List what you think all audiophiles/fanatics should experience

Affordable$$Audio · « **on:** 15 Mar 2009, 08:36 pm »

What experiences, places, events, or sounds should all of us experience at least once to help us appreciate our hobby. name and give a brief explanation.

jimdgoulding · « **Reply #1 on:** 18 Mar 2009, 12:07 am »

A tube pre; an MC cartridge.

mote · « **Reply #2 on:** 18 Mar 2009, 12:40 am »

1. Maybe going without for a while. Like when your amp or speakers or whatever needs repair - it is you and the silence for a period, might make you appreciate what you are now missing.

2. Real sounds / live music and voices. Remembering how they sound and feel might help you assess the reproductive abilities of your own audio equipment.

3. Starving, maltreated kids. Might help in assessing what else the hobby could afford / help.

rockadanny · « **Reply #3 on:** 18 Mar 2009, 01:09 am »

Clarity and balance across the entire (full-range) frequency spectrum from an audio system.
Sounds simple but it took a lot of effort to get there.
I finally have that and thus have stopped looking for gear and am strictly focused on enjoying the MUSIC.

mcrespo71 · « **Reply #4 on:** 18 Mar 2009, 01:14 am »

Tubes, A properly set up turntable, electrostatic/planar speakers, and a Naim based system.

Charivari · « **Reply #5 on:** 18 Mar 2009, 03:40 am »

Two primary live experiences are what come to mind.

First, a group playing purely acoustic instruments in an open field away from any reflective structure to appreciate sonic purity. Music organically evolved outside for public enjoyment without any sort of mechanical or electrical contrivance. Even the best concert halls are intended to homogenize and smear out the sound to cover the maximum number of seats the structure is designed for so every paying butt filling those seats hears their money's worth. Concert halls are simply mechanical PA stacks. Outside of any structure, the purity of the music can finally be fully appreciated for what it is intended to be without alteration.

Secondly, a lone musician or, preferably, singer in a private performance to appreciate the immediacy and emotional impact of music in an intimate setting. Music for a private setting is intended to be more emotionally charged and presented with far different sonics than most of us came to expect from the "audiophile" biases gained through this hobby.

These two experiences do far more to reset false biases of what music should sound like than any amount of solitary listening to equipment regardless of the thousands of hours spent filling a seat. They help to remind the listener of what real instruments are supposed to sound like when played together and the immediacy of one playing for one. It's hard to go back to the audiophile listening for echoes in the background of a recording made in an empty room, euphonic midbass bloom from some particular component, or the pin point, but 2D presentation of a minimonitor as being remotely connected to what music truly is supposed to be in its most natural forms.

satfrat · « **Reply #6 on:** 18 Mar 2009, 05:04 am »

A visit to Ralph Glasgal's beautiful home to audition his incredible 36 speaker Ambiophonics system. Hearing Ralph's system will redefine what think think about stereo and how recorded music can be made to sound more like a actual concert. This was a visit I won't be forgeting anytime soon and it's an eyeopener as to what a sound system should sound like and how it should be setup. Lots of good info can be found here and also here with plenty of picture showing Ralph's home & system.

Cheers,
Robin

Levi · « **Reply #7 on:** 18 Mar 2009, 06:00 am »

+1 with Robin.

That Ambiophonics room is something else. Ralph has a pair of MBL speakers that he didn't even like see in the middle of the picture above. It is being used as ambience retrieval. Ha ha ha

Levi

konut · « **Reply #8 on:** 18 Mar 2009, 09:12 am »

A concert with a full symphony orchestra, in an acoustically good hall.

A couple of hours, during a recording session, in a top flight studio.

An hour, in a mastering studio, with a good mastering tech.

BobM · « **Reply #9 on:** 18 Mar 2009, 12:40 pm »

Well there's nothing quite like a lost weekend in Tijuana

Bob

Levi · « **Reply #10 on:** 18 Mar 2009, 01:09 pm »

This should be in one's short list.

mote · « **Reply #11 on:** 18 Mar 2009, 11:25 pm »

Palermo's opera house is fascinating for various reasons including the following. It has a certain section in the external lounge, where attendees would congregate during intermission / prior-post event, that was constructed so those in a small zone would be able to converse. Other people but a relatively short distance away could not make out any of the conversation. Truly a fascinating construction, done many years ago without modern device, related to control of unwanted sounds. To experience this cone of silence is a nice adventure.

SharkyRivethead · « **Reply #12 on:** 21 Mar 2009, 03:16 am »

When your whole life is about being a audiophile, and not knowing why. Until the day you have a revelation. The difference it makes by just swapping out the stock cartridge on a old record player for better one with a diamond needle. Then theres stumbling upon some Electrostatic tweeters and putting them in your speakers at home. It all makes sense then, now I understand. Because music is music, movies are movies. But when you can recreate life's soul, hear or see another persons vision the way it was meant to be. It all becomes clear...well, at least it was for me.

iGrant · « **Reply #13 on:** 25 Mar 2009, 03:52 am »

Sitting in the recording engineers seat listening to a finished mix, then taking a copy of the mix home for a listen.

Cheers,
Ian

TerryO · « **Reply #14 on:** 25 Mar 2009, 03:59 am »

VSAC (Valve State of the Art Conference) or a good DIY Meet. Either way, a real eye opener for many.

Best Regards,
TerryO

Russell Dawkins · « **Reply #15 on:** 25 Mar 2009, 04:22 am »

Listening to an excellent Blumlein (preferably made with ribbon microphones) recording on a very good system optimized by using the narrow mono phantom image method.

If you have a system with a mono selector or, failing that, (and even better) run the two speakers off one channel (quietly) and if a very narrow and coherent phantom image is not produced dead center, you have work to do.

It doesn't matter so much for regular "stereo", done with spaced microphones and/or panned mono spot mics, since the potential simply isn't there in the recording for so holographic an image.

For properly done Blumlein, though, the term "stereo" in the sense of "solid" (its derivation) finally resonates.

lord dubious · « **Reply #16 on:** 25 Mar 2009, 12:00 pm »

Hi All
I will never forget the time I first heard a single ended 211. It was like seeing the maker.

iGrant · « **Reply #17 on:** 25 Mar 2009, 12:06 pm »

Quote from: lord dubious on 25 Mar 2009, 12:00 pm

Hi All
I will never forget the time I first heard a single ended 211. It was like seeing the maker.

I had that experience about 2 weeks ago, agreed and that was with zero hours on the amps and tubes. Soon will try 845's in the same SET amps.

Cheers,
Ian

ricmon · « **Reply #18 on:** 26 Mar 2009, 08:47 pm »

Phase inversion done at the amps (not the preamp). Very magical indeed! Once you experience it you will never listen to amplified music any other way.

Russell Dawkins · « **Reply #19 on:** 26 Mar 2009, 09:43 pm »

Quote from: ricmon on 26 Mar 2009, 08:47 pm

Phase inversion done at the amps (not the preamp). Very magical indeed! Once you experience it you will never listen to amplified music any other way.

could you elaborate, ricmon?
Are you talking about polarity inversion, and if so, why does it make a difference where in the chain it's done?
And are you talking about inverting for all recordings - just inverting polarity and leaving it that way?