Article: Calibrating My Ears at the San Francisco Symphony

[bbosler]

You ... “I use these experiences to cast a critical eye at my system, and identify which aspects are weakest, so I can prioritize what to optimize, when I am able."

 

Me ...  I use these experiences to escape the real world, forget about the trivial world of woefully inadequate home systems, and become completely engulfed  in an experience it is now impossible and always will be impossible to reproduce at home. On the few occasions I do get to experience such an orchestra, the furthest thing from my mind is comparing it to my stereo, which by the way, is a very nice one. It is far better in IMHO opinion to enjoy the live experience for what it is and when at home try to remember what the live music was, than to clutter my mind at the symphony with trying to compare it to something I know it never will

 

I understand where you are coming from, but VERY sad in a way that you go to hear a world class orchestra and focus on how it compares to your stereo. I have never even considered that my system can reproduce the sound of a symphony hall so why waste my brainpower on doing so. Can't you just enjoy the music?

[bbosler]

This clearly demonstrates the difference between those who love music and those who love stereos.The mindset demonstrated in this thread is how does this live music I'm listening to compare to my stereo? Thinking about the "sound" rather than listening to the "music" is a terrible waste. If that brings you pleasure then I wish you great happiness. The real magic of live music is how it transports you into a world you can't otherwise experience. At a live performance your mind should not be in an analytical mode analyzing the sound. It should be in a mode where you are deriving maximum pleasure from the music. 

 

I also completely disagree with the experience of watching the Berlin streaming, unless they have changed how they present it which I gave up on a while back. At the symphony you have a fixed perspective.. one seat. The ones I watched there were multiple cameras moving about focusing on whatever was being highlighted at the time.. like a rock concert video.  Lets look look up close at the woodwinds, then lets jump to the cellos,  then zoom into the horns... an utterly distracting experience that completely ruins the experience you see at a live concert.

 

Sorry to rain on your parade but it is about the music

 

Thanks for entertaining my ramblings, feel free to disagree, won't hurt my feelings

[bbosler]

Thank you. wonderful point about multitasking. It is well proven that a human mind can only concentrate on one topic at a time that involves any degree of focus or analysis. Feel free to do some research but it is indisputable. The only way that a human can do more than one thing at a time is if all but one involve no concentration. That is why so many think they can text and drive at the same time focusing on each. Forgive my bluntness,  but they are fools. Look at the accident statistics on it.

 

Bubblegum and walking, perfect example. Why can I  do it? Because I've done both many times and it is ingrained, AND more importantly, I  can do both without thinking about them because they are routine. However,  if I want to focus on the taste of the gum it is impossible to focus at the same time on the comfort of the shoes, or to be aware of the shoes if I am aware of the taste of the gum. Try it.

 

Can you carry on a conversation on two topics at the same time with two people, or do you have to stop and switch  from one to the other? Can you answer questions from someone who is in the room while you are conversing  on the phone with another without stopping to switch gears? Can you follow a movie when the person next to you is asking you questions about what just happened when you have moved onto the next scene, or talk on the phone and follow a movie at the same time?

You can switch back and forth. Like at the symphony, at this moment I'll compare how the clarinet sounds to the clarinet on my stereo, but it is impossible to be completely absorbed into overall the sound of the orchestra,  and be comparing an instrument in the orchestra to the same instrument on your stereo

 

That may seem rather esoteric but it is true. If you go to the symphony you can't think about how this music affects me or to be absorbed by it at this precise moment and also think about how it compares to my stereo.

 

It is your choice. Do you want to be completely focused on the music that the orchestra is producing, focus on on how the sound compares to your system, or switch back and forth.  I am not condemning one or the other, it is a choice. . For me, being drawn into the music is my choice.

 

[bbosler]

7 hours ago, esldude said:

I don't think the author of the article is saying this is how to listen to music. It was a one off experiment of sorts the way I read it

 

Then I misinterpreted his statement  " I use these experiences to cast a critical eye at my system, and identify which aspects are weakest, so I can prioritize what to optimize, when I am able"

 

I took "these experiences" literally since it is plural, not a one off event. Perhaps the problem with the written word versus a real time discussion to clarify our intent.

