to have been taken even though you will only imaging it sounding better because you can't admit any difference is so subtle it is difficult to impossible to hear it. If junk science such as amateurly done uncalculated physics is in the likes of skin effect which can only attenuate the playback volume a few hundredths of a decibel at frequencies beyond the limits of human hearing in the advertisements with no graduate school or even undergraduate school credentials of the designer praised in audio magazines and catalogues, that should end all credibility. 

While you can often judge how closely an in-store demonstrates the kind of live performance in large differences in design of amplifiers and speakers, the emotional content of the composition and the interpretation of the performers is much more powerful than subtle differences beyond the point of diminishing returns. 

Therefore, don't make exaggerated sensitivity to sonic differences a bicycle tire pump to your self-esteem and don't put up with being judged solely by how expensive your audio components are. 

I can imagine a real orchestra playing before me on many recordings (especially those with mini miking.) if I close my eyes. It isn’t a real orchestra in my listening room so much as the sound coming from a seat in the front of the balcony. At that location it isn’t so loud. After all, a lot of sound is dissipated in a large hall. I can hear the layout of the orchestra from side to side with the instruments in their proper space.
No, of course it’s not the real thing, but, it’s so close, I can trick myself into thinking I’m really there.

A longtime friend plays in a world wide band.( 40 yrs) When I get my tickets and passed ,he has us seated in front of the mixing board. Great sound!  If your system images up as well out,( Not Atmos) try Grand Funks " Caught in the Act" for a good live recording. Unspoken ,play it loud! This isn't the band he's in.