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How close to the real thing?

Recently a friend of mine heard a Chopin concert in a Baptist church. I had told him that I had gone out to RMAF this year and heard some of the latest gear. His comment was that he thinks the best audio systems are only about 5% close to the real thing, especially the sound of a piano, though he admitted he hasn't heard the best of the latest equipment.

That got me thinking as I have been going to the BSO a lot this fall and comparing the sound of my system to live orchestral music. It's hard to put a hard percentage on this kind of thing, but I think the best systems capture a lot more than just 5% of the sound of live music.

What do you think? Are we making progress and how close are we?
peterayer
timlub
1,649 posts
 
Hi Frank, Well,I've read all that you've had to say and am sorry to say that I just don't buy it. Yes,my speakers absolutely dissapear. I don't want to discount your opinion, but I've been around this game for a long long time. I have found a long time ago, even when I started in this business in 1979, That measurable distortion is so far below our hearing that it was unconceivable to hear. Most tube amps measure higher distortion than solid state, yet tube amps nearly always have better staging than solid state. I don't know what type of distortion that you are quoting, i.m, thd?
What equipment today has distortion ratings that are a concern?
hifihvn
943 posts
 
some recordings, I do get a soundstage extended a couple of feet past my speakers in width, But never can I take an orchestra that its natural width would be say 25 feet and get my system to reproduce this. Within these limits, I get Outstanding instrument placement on width as well as depth. If anyone has any ideas on how to improve...
I'm all ears.
Timlub (Threads | Answers | This Thread)

Try a different DAC,or CD player.I tried one DAC that made my soundstage that can go extremely wide at times,shrink down to about 3-5 feet.A friends budget(Teac?)CD player made his 8-10 foot speaker width sound like 50 feet apart.Sounded good on some music,like a reverb on other types of music, The equipment specs don't seem to mean much here.
timlub
1,649 posts
 
Thanks Hifihvn, you might be right, I was using old Sumo gear. In July I bought a Coda CL preamp. It is so superior in so many ways. I have an MHZS cd player that I've modded so many times that I have finally tore a solder trace. I had bought a NAD C515BEE for $50.00 broken and a new laser was only $30.00...fixed, so I haven't even tried to repair my tubed cd player with my new Coda. I really need to get off my duff and finish this. I'll try to lay my hands on a decent dac also, thanks for the suggestion And I'm with you specs mean little or nothing to me. Also, Hifihvn, i've noticed in some old threads that you have alot of classical music, I am loaded with Jazz and only a couple of classical recordings, Can you give me 3 recordings that I can't live without?
Good Listening, Tim
hifihvn
943 posts
 
I'm not the best one to recommend Classical music.The majority of mine was passed down to me from my family.I listen to it more to hear a full orchestra perform.That seems to be the best part I enjoy.
almarg's avatar
almarg
8,673 posts
 
I am loaded with Jazz and only a couple of classical recordings, Can you give me 3 recordings that I can't live without?
Hi Tim,

Obviously a virtually unlimited number of recordings could be named, but I'll suggest exactly one, although I'm not sure if it is still readily findable:

Chesky CD31: Dvorak's Symphony No. 9, "From the New World," The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Jascha Horenstein. You will not believe that it was recorded in 1962!

Best regards,
-- Al
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