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Why no acoustically-managed flow for Recordings?

Thinking of the analogy to high-end printing, where a color-managed workflow is a given, why don't we have acoustically-managed flows for recorded music?

I'm a photographer. When I take a photograph, it is "tagged" with a color-space. As it goes through the processing pipeline it remains tagged so that the computer knows how to best interpret the numbers that represent the image. For my output I have a special ICC-profile for my printer/paper combination.

Why couldn't a similar process be done for audio? That way we could more closely hear what it actually sounded like at the Metropolitan Opera House (or where-ever the music was recorded.) The music would be tagged when it is recorded. As it reaches the output, there would be a profile for my particular combination of electronics and speakers.

Wouldn't that be closer to reality?

Here is a link on a color managed workflow for visual (as opposed to acoustic) information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_Management
hdomke
psacanli
535 posts
 
It sounds 'interesting' however given the staggering range of lo & mid fi gear and the miniscule market for hi end stuff I don't think it is economically viable- plus you have each individual room to contend with--it's just not like a tactile photo.
As for listening to the venue we get right back to the basics. 1-eliminate the harshness from digital by adaquate power conditioning & isolation; this will yield the far greater detail that is available in each and every plain old CD. 2-tune the room to eliminate its signature as much as possible.
pbb
1,140 posts
 
Are you attempting to tout standardization to audiophiles? You have a lot to learn about this crowd!
hdomke OP
40 posts
 
Pbb, Yes, I am attempting to promote standardization as a way of assuring accuracy. Accuracy is the goal, right?

When the musicians and recording engineers work their magic, they come up with a finished product: a CD or an LP.
Our playback systems reproduce that finished product.
If we want to be true to the musicians, then we want to hear what they did, we want accuracy.

Yes?

A musical score can be (and should be) interpreted by the musicians.
But a CD is not a musical score, it is a finished product and is not open to interpretation.

If we could have each of our output systems characterized, that information could be used by our playback system. The unique qualities of our particular speakers could be fed to our preamp which might know that a certain frequency needs a boost.

Each component of our playback system can degrade the information.
The source component, the amplification chain, the speakers and the room. Each one of those compenents can have their qualities measured. If that information was available to our playback system it could optimize the data it has to assure an accurate output.

What I am saying is, wouldn't it be great if we could be assured an accurate output in a simple way.

In the fine art-print world (where I work) we use a color managed workflow to consider the individual pieces involved in the output. We have "Profiles" which tell our system what inks we are using, what printer and what paper. By using that information the quality of our output can be at its best.

And at the same time standardized.
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