2. misc-audio
  3. 170693-1069

If a " system " cannot do this, I move on........

I have been advocating on here for some time, that horn speakers ( properly designed, tweeked, executed and set up ) are the only speakers that my brain and ears find acceptable, for the enjoyment of music listening. My listening standard has been live, unamplified music, for now over 50 years. I have also stated on many occasions, that as an audiophile ( as well as being a music listener ), that we are hindered by the recordings themselves, minimizing what we actually are hearing. There has been much talk lately about engineers using " auto tune " ( specifically with vocalists ). Adele ( I am a fan ), with her new hit " Easy On Me ", does not use auto tune, and I am thrilled. Besides being a great singer, she sounds " natural ", less processed. Most recordings in the past 20 years, have used this other electronic " equalization " if you will, that we find embedded in out prescious recordings. The strive for perfection, that " audio nirvana ", we all seek, with the purchase of a new speaker, amplifier, cables, etc., gets us only so far. So yes, dynamics and details are very important to me. Tone, coherence and spatiality are also very important. But the reality is, our recordings, by the time we receive / hear them ( whatever format ), have been severly altered from being close to the real thing. Yet, audiophiles continue to spend big bucks on their gear, their rooms ( their systems ), to get to that place of enjoyment. The title of this thread, " If a system cannot do this, I move on ", has a specific meaning. What I listen for, most of all, with every recording I listen to, is an engagenment between me, and the performers. Following the individual rhythms and musical lines, by the artists, is the number one factor I strive to hear. My system allows for this. My question is : how many of you actually listen for this, or even know what I am speaking of. My personal experience listening to so many high priced systems, has been very disappointing in using this criteria. I am not anticipating this thread to develop into a very large or popular one, but I have not participated in Agon for a while, and I just wanted to shine a light on a subject that is crucial to us and our time listening to music, which some of us spend much time doing. Enjoy, and be well. Always, MrD.

mrdecibel

Showing 2 responses by asctim

asctim
429 posts
 

I have a pair of unmodified Klipschorns. To be honest, I did bypass their crossovers at one point in time and ran them active, achieving only a different but not obviously better sound. They are at my mother’s house now and the active setup is too complicated for her to use. She loves them stock! I enjoy them too. If and when I get them back at my place I’ll probably be tempted to try to "improve" them again.

On the main topic of this thread, I like horns too. I’m not exactly sure why.  I’m not necessarily looking to connect with the performers when listening to recordings. Glen Gould had an interesting take on recording in the studio vs live performance.

 

asctim
429 posts
 

Glen Gould was interested in recorded music with the idea that it allowed the performer to get out of the way of the music, to quit being such a distraction to the audience. It's funny we now talk about our stereos getting out of the way of the performer. Some music is all about putting attention on the performer. Or maybe it's just some ways of listening to music are like that. I tend to think more like Glen, and perhaps that sets a lower, more attainable bar to make a system that's primarily designed to convey the musical message rather than capture everything about the event and performers in ultimate realism.  It also makes life easier because a lot of good music isn't recorded in a way that can make that happen anyway. For me, the equipment bar is still fairly high because I want clarity without frequency response  kinks (on or off axis) or obvious distortions and resonances that are going to distract and fatigue me, and I prefer a narrower than usual dispersion pattern down as low as I can get it, which necessitates a large speaker. The setup I have now makes just about everything highly enjoyable for me to listen to. Because of the narrow dispersion and relative lack of early room reflections it lacks the immediacy some are looking for, the sense that someone is actually in the room with you. Instead they sound like they're singing into the room from wherever they were actually recorded, through an opening that is less than perfectly transparent in a way that makes differences between recordings less bothersome. 

 

More to discover