Pawlowski,
Your analogy is an excellent one, though as a painter I might consider the final product to be made less transparent by a glaze, a glass cover, and a complimentary frame. These ancillary effects are often made present by certain components, cables, tubes, tweaks, etc. And they may be exactly what my audiophile buddy wants, but instead might leave me wanting them gone. Because in the end, I don't believe we are looking for a connection with the music, but rather one with ourselves.
In regards to that bird, no two people observing it live would see the same thing. By the same token, you and I could listen to a live concert and you might come away saying that the singer really moved you because she is so close to the words, and I might interpret her as forcing it. You might come away with the impression that the sound was transparent, and I could find it muted. Whether at a live performance, or a recorded one translated via an audio system, everything is left to interpretation by each of us. And our own personal, individual conclusion IS our reality, whether fleeting or fixed. Sometimes it may feel more solid if we pair up with others of the same opinion, but it doesn't transform group opinion into empirical reality. It only makes you all friends.
So, to answer your original question posted here, I would have to say that unless Diana Krall pops out of my Klipsch speakers--and you know I'm praying that tonight she does--I am relegated to enjoying her recorded music through the system that I (and in this case, my wife AND I) determine to meet our standards for musical reproduction. And fortunately, our system does that really well...in our OPINION.
Next week, I'll be 40 years old. And in my brief time here, I have thus far earned only one unshakable truth. That is, Steve Guttenberg is a crappy actor. Now, back to the music!
Your analogy is an excellent one, though as a painter I might consider the final product to be made less transparent by a glaze, a glass cover, and a complimentary frame. These ancillary effects are often made present by certain components, cables, tubes, tweaks, etc. And they may be exactly what my audiophile buddy wants, but instead might leave me wanting them gone. Because in the end, I don't believe we are looking for a connection with the music, but rather one with ourselves.
In regards to that bird, no two people observing it live would see the same thing. By the same token, you and I could listen to a live concert and you might come away saying that the singer really moved you because she is so close to the words, and I might interpret her as forcing it. You might come away with the impression that the sound was transparent, and I could find it muted. Whether at a live performance, or a recorded one translated via an audio system, everything is left to interpretation by each of us. And our own personal, individual conclusion IS our reality, whether fleeting or fixed. Sometimes it may feel more solid if we pair up with others of the same opinion, but it doesn't transform group opinion into empirical reality. It only makes you all friends.
So, to answer your original question posted here, I would have to say that unless Diana Krall pops out of my Klipsch speakers--and you know I'm praying that tonight she does--I am relegated to enjoying her recorded music through the system that I (and in this case, my wife AND I) determine to meet our standards for musical reproduction. And fortunately, our system does that really well...in our OPINION.
Next week, I'll be 40 years old. And in my brief time here, I have thus far earned only one unshakable truth. That is, Steve Guttenberg is a crappy actor. Now, back to the music!