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Most Realistic Recordings

I was recently listening to my daughter practice the piano and I was enjoying quite a full-body sonic experience. I later went to my system and picked out a few piano recordings that I suspected were recorded well, but as I listened, I just didn't have anything close to the same experience. The piano just didn't sound right, nor nearly as full as I had just experienced while listening to my daughter. I know what pianos sound and feel like. I grew up playing many different types and understand their differences. I've done some research on recording pianos and have learned they are particularly difficult to record well.

As I've delved deeper into this audio hobby/interest and acquired more respectable gear, the more general question that keeps coming to my mind is this: How did this music sound at the time it was recorded? (presuming it was a person playing an instrument, not something "mixed" or electronic). Meaning, if I had been in the room, would I have heard or felt the same? Or is there something about the recording setup/micing/mixing/etc. that has failed to capture the moment? Or has the audio engineer intentionally filtered some of that out?

Now, being an audiophile (i.e., a music lover) has many paths and many goals. For me, I love lots of different kinds of music and am not too caught up in the ever changing landscape of audio gear and the need to try something new. I hope to get to the point where a well-captured recording sounds realistic in my room on my system. I like full-spectrum sound (i.e., if the note/sound is in the track, I want to hear it). I know that accurate, realistic reproduction through any system is depends a great deal on the equipment and the room it's being played back in. I don't expect my system to give me that jaw-dropping "I'm there" experience (yet), but some day I hope to get there.

So, to my question above, I would very much love to hear if anyone feels they have heard an album, a track, a recording of some kind that could be used to test out the "realism" of one's system. What would you say is a recording that more accurately captured the sonic hologram of the moment it was performed. Any genre is ok. And if you think a particular studio/company does this well, I'd love to hear about it!

And, please, I don't want the conversation to about gear or room treatment. This is about the recording itself, the source material, and how accurately the entire moment is captured and preserved. I respect everyone's personal experiences with your system, whatever it's comprised of. So, please don't argue with each other about whether a recording didn't sound realistic to you when it sounded realistic to someone else. Let's be civil and kind, for how can you deny what someone else's ears have heard? Thank you! I'm excited to learn from you all!

tisimst
mrdecibel
2,898 posts
 

The Harper Brothers : " Remembrance, Live at the Village Vanguard ". I was introduced to this by, at that time, the US distributor of Jadis gear ( my friend was his partner ). Harry Belafonte Live at Carnegie Hall. Cowboy Junkies : " Trinity Sessions ".

larryi
3,718 posts
 

I have both the Belafonte Live at Carnegie Hall and the album where he returns to Carnegie Hall in original RCA recordings; the sound quality is terrific.  I have heard the audiophile reissue and it sounds great too, although I haven't had the opportunity to make a comparison.  With some recordings, where the tape remains in good shape, reissues can be better or virtually identical to the original, but with others, it seems that the original cannot be topped.  Still, a less than perfect reissue can be terrific sounding. 

I have some records that I did not name that are astonishingly good recordings, but the music isn't so good.  Some labels, like Proprius, put out quite a few such recordings.  For Christmas music, I can recommend their "Cantate Domino" album that is mostly decent music that is superbly recorded (the original LP is better than the CD issue, though both sound good).

zazouswing
138 posts
 

Great tread. I have no good examples to add - just that I've always felt the piano is the most difficult instrument to get right. I've always believed this was because of the sheer size of the instrument and how easily that sized instrument can go from attack to decay. If you're mic'd close enough to capture the nuance of the decay, you're in the red when the key is initially struck. So you back up the mic, and the end result is a piano that just doesn't sound 'live'. 

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o_holter
950 posts
 

Yes, thanks for many good suggestions in this thread!

manogolf - re: Led Zeppelin - "How The West Was Won". I understand what you mean by ’live’ sound. But in my rig it doesn’t translate to ’good’ sound. I compared Immigration song from the 2018 LP box and Qobuz streaming, giving the LP a slight edge. Yet the main problems seem to be with the recording, hall acoustics etc. This is certainly an energic and exciting concert album, in other respects! BTW I have the Classic Led Zep box also, with the first four LPs, and actually like the original LPs better...I think...(have just checked LZ III).

dodgealum
1,398 posts
 

Lots of great suggestions here—thanks everyone for keeping the positive vibe. I’ll just add one solid piano recording I use to demo gear. In 1992 Phillips released a recording of Mitsuku Uchida playing Mozart live in Tokyo. It isn’t the BEST audiophile recording of piano I’ve hear but it does present well in terms of body, tone, and mid-hall perspective. Not as close in detailed as som audiophile favorites but creamy and textured in a way some miss the mark. And, most importantly, the playing is superb and the musical flow is well rendered by the engineers. Can probably be found for $5 in your local record shop or online and worth the effort!

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