System versus live


To sound live, I have tried, in building my system, to get so many things correct. Dynamic range, Prat, Tone, Coherence, Body, Weight, Visceral momentum, Spatial perspective, etc. I remember being on a ferry ride, listening to a small ensemble, amazed at the beauty and artistry of the musicianship, along with the proper "air" of how the notes started and stopped, and being so engulfed in the performance. I have been on and near performers on stage, with the same amazement. My system touches on all of these things, but it is not "live". Before the system, room and listening position, one must consider the recording itself. Microphones, mic preamps, console faders, acoustics used for the recording, and a whole lot more. Then we have the monitors used for the final product(headphones or speakers) and the engineer(s) who put it together. Then, it is transferred and transferred again. Labels such as Mapleshade and Sheffield Labs(I just happen to have many)go to great lengths to minimize the "electronics", as well as some other aspects, of their recordings, to sound live and pure. Being a member of Audiogon, as well as some other forums, and, being a devoted audiophile, music listener, consultant and above all else, a human being, I ask this question. How "live" do you think your system really is ?
mrdecibel
I don't think it's possible to make a small space sound like a large live venue no matter how the speakers sound. An interesting experiment would be to have a single instrument play on a stage and record that event, then replace the live artist with your sound system in the same room and compare from the same listening point.
can you imagine how loud and bright cymbals would sound in your living room from 8 feet away?
With the right recording completely live.

Tower of Power Soul Vaccination Live "Diggin' on James Brown" is a good example of a really live feel - simply crank it - -totally convincing.

Another is George Benson Weekend in LA Live "On Broadway".

There are thousands of good live recordings.
Mceljo

Yes, a very small recreation is very possible. A single artist (maybe two).

I think VMPS does this at all the shows for the last few years....although their show room is "much" larger than almost all home audio rooms would be.

Dave
Went and saw Brian Blade at the Vanguard last Saturday, came right home after, and played a lot of the same stuff on the system. Have to say, I was pretty blown away by how close it was. Shocked, really. To be sure, not the same -- really not the same -- but one hell of a lot closer than I expected....