beck wrote: ↑2021-06-12 06:18
FairPlayMotty wrote: ↑
Charlie1 wrote: ↑
Analogue recordings on Lo-Fi AM radio or tape can communicate the music really well.
I agree Charlie1. It's part of why I reject the notion that great audio allows effortless understanding of the music. If that was true do away with music degrees, give kids great audio and let "effortless" musical knowledge happen by osmosis. Learning little of worth in life happens effortlessly.
Beato's YouTube video on Amelia by Joni Mitchell explains in detail (sufficient to delight Joni Mitchell) what's happening on the track. You don't get that understanding by listening to high end audio alone. Deep understanding is rarely, if ever, effortless.
To me it has nothing to do with learning or music degrees. It has nothing to do with details understood (and I am a music teacher!).
Great audio does allow effortless understanding of the music. It allows us to understand the human nature of music.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1tpujpvjg0fxy ... 9.mov?dl=0
When I listen to this piece of music I am instantly drawn into a world of human experience and emotion.
This is what I want to happen when listening to music and I want it (at best) to happen effortlessly.
I totally agree beck. I also agree with charlie1’s suggestion that AM radio can sound great (Julian V said that he thought AM sounded better than FM but didn’t make an AM radio because he thought no one would buy it!).
For me, sounding effortless is a great indication of a systems intrinsic musical quality. It’s what we experience when we enter a bar and hear a musician playing in the back room. We may not be able to understand every detail, but the vibrations connect directly with our subconscious. It’s the same with an LP12. Walk into a shop and the sound coming from the dem room is instantly recognisable. We may not be able to hear the details, or even recognise the tune, but our brain is instantly tickled pink! Absolutely no effort is required on our part.
This effortless response to music is something I listen for, and attempt to engineer into my system. I’ll leave the system playing, then close the door and go about my housewifely duties, occasionally popping back to listen through the closed door. Do I get an instant connection with the music, or does it take a while to “latch on”? For me, the faster the connection, the better the system.
This is why I agree with both you and charlie1’s “low fi” suggestion. It’s all about how the system maintains harmonic cohesion, and not “HiFi” presentation.