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Whats your limit?

Can a music recording be better than "live"? If so what's your limit for your system? When should you be satisfied that you are "there"?

If a recording can be better than a live performance, and I believe they can, then perhaps a lot of confusion and contradiction found on this and other hifi forums when debating the merits of various hardware can be placed on the notion that we have been ignoring a hidden assumption, namely what is your goal for your system in the first place, natural reproduction or super-natural reproduction?  

When I have heard uber-expensive mega system I have been very impressed by the experiance. But what was that? My head next to the violin, the singer whispering in my ear. The bass making my chest pulse. Very few if any live music experiences I have ever had had that same level of intimacy and detail. In the real world there are always compromises. The room, the crowd noise, the sound "reinforcement" system, the seating. These all detract to some extent. But that is real, that is live. We ignore most of that because we are into the moment and the music.

So what is the super system experiance? Possibly something akin to fine food laced with Monosodium glutamate or a beautiful photo digitally enhanced to deepen the color and augment the shadows. 

There is no right or wrong in this dichotomy. I just think it is helpful to be conscious of it and know what you are seeking from your system. This knowledge may allow you to relax and stop chasing the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. My past 10 years of experiance since actively returning to the hobby is that many systems do it for me. I've got a threshold that a system must meet and after that it is only about the performance and the quality of the recording. I don't want any more from the hardware at that point. The rest is up to the artists before me. Live quality is all I ask from my systems and that can be achieved with the right knowledge and a moderate investment. My goal is finite.

I don't begrudge those whose vision of the auditory is potentially infinite. Probably some day we will be able to buy super human hearing. How about hearing like a dog, or a owl or a bat? Fabulous stuff but probably coming sooner than we think. If you are on that trail you will have the priviledge of spending as much as you like, I am sure. 

So what is your preference and is live a valid reference for you or is your hifi journey one with no limits?

bruce19
kennyc
2,834 posts
 

Some chase reality in their audio chains, while others pursue “as you like it”.  I’m the latter.

For me, live events vs home audio is apples and oranges.  

Live events may have spontaneity energy, effortless clarity, and visual stimulus. Maybe crowd energy. But some may lack fidelity aka sound awful like playing on a PA system.  Not all live events sound good.  

Home audio gear was built by listening to the very best Sonics I could find at many audio stores and audio shows, then try to recreate the sound that “resonates” with me (pulls me into the music) at home within budget.
Home audio you can have variety by swapping components like cartridges, tubes, amps, etc.
Home audio the media sonic quality is all over the map, but the releases seem to commonly use the best take from multiple tries/editing (not one shot like live).
Home audio one can replay recordings to focus on specific areas.  
Home audio one can jack up the volume to piss off your neighbor, or in my case my wife

I also have a second system with high-sensitivity 100db speakers to investigate tube amp midrange magic starting with flea watt SET amps.

Apples and Oranges
 

newton_john's avatar
newton_john
546 posts
 

I once heard a world class cellist play at a funeral. The lady filled the room with the most amazing sound. No hifi system that I’ve heard came close to that experience. 

It can be argued that the job of a hifi is to most accurately render whatever is on the record, CD, etc. Yet the only true reference is the sound of live acoustic music.

To replicate that we need low noise and distortion, good imaging, deep bass unaffected by room modes, great dynamics, etc. This is what Tom Martin in Absolute Sound calls believability. 

We might satisfice with our systems, but there is still plenty of scope to make a better job of it. In that sense, there is no limit.

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