The Problem of reproducing large scale Orchestral music

[tima]

Reproducing the full scale, impact and envelopment of a full symphony orchestra in any domestic environment with any combination of hifi gear regardless of cost is out of reach. And it's going to stay that way.

Okay, sure. I know no one for whom this is a goal or an expectation -- at least on this forum. Reproduction is not reality.

But the real thing is in a hall with ~100 +/- musicians playing what you want to hear.

There we go. That's a reference for me. I'm happy if my stereo evokes that listening experience in a natural way. The music does the rest.

 

[morricab]

Okay, sure. I know no one for whom this is a goal or an expectation -- at least on this forum. Reproduction is not reality.



There we go. That's a reference for me. I'm happy if my stereo evokes that listening experience in a natural way. The music does the rest.

I think the point is that optimization of a system based on large scale classical recordings might not be the optimal reference. Never mind the compression needed to fit them on a recording medium, the limitations of all systems also limits tge usefulness of telling much about a system is there as well.

 

[R Johnson]

Reproducing the full scale, impact and envelopment of a full symphony orchestra in any domestic environment with any combination of hifi gear regardless of cost is out of reach. And it's going to stay that way.

I agree with your observations, Phil.
I attend Chicago Symphony concerts weekly, plus more.
Some years ago I sold my Quad ESL 57s to friend so that he could have two pairs.
I turned in my Audiophile card and am content with decent PSB bookshelf speakers.

 

[PeterA]

Okay, sure. I know no one for whom this is a goal or an expectation -- at least on this forum. Reproduction is not reality.



There we go. That's a reference for me. I'm happy if my stereo evokes that listening experience in a natural way. The music does the rest.

I agree with this. Reproduction is not reality. In Ron‘s system thread there is a recent response to the comment that music is not a sign wave. The response was that music is represented by a series of sine waves. I wonder if those sign waves resemble more a masterpiece by Jackson Pollock or a complex mathematical formula generated by a super computer.

Music heard live is the reality. The best we can hope is for our systems to evoke a listening experience in our homes that reminds us of our experience with live music, or one that simply allows us to fully enjoy our music.

 

[tima]

I think the point is that optimization of a system based on large scale classical recordings might not be the optimal reference. Never mind the compression needed to fit them on a recording medium, the limitations of all systems also limits tge usefulness of telling much about a system is there as well.

I understand your view on this from msg. 49.