Is live reproduction the goal of audio?

The reason I brought up musicians, Bill, was solely to illustrate the point that
the "goal of audio" can have different meanings to different
people. Obtaining a "life-like" presentation may be one that is
quite exciting to many of us, but not necessarily to everyone. Folks get
enjoyment from this stuff at all different levels, and to elevate one above all
the rest seems a bit silly to me. I do like a life-like presentation as well. I've
heard it done on different levels, but have not had the experience you've
described where the whole thing comes together in all ways to yield a "
live" music experience. The conflicting factions I've experienced seem
to be that either the music has tremendous impact, dynamics, and detail, yet
lacks the delicacy, dimension and airiness that I somehow associate with
'presence'...or, it has the latter in spades, as in the case of the SET/horn
systems I've enjoyed the most, yet lacks the chest-pounding impact of more
powerful systems. That's perhaps a simplistic observation on my part, but it
may help to understand where I'm coming from. Yes, in both cases, I can
close my eyes and Louis would seem to be there in front of me, but in neither
case is the illusion complete. Ultimately, the more powerful solutions have
always occured to me as an amplified version (I am more conscious of the
intervening technology), while the solutions I prefer are more convincing to
me, yet still do not convey the 'impact' of live music somehow, yet render the
parts of the equation I am most fond of.

Marco

Hey guys .

I know it's hard to match realities and analogies with each other. If you really want the 100% truth to all this you will be very disappointed .

This is a web site and we are just discussing a subject. It is not the subject , but a wild discussion of it. This a hi-fi web site period . True.

>>I've no doubt produced greater wisdom out of the crack of my derriere<<

I thought you're faced looked familiar.

Charlie101, I've read all your Audiogon posts in attempt to find something positive and redeeming in your writings. None have offered anything positive or helpful. All are snide, sarcastic, and negative. Please offer something useful beyond your unwavering bullshit.

Hey lookee there, Charlie made a funny! Your gold star and wax clown lips are on the way in the mail to you now! Congratulations.

C5150 - "100% Truth" is entirely relative. Put 100 people in a room. Play some music on a stage in front. Ask the 100 people to recount what happened, or what it sounded like, or what the people on stage looked like, or what the room was like....you'll likely not get any 100% truth from your queries. So which "truth" should 'audio' be looking to duplicate...whose truth...whose ears? Stand a different spot in the room, sit in a different chair in the orchestra, and the performance sounds different. Peoples hearing is different. What different people pay attention to and recall is different. The "truth on the master tapes? Played through what? In what room, to whose ears? What if you don't like "The Truth"? What if you can't handle "The Truth"?!!! The concept of objective truth is boring and sterile and has nothing to do with music or art. To illustrate that you chould use the film analogy again and look at Andy Warhols documentary of, I think it was the Empire State Building. He put a camera on a tripod and filmed the building from the same vantage point for many hours without moving the camera or tripod. That's the entire film. That's the truth. That's Andy's truth. I doubt many of us would be interested to watch it for very long. What's your truth? What's wrong with a "wild discussion"...it actually makes you think a bit...stretch your imagination...step out of the box.

I agree with you, BTW...seeking 100% truth in audio reproduction is chasing a carrot on a stick attached to your head. An imaginary carrot at that! Seek out what you enjoy the most, and stick with it. If you can manage it, enjoy what you have..that's a real gift! Not too difficult actually.

Marco