Stringreen,
I am not insulted by your comments, but I do happen to disagree with you.
Sometimes live acoustics sound like crap to me, to point where I am distracted from enjoying the content of the performance. In many cases because of the control provided by the recording studio, or the effects intended by the artists and the engineers, recorded music should not sound like a live venue or performance, it should sound "better", or at least different. Not sure I expect hi fi to sound like "live" music in every case, but I do expect it to sound good, as if I am getting the essence of what the artist and engineer intended, if not a close facsimile of a recording studio, bar, concert hall or stadium environment recreated in my living room. Do the instruments and voices have pitch, texture and pace that is convincing? If yes, then good enough for me.
Generally, most of us admit that hi fi is fraught with compromises. To me, really good high end systems exhibit fewer obvious compromises, and can convincingly recreate a broader range of recorded settings and instruments, and many of those recordings were never intended to sound live, with added room coloration, crowd noise, etc. Some people love Ohm speakers because they claim they sound more like "natural" or "live" music to them. To me, they make everything sound like "live music", and sometimes that is just downright confusing. Some people love Maggies and Quads because they have "life-like" midrange you can cut with a knife. I can see where they are coming from, but then they disappear when amplified bass enters the room, and I don't mean in a good way. I had always felt Wilson's quest for accuracy lacked soul, but they could always do a convincing bass guitar and leading edge thwack of a snare drum. In my mind, the "best" speakers (amps, sources and wires too) are capable of doing everything better than average, and maybe a few things really, really well. The Wilson's I've heard recently now have a bit of midrange richness and presence added to their repertoire, and I heartily applaud the effort.
I am not insulted by your comments, but I do happen to disagree with you.
Sometimes live acoustics sound like crap to me, to point where I am distracted from enjoying the content of the performance. In many cases because of the control provided by the recording studio, or the effects intended by the artists and the engineers, recorded music should not sound like a live venue or performance, it should sound "better", or at least different. Not sure I expect hi fi to sound like "live" music in every case, but I do expect it to sound good, as if I am getting the essence of what the artist and engineer intended, if not a close facsimile of a recording studio, bar, concert hall or stadium environment recreated in my living room. Do the instruments and voices have pitch, texture and pace that is convincing? If yes, then good enough for me.
Generally, most of us admit that hi fi is fraught with compromises. To me, really good high end systems exhibit fewer obvious compromises, and can convincingly recreate a broader range of recorded settings and instruments, and many of those recordings were never intended to sound live, with added room coloration, crowd noise, etc. Some people love Ohm speakers because they claim they sound more like "natural" or "live" music to them. To me, they make everything sound like "live music", and sometimes that is just downright confusing. Some people love Maggies and Quads because they have "life-like" midrange you can cut with a knife. I can see where they are coming from, but then they disappear when amplified bass enters the room, and I don't mean in a good way. I had always felt Wilson's quest for accuracy lacked soul, but they could always do a convincing bass guitar and leading edge thwack of a snare drum. In my mind, the "best" speakers (amps, sources and wires too) are capable of doing everything better than average, and maybe a few things really, really well. The Wilson's I've heard recently now have a bit of midrange richness and presence added to their repertoire, and I heartily applaud the effort.