How close to the real thing?

Petrayer,

Coincidentally, the Meyerhoff in Baltimore is one of the venues I have used extensively as a sound quality reference over the years.

You, know the sound quality there as with most venues varies considerably depending on how teh performers set up and where you sit?

Most classical performances tehre from most seats have some of the best sound quality I have heard IMHO.

however, once I heard Steve Winwood there from way up in the top level, slightly right of center and I could not have been more disappointed.

I used to feel very good about my system when I came home from the Meyerhoff and compared to my rig running magnepan mg1cs at the time, in every sense save absolute dynamics and impact perhaps. If I closed my eyes, it cam way better than 5% I would say, enough so that I did not care.

Nowadays, with my newer OHM floorstanders, I think I have upped the ante considerably.

I also run good monitors and they are nice but I have yet to hear a pair of standalone monitors deliver large scale classical convincingly. Chamber music and the like, perhaps...

Mapman,

I agree with you that there is nothing like the sound in good seats at a well designed hall. I don't think I'll ever get my Mini IIs to deliver large scale classical music convincingly or certainly not a rock concert. My room and those monitors are just too small. However, with a great recording and the right music (small scale and acoustic) the sound is pretty darn good and I dare say almost believable. Well, close enough to be emotionally moving.

Sure it's not the real thing, but it's one minute down the hall, available anytime and able to play any of my LPs with a simple lift of the tone arm. Muddy, Miles, Starker, or Arrau. Playback has come a long way.

Someday, I'll invite my buddy Edseas2 back over and ask about that 5% again.

Peterayer:

Yeah, and if you still have the piano in the same room as your stereo system I'll slide the cover off the keyboard, play a single note and say:

"Gosh was I being generous when I said 5%!"

Edseas2

Peter,

Recorded music in most people's homes and live music in a large well designed concert hall are two different beasts that will never be the same. I think realizing this helps manage expectations when experiencing either. Each can have its unique charms that endear themselves. Sometimes it is possible for the two different things to strongly resemble each other.

I think if an experienced listener is satisfied with both on their own terms and in relation to each other, then that is about as good as it can get.

I think I've arrived at that point in the last year or so finally, so I am a very content listener at present.

One truly missing ingredient in the process is the recording/transfer equipment. Mic's are so variable, as to be frustrating, with some real improvements recently...then there's the question of 'how to position and place' performers.
In an ideal world, they'd simply set up as if performing...but how often do we see this?
In another post a couple of years ago, I sent kuddos to Michael Buble for having the guts as a pop singer, to announce that he recorded the group he sang in front of, in a natural setting--without the extraordinary, measures normally taken--with him in LA, them in New York, etc.
Of late, we're seeing a trend toward this--in the Movie, Love Actually, the little girl singing, 'All I Want For Christmas', in the movie's climax, was singing 'live'. The director even commented that they went to great pains to let her breathing (which was a bit loud), be captured, so people would KNOW that it was her singing.
Then,in Across the Universe, the director, in order to gain the sense of reality, had the performers work with a 'live mic', and pretty much did the same thing.

IMHO, the true missing ingredients are, flat Frequency Response, (the greatest predictor of TONAL ACCURACY something the brain REALLY catches quickly), and possibly the key, DYNAMIC CONTRAST. The brain knows, what the dynamics SHOULD BE...and if we don't hear that, we simply know immediately that its a recording and not real. When we can do this consistantly, we'll be much closer.

IMHO.

Larry