Interesting WBF discussion on Transparency vs Euphony

In this endless pursuit of system neutrality, I often find that the result is that more of the musicality is actually stripped away. Live music never sounds sterile, boring perhaps, but never sterile.
 
I think we all value different aspects of a music performance and therefore are satisfied by different system attributes.

For example, I happen to love the sound of a drum kit - cymbals particularly. If a system doesn't portray these as realistic to my brain, I'm going to be distracted - no matter how good the midrange is or how 3D the sound is.
 
Mike said:
Ahhhh.....but the real question is: which performance measured better?

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Well heck, maybe I should have brought a few audio analyzers to the Mark Knopfler concert Tuesday night in St Augustine , better yet Mike he's in Clearwater tonight go measure :D To hell with measurements its all about the ears.
 
CPP said:
Well heck, maybe I should have brought a few audio analyzers to the Mark Knopfler concert Tuesday night in St Augustine , better yet Mike he's in Clearwater tonight go measure :D To hell with measurements its all about the ears.
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I'm on my way there now. I have my spectrum analyzer and other stuff. The machines will tell me if the concert was good.

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Like most artists that sell recordings of most or all of their live shows, the sound quality of the recordings they sell varies significantly from show to show :( But the better ones sound really good in the 24/48 downloads (also much cheaper than the USB stick). Google Bleeker Street and find the Mark Knopfler downloads.
 
still-one said:
I want it to sound like I am hearing live music whether that music is in a bar, a concert hall, a performing arts auditorium etc. Seldom are any of those warm.
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Rock concerts are great to attend, however wanting them in my listening room - no thanks.
 
Mike said:
This obsession for transparency/ absolute neutrality reminds me of the Buckley's commercial "it tastes awful, but it works". Why would I want to endure something that sounds the most neutral just to say I can do it?

In our pursuit for absolute neutrality, it sounds like to me that we are stretching out the top and the bottom and sacrificing the middle. The magic is in the midrange.

Give me a little warmth and a little sweetness any day of the week.


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Unfortunately the argument is moot because they don't even know the correct definition of the term "transparency." If you are going to argue, at least know what you are talking about. :) Not to mention, most of them don't have a clue and have never heard a high end system that is truly transparent where one can hear the back, sides and ceiling of the hall not to mention the ability to visualize in the mind's eye the musicians in the back of the soundstage. Perhaps a copy of Gordon Holt's book or HP's essays on the subject would go a long ways.

"A quality of sound reproduction which gives the impression one is listening through the system to the original sounds rather than to a pair of loudspeakers."

But what do you expect from a bunch of trolls. Why let facts or hearing get in the way of a good argument on that dysfunctional site? Nope. Just make it up as you go along.
 
XV-1 said:
Rock concerts are great to attend, however wanting them in my listening room - no thanks.
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The definition of Rock music is so broad that it would be easy to find examples of those you would and wouldn't want to have replicated in our listening rooms.
 
Myles B. Astor said:
...But what do you expect from a bunch of trolls. Why let facts or hearing get in the way of a good argument on that dysfunctional site? Nope. Just make it up as you go along.
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At least it has become relatively easy to identify the topics with that type of poster without having to read their posts; the title and/or the topic starter usually give it away.
 
rbbert said:
At least it has become relatively easy to identify the topics with that type of poster without having to read their posts; the title and/or the topic starter usually give it away.
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World Boxing Federation :mad:
 
CPP said:
I was thinking more in line with World Bodybuilding Federation or Worst Best Friend, or
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They should issue you a pair of boxing gloves when you join, because you are going to need them.
 
Mike said:
In this endless pursuit of system neutrality, I often find that the result is that more of the musicality is actually stripped away. Live music never sounds sterile, boring perhaps, but never sterile.
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When I got my S5's home an immediate observation was that my music sounded more different from each other than it had in past systems. My speakers/system was not adding its own "sound" to all the material to the degrees it had past. This is a partial definition of neutrality to me. I don't equate "clinical" with neutrality.

Also, I believe measurements have a place in the evaluation of equipment, but too many of us want black and white definiteness in a decidedly gray world of sound.
 
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