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System that sounds so real it is easy to mistaken it is not live

My current stereo system consists of Oracle turntable with SME IV tonearm, Dynavector XV cartridge feeding Manley Steelhead and two Snappers monoblocks  running 15" Tannoy Super Gold Monitors. Half of vinyl records are 45 RMP and were purchased new from Blue Note, AP, MoFI, IMPEX and some others. While some records play better than others none of them make my system sound as good as a live band I happened to see yesterday right on a street. The musicians played at the front of outdoor restaurant. There was a bass guitar, a drummer, a keyboard and a singer. The electric bass guitar was connected to some portable floor speaker and drums were not amplified. The sound of this live music, the sharpness and punch of it, the sound of real drums, the cymbals, the deepness, thunder-like sound of bass guitar coming from probably $500 dollars speaker was simply mind blowing. There is a lot of audiophile gear out there. Some sound better than others. Have you ever listened to a stereo system that produced a sound that would make you believe it was a real live music or live band performance at front of you?

 

esputnix

Showing 2 responses by tom_guyette

tom_guyette
5 posts
 

@esputnix my one jaw drop moment was taking a tour of Mechanics Ha in Worcester, MA. First we were in the hall itself, then we went upstairs to their highly customized remote listening area with B&W 801s just outside the mixing booth upstairs. The walls were specially treated and the room was packed with people. Because we had just left the hall our ears were accustomed to its acoustics, so when they played a live recording it seriously sounded like w and a requsst in right in front of the orchestra. It was magical. I've never heard anything like it since, but if you have the opportunity to travel, ask them if they can arrange for a tour so you can hear what I heard. 

 

They played 

tom_guyette
5 posts
 

@asctim my Dad was a trumpet player and I've been conjecturing for years why no recording of a trumpet (and worse, string sections) doesn't sound anything like live. 

My theories are:

1) Dispersion pattern, as you noted. 

2) Mismatch between speaker type and mic type

3) Trumpet has a DC component to the outflowing air column that may create complex phase variances microphones can't capture or speakers can't play

It is a constant annoyance when guitars sound 8 feet wide, violin sections sound like a bad synthesizer, pianos sound like they are mounted vertically on the front wall, etc. and I agree recording technique is largely to blame. 

 

I've considered building a pair of dodecahedron mics and matching speakers to see if that works. But 24 channel stereo just isn't something current media and gear can handle.

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