Life-like, or warm and cosy?

[Anonymous]

MENISCUS:p>If you prefer anything else I suggest you purchase an amp with tone controls......

...why not? If it makes you enjoy the music more then great! There's too many poorly produced tracks out there to pursue the neutral thing at all costs. I think Johnnyjazz makes some excellent points.

 

[chebby]

JoelSim:I prefer my hifi to make music as enjoyable as possible, those eye-closing moments.

That's usually referred to as ... "falling asleep"

 

[Anonymous]

Of course I want my hi-fi to reproduce what's on the recording, as faithful as possible!

Of course I don't want it to introduce something that's not on the recording; being it "warmth" or whatever.

Most people seems to disagree. I've found that the average person, as well as many "audiophiles", prefer a tonal quality that's easily recognizable as high harmonic distortion and increased bass response. The same persons tend to consider my favourite sound as "bright" or even "harsh".

However, I admit that I might prefer the "warm" sound myself in some settings -- like when playing music in the background when doing other things, or with headphones in noisy surroundings. Then this is easily achieved by manipulating tone controls, software equalizers etc.

 

[Anonymous]

chebby:
JoelSim:I prefer my hifi to make music as enjoyable as possible, those eye-closing moments.

That's usually referred to as ... "falling asleep"

Spoken like a true Naim user

 

[idc]

Life like, not warm and cosy for me.

This discussion has covered recording. I have a load of music books and biographies and they all write about artists disatisfaction with many of their recording sessions and the end product. So whose end product are we listening to? Is it really what the artist wants us to hear? I do want to hear instruments sound realistic. But that is the most I expect from a recording session and subsequent reproduction of the sound as hifi.

I agree with the points about genre. I listen to prog/post rock where I need detail to be able listen to all of the sounds, which are often coming at you in multiple layers and clarity to get the realism through. Prog and post rock is not really warm and cosy.

 

[Anonymous]

Rob_manchester:

Not much music honestly deserves to be ANALISED. Chart manufactured stuff, but not much else.
Erm most music at one point has been analised, otherwise there would be no musicians playing in the style of that music. Lots of people like mozart but knobody has actually heard mozart, just somebody,s interpretation of what they think mozart would have sounded like by analising his written pieces, he may have sounded totally different in his style of playing than what we hear. Just because music is written down in a certain manner doesn,t mean that it was originally played in that style. You can,t argue with that, because knobody is alive today that heard him playing. So yes all music is analised

 

[chebby]

Re: ANALISED

I think Rob was having fun with your mis-spelling and (maybe) using it to suggest what - in his opinion - should be done with manufactured chart stuff.

(ie putting it somewhere not very sunny.)

I could be wrong.

 

[Anonymous]

chebby:
Re: ANALISED

I think Rob was having fun with your mis-spelling and (maybe) using it to suggest what - in his opiniion - should be done with manufactured chart stuff.

(ie putting it somewhere not very sunny.)

I could be wrong.

Quite right. Just playing Jonny - it's a slow Friday

 

[Anonymous]

Rob_manchester:chebby:

Re: ANALISED

I think Rob was having fun with your mis-spelling and (maybe) using it to suggest what - in his opiniion - should be done with manufactured chart stuff.

(ie putting it somewhere not very sunny.)

I could be wrong.

Quite right. Just playing Jonny - it's a slow Friday

Sorry Rob, didn,t mean to rabbit on mate

Think matthew might have something to say on this

 

[Anonymous]

idc:Prog and post rock is not really warm and cosy.

Live music seldom is.

Rock concerts are infernos of terrible sound, with little more than overpowering bass really coming through. Acoustic instruments will often sound shrill and rather annoying. Only the very best concert halls have acoustics that don't make things worse.

Thus most people won't be able to endure more than a couple of hours of live music...

As for artist being dissatisfied with their records, there's little we can do about that. Letting our hi-fi system add the same colouring to all recordings won't bring us closer to what each artist wanted -- except, accidentally, in some rare cases.

 

[matthewpiano]

I don't think accuracy to the live event, or the final intentions of the musician(s) is necessarily achievable. There are too many things in between in terms of recording equipment and production. Taking my own instrument as an example, the piano is pretty much impossible to reproduce accurately on disc. Added to that is the question of whether the recording takes a pianist's view or an audience view. Some piano recordings are so closely miked that the sound is spread right across the two speakers - not very accurate at all! What I do think is achievable is accuracy to the recorded document - in other words a 'flat' reproduction of exactly what is on the disc. This is what 'high fidelity' means to me.

Whether or not this is desirable is a very personal thing. Clearly this level of fidelity means that some discs are going to sound relatively ropey. Jethro Tull's 'Aqualung', for example, was recorded in less than ideal conditions and the sound seriously lets down what is otherwise an excellent album. On the flip side of the coin, this level of fidelity should enable us to enjoy the full extent of a really good production.

 

[idc]

Best sounding concert I have been to was Yes at the Armadillo at the SECC, known for its accoutic treatments and good sound. But it sounded nothing like Yes on the hifi. The massive volume of live concerts alone makes a comparison impossible. The worst sounding albums I can remember are early Deep Purple on vinyl. It sounded flat and muddy and desparately needs remastering. But live they rock.

