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Detailed sound? Real?

I have read about many audiophiles wanting more detail and air around the instruments to improve realism. usually, when i hear a system with these qualities, the sound is almost always thin and fatiguing. When I hear live music, it never sounds like air around the instruments and detailed. Most detailed systems sound way too detailed. When i hear live music, there is a sense of air, but not around the instruments. Actually, many times it sounds natural and mono. It seems to me that detailed systems are probably the most unrealistic in audio. Yesterday I heard a live performance of a piano and sax. The piano was so muffled sounding, much more so than on any system I have recently heard. The sax sounded more detailed, but still not like the stereos portray it. I think the secret to listening is to find something that sounds good and that you can listen to without fatigue. Natural Timbre, color and good bass, not overblown but good, gets you closer to the real thing IMHO
tzh21y
nilthepill
842 posts
 
I should add that having this good timed thread will help me 'not be foolish, again' and make me not to buy the expensive cable that I am currently auditioning, even though there is absolutely nothing wrong with my current cable!
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,838 posts
 
Regardless of live, recorded, close, far, detailed or not, the key to enjoyment is to be able to listen without fatigue.

Regardless, I won't be getting rid of my HD TV anytime soon even though what I see is not always pretty.
dcstep
1,518 posts
 
Tzh21y, great observation and question.

A great piano, in a great room, with the lid open and turned in the right direction will not sound muffled. OTOH, many piano recordings actually place the mics inside the lid!!! My favorite recordins place the mic to the side, not far from the piano and mimic live piano that I've heard in a small recital space. It can be done, but MOST piano recordings will not reflect this.

"Detail" does NOT mean elevated highs, with extra tizz. For me it's about inner detail and richness with no etching on the top. Most systems at RMAF erred toward tizzy, thin highs instead of realism and richness.

AS Mapman said, you need to be able to listen without fatigue and hear details that are realistic, given the perspective of the mic. Finding great recordins is every bit as hard as building a great system.

Dave
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tzh21y OP
1,654 posts
 
T Bone, I like the chairs, Dcstep - the piano lid was closed. Do we hear in stereo or Mono? Many live concerts sound like mono, not stereo other than the violins on the left and cellos and basses on the right. I have heard some systems that sound like stereo when played in mono. It really is quite amazing. The violins are really tough to get right to my ears at least. They never sound layered to me ever, although I am not a musician and I sit in the 9th row from the pit. One thing that I have never heard a system replicate is the dynamics of an orchestra. When I hear a musician play the Tympani for example, sometimes it sounds like it just pops right out of the orchestra, bass drum too. They do not sound overblown, but wow do they grab your attention. No system can do this like the real thing regardless of cost or whatever.
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