C'mon, man. If what you're looking for is the sound that you get out at a club, even a small one, whatever, then go for it. The aim of that equipment is not the same as a home system. There's a difference in producing response from amplified (aren't they always?) instruments and what you get from a studio recording. Try going to a group playing "live" (maybe you can still do that in Nashville, although even not at a place like the Bluebird), versus a string quartet or solo player or two in a small room. While the pro sound can be very good, it was God-awful most often in the past. Nothing compares with what you can get with a real, well-done recording in a real space played back ten feet from your chair in your living room. Insofar as the equipment goes for these purposes, It's different all over the place. With live club sound you get nuance and tone, but you don't get the sound of Ron Carter playing unamplified 8 feet in front of you, as I have. The speakers are the breaking point, and the ones in a live club are there for different reasons. If nothing else, a club manager is not going to buy a bunch of Sonus Faber stuff to satisfy his customers! In your own home you do not have to put up with this! Or maybe just hire some folks to come to your house and play live in front of you. I suggest you do that and see how much you still think a "pro" setup in your living room is the way you want to go. Maybe it is, maybe not. Recordings are generally better than so-called "live" music. It's not live. It just isn't. It can't be, frankly. Now, let me finish that actually seeing live performers cannot be duplicated in any way. But that's not we're talking about here, and I suspect that aspect of it is what you find attractive. In that case, I agree with you, but I don't want that stuff in my house.
Hindsight after 45 years
Forty-five years as an audiophile chasing a state of audio reproduction, commonly referred to as audio nirvana, where music sounds indistinguishable from a live performance.
Forty-five years of being a student and practitioner of all things audiophillia.
Forty-five years of careful research and implementation.
Forty-years trying to achieve maximum fidelity, detail, and emotional impact.
Forty-five years of purchasing and rotating some really nice well regarded high fidelity equipment.
In hindsight, I wish I had taken a different path. I wish I had gone the pro audio route.
I live in Nashville; Music City. Where on any given day there are several different live performances within one city block and more all over the city. This is my reference.
Being a gear junky, I pay attention. Never have I seen a single piece of hifi used on stage. I see guitar amps, pa speakers, and eq’s.
Even bars and clubs play recorded music on pro audio equipment into large house speakers and the energy is fantastic even at lower volumes.
I’m not saying pro audio is better than hifi, there are many factors. It’s all subjective, relative, and dependent upon individual’s preferences and expectations.
Pro audio has come a long way in the last forty-five years, which may be why I didn’t find it practical for me years ago.
I’m just saying, if I were to start over now, I would go pro audio.
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- 35 posts total
- 35 posts total