 

Sorry to put a damper on the abundant praise for his analysis,   but it just bothered me to think that someone had the opportunity to enjoy such a fine orchestra and obviously spent a great deal of the time making notes, at least mentally, about how it compared to his stereo. Perhaps he, unlike me,  is fortunate enough to go to so many live events that he can use some of them in the manner described.

[bbosler]

Austinpop, thank you for the considered response.

 

I find it odd that the original poster apparently has no problem with my opinion but the moderator does AND he chose to denigrate me will commenting. As Austinpop  stated "It was a fair question, and I hope I clarified my rationale for you"

 

Computer Audiophile, I believe  I was very clear that I was open to how people listened and made them  happy was fine with me.  I stated it clearly and alluded to it more than once. I'm not going to go back and dig through but I clearly stated that how one chooses to listen is their own choice and I wished them much happiness in doing so. The fact you choose to scold me for expressing my opinion about what makes me happy compared to others when I  clearly stated I had no problem with the difference, shows how narrow-minded you are, not me. I don't often get riled up on internet forums but what I stated was an opinion about what I chose to do versus others. It was an observation, not a condemnation like your post about me. Yours was a snarky attack about me doing so.  I suppose you will delete this and ban me from the site for firing back. If so I am happy to go if the moderator is offended by  well reasoned opinions. BTW I deleted my original "kiss my ass" line so as not to offend anybody.

 

Thank you, I feel better

[bbosler]

18 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

Is it possible you read more into my post that I really wrote?

 

 

That is always possible especially in a forum like this, which I believe I acknowledged in an earlier post. However, when someone quotes you and follows with "who cares" don't you think that if not scolding it is at a minimum being dismissive, which is defined as "feeling or showing that something is unworthy of consideration." Whether scolded or dismissed, it is IMHO a counterproductive  way to engage in meaningful dialogue.

 

The line about deleting the line then including the line was in my mind very humorous. An attempt at what I thought was irony.  YMMV

 

I apologize to all for taking the thread in another direction. Let's get back to discussing the original post. BTW very well written whether or not I agree with it. 

 

[bbosler]

I am intrigued by the discussion of surround  SACD  or DVD-A as I recently acquired a player that can  decode them.  I will explore the link to the HiRez site. In the meantime, if you had to recommend 1 or 2 discs to start with what would they be? Any genre.. thanks

 

 

[bbosler]

thanks to everyone for the surround suggestions. I downloaded a sampler from Channel Classics.

25 takes from 25 years . I would say after a preliminary listen it is a mixed bag. The performances and sonics are consistently very good, the surround not so much. It seems to me your attention  shouldn't be drawn to the side channels, but with some of these recordings you are sitting in the middle of the orchestra they are so loud, and on one I felt like was inside the piano. On one vocal track the voice was coming from everywhere. Perhaps the sound of a very, very reverberant hall but seems unnatural to me. I double checked and with test signals all 5 channels are very close to the same volume so I have to  contribute it to the mix. I'll keep experimenting

[bbosler]

GOT IT!   thanks for the response. I have an OPPO 203 that can decode the surround tracks. I was feeding it via HDMI to my AVR receiver. The receiver can't (or I haven't figured out how to) decode the multichannel from the OPPO over HDMI so it applied surround processing that wasn't proper. However, when I feed the 7.1 analog output of the OPPO to the 7.1 analog in of the AVR (actually using 5.1) all is well. The surrounds are now ambience and it sounds quite nice. Down side.... how much will I now spend on these files???

[bbosler]

I was also fortunate enough to attend the proms a few years ago. It was Bach night and they  played Bach pieces along with what I would call Bach inspired. I was eagerly awaiting the Tocatta and Fugue in D minor and picked that night knowing the hall had a massive organ. I was surprised they played it with full orchestra and didn't fire up the organ. The other downside was we were just below the boxes and the people in them were busy drinking, clanking glasses, and chatting which detracted from the mood. All in all I'm glad we went, but I'm disappointed in  how many people go to such an event and don't respect those around them. ?