Actually kosst and soundsreal, binaural recordings are an attempt to do exactly that. Many of them sound amazing on headphones, the only correct way to listen to them.
Most "Accurate/Realistic" Sounding Speakers?
I am a major audio enthusiast and I was listening to some live, non amplified acoustic jazz and I could not help but wonder what speaker sounds that "live"? To me, the most "accurate/realistic" speakers would accurately reproduce acoustic music as if it were playing right in front of you, and also human voices as if they were talking directly to you. I guess that is my gauge by which speakers and audio systems should be judged. I know there are a ton of "accurate" reproductions, but I have never heard anything even close to the realism, super deep bass by the acoustic bass, and slam of the snare and cymbals. Have you heard any speaker truly close to this? As an over analytical audio nerd, instead of truly enjoying this great music, I could not help but think about the system that would come even close to that realism, deep bass, and gritty fast sound. I guess the closest I have heard has been Wilson Audios, but even those were not truly accurate reproductions. I have also heard that Quad planars and ATC powered speakers do a pretty amazing job.
Please opine!
Please opine!
- ...
- 52 posts total
Meh.... I think headphones are a lacking experience in terms of recreating the more visceral facets of a live performance. I don't listen to polite chamber music. I listen to Tool, DCD, Bassnectar, and stuff along those lines. This is stuff meant to be felt as much as just heard. It takes speakers, not headphones. |
In continuation of my respons above a more general observation, one that may "only" be an aspect of realism in sonic reproduction (albeit a very important one), namely the frequency spectrum from some 100-400Hz - or the upper bass/lower midrange. As such this would serve to highlight no individual speaker principle or brand/model in particular (although one could rightly point to specific items, as is the case with linked review below), but rather stress the relevance of named aspects’ implementation in loudspeakers more widely. Reading a review today by Robert E. Greene over at The Absolute Sound of the Stirling Broadcast LS3/6 speakers, I noticed his elaboration on this important issue in the comments section: ...http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/stirling-broadcast-ls36/?page=5 I'm sure some will find above quote controversial in seeing Mr. Greene speak of "correctness" (repeatedly, I might add) in sonic reproduction, but I fully agree with him; it does make sense to speak of reproduced sound that borders more closely that of live instrumentation and voices, and that doing so doesn't necessarily cost a fortune. We're up against an industry that seeks to keep the financial wheels turning (through branding, not least) more than any endeavor to seek out authentic sound, and introducing "subjectivity" into this mix makes it all the more easy to cater to these mechanisms. I would add the importance of physicality/air displacement area and speed in the upper bass/lower mids as well to more significantly approach sonic realism, something I find a variety of larger horn speakers in particular to be capable of. |
I'm a fan of Robert E Green's writing. That said, I don't know that I've noticed the floor standing "dip" phenomenon he mentions, at least insofar as being more common than among monitor speakers (i.e. I hear dips and colorations in both types of speakers). I know that Mr. Green has long extolled the truthfulness of Harbeth speakers. I briefly owned the very well regarded Harbeth Super HL5plus speakers, on approved-height stands, in an acoustically excellent room. They were really wonderful in some ways (vocals!) but I found my Thiel 3.7s beat them handily in just about every area I could think of, even in terms of the Thiels midrange sounding more substantial and believable. So at least in my case, anecdotally, the BBC type monitor did not display the purported superiority over a larger floor stander. |
- 52 posts total