Warm and cosy is for Daniel O'Donnell, Val Doonegan and fans of The Carpenters.

 

[Anonymous]

Saw George Benson at the armadillo, agree with you about volume etc, not very good, best was Martin Taylor at the Old Fruitmarket, vaulted ceiling very intimate setting, candles on tables, sat 10 foot in front of him, great stuff

 

[Anonymous]

I like women lifelike, warm and cozy.

Hifi lifelike..........

 

[Anonymous]

johnnyjazz:Saw George Benson at the armadillo, agree with you about volume etc, not very good, best was Martin Taylor at the Old Fruitmarket, vaulted ceiling very intimate setting, candles on tables, sat 10 foot in front of him, great stuff

I saw a packet of Bensons in a supermarket once.

 

[Anonymous]

Fahnsen:Rock concerts are infernos of terrible sound, with little more than overpowering bass really coming through. Acoustic instruments will often sound shrill and rather annoying. Only the very best concert halls have acoustics that don't make things worse.

Eh? modern concerts and quieter than they used to be, the sound is superb with all the technology employed (and I do not mean autotune or backing tracks). Do you lot ever get out?

Try coming to a rock concert at The Sage, Gateshead - superb acoustics. Oh, go and see Marillion, top live act who don't blow your ears out. I've even seen Tool and they were magnificent sounding. Add to that Rush, Idlewild, Arcade Fire, Kings of Leon, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and indeed most of the 30 years of concerts I've been to.

 

[Anonymous]

I have old gear, and am happy with what I have (and what I paid) .... I have stopped worrying too much about the hardware and cables and now just enjoy the music ... I will however continue to upgrade my system as funds allow, but am not in a big rush

I currenty tend to listen mostly to spotify through cheap desktop speakers and sounds ok to me, as I enjoy the music

If I had to describe my system, I would say that I tend to prefer the 'warmer' sounding speakers (mine are 3 way transmission design) ... Bass has to be very good for me, as I enjoy a lot of blues and my speakers work very well in this regard

recently auditioned a £4000 system with Mezzo 8 speakers and did not enjoy the sound at all ... perhaps it was the Mezzo speakers

I would say my old amp is very 'detailed' compared to many of the newer ones I have connected to my system ... I also enjoy an amp with a bit of power (The Pioneer SA-9800 produces 100 watts @ 8 ohms) ... I have found amps with less power on my system don't work as well with my speakers

perhaps, my weak link on my system could possiby be my cdp, and will look at upgrading in time to come (would love to try an Acoustic Precision Eikos (if not, a Rega Apolo or Saturn)

I recently connected a Musical Fidelity A5 amp to my system and was blown away (250 watts @ 8 ohms) ... My B&W speakers were 'roaring' .... that will most prob be my next purchase

I am obviously not comparing my system to systems that cost several thousands ... those are in a different league altogether

 

[JamesPianoman]

Graham_Thomas:I like women lifelike, warm and cozy. Hifi lifelike..........

hehe...

I've was wondering when this comparison would be made... big bass, punchy, in your face, crisp... that's how I like my ... music as well

 

[Anonymous]

1978:JamesPianoman:

Graham_Thomas:I like women lifelike, warm and cozy. Hifi lifelike..........

hehe...

I've was wondering when this comparison would be made... big bass, punchy, in your face, crisp... that's how I like my ... music as well

I have just realised ( better late than never ) that one can attribute almost all audiophile terms to a woman. A woman can be:

Fast, bright, dynamic, resolute, flat ( hehe ),dull, vivid, life-like, overblown ( hehe...),separation ( break-up ),sumptuous,articulate....etc.

This is amazing - you couldn't attribute most of them to a man...except bright of course and a few others. This is interesting from a psychological and linguistic point of view. Wow.
Also could be, beautiful contours ( b&w nautilus ) well veneered ( make up ) a bit bottom heavy (?) too expensive

 

[Anonymous]

I like to hear my music exactly as the producers/mixers intended it to sound - which is why I have a preference for some music genres over others. I like detail without sibilance in the top end, clean punchy mids, and fast, accurate lows with some nice warmth in the bass around the 80-100hz mark.

Probably why I like funk/soul/electro so much (late 70's onwards), and detest any thing related to heavy metal/thrash and rock.

 

[Anonymous]

JamesPianoman:

Graham_Thomas:I like women lifelike, warm and cozy. Hifi lifelike..........

hehe...

I've was wondering when this comparison would be made... big bass, punchy, in your face, crisp... that's how I like my ... music as well

they say a picture paints a 1000 words:

Krell:

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Arcam:

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Naim:

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AVI 9.1's:

 

[bluebrazil]

pity i cant find a women with a volume control or an off switch

 

[Anonymous]

dim_span:JamesPianoman:
Graham_Thomas:I like women lifelike, warm and cozy. Hifi lifelike..........

hehe...

I've was wondering when this comparison would be made... big bass, punchy, in your face, crisp... that's how I like my ... music as well

they say a picture paints a 1000 words:

Krell:

I would choose being deaf over listening to music like that!