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My audiophile take on the symphony last night.

65 piece Santa Cruz Symphony at the Civic Auditorium.

My wife said it wasn't loud enough and I agreed. The highs were rolled off and there wasn't an expansive soundstage. I couldn't "hear behind the instruments" like I can at home on the hifi. The soloist sounded small and far away and the bass drum lacked definition.

In spite of all that we were listening to a live and real performance. Our seats were the highest price available.

This was very interesting, intriguing and food for thought audio-wise. Also great people watching.
bizango1
sounds_real_audio
677 posts
 
Well that is what I hate about live music. You can't adjust the volume or the balance.

I want a system that sounds better then live music not as good as live music.
mapman's avatar
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mapman
15,679 posts
 
"Funny thing about live music - no matter how bad the acoustics are, you can tell it's live and not recorded."

Probably true. What our ears hear when listening is only part of the story though.
kurt_tank
1,188 posts
 
The Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium is NOT a good place to see a symphony. Much better would be the San Jose Center for Performing Arts, or better yet, Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco.

On the other hand, seeing Smashing Pumpkins at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium a few years ago was great, (of course one had to be in the crush of humanity on the floor in order to get good sound!) And the other event I saw there as a full contact karate event many, many years ago. Given the last two events I mentioned, it probably goes to show you that the Santa Cruz Civic is not exactly a perfect symphony hall! ;-)

My two cents worth.
rrog
1,958 posts
 
Bizango1, I hate to burst your bubble, but Frogman couldn't have said it better. Hi-Fidelity means being faithful to the original performance.
tzh21y
1,377 posts
 
Chayro, I can identify with that statement
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