Stereophile doubles down on the snake oil!

[WisEd]

What's your point?
What you don't do, many others are.
I got a big clue for ya, even with classical music what the listener hears is determined by the recording engineer.
Except for a tiny minority, the soundstage is a creation of the mixing desk and his knob twisting. 2 mike perfectionist recordings for anything
bigger than a 4 piece jazz band are almost non- existent. So where the musician is in the recording is solely up to the mixer.
And if you believe there are no classical in-the-round recordings ask @Kal Rubinson , or check out some 2L or AIX recordings.

The only engineer in that venue, Saint Marten in the Fields, is guy with a box of replacement strings!

 

[Sal1950]

Even here! with 100 other people! The band and the sound system are in front! Not on the side not above, not behind any of the attendees!

There's just no hope for you.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

And whatever acoustics the venue may may have are perceived with just 2 ears!

Not really. What you perceive is misdirected as well as colored by the local acoustics.

There's just no hope for you.

Amen.

 

[WisEd]

The only engineer in that venue, Saint Marten in the Fields, is guy with a box of replacement strings!

The point is quite obvious! Multi-channel music is an oximoron! All actual peformances are in front of you! Same is true of all studio arrangements! No engineer sits in a console and says "I think we need a little more bass guitar" from the ceiling channel behind and above the listening area! No music is ever played or produced in that manner! Its simply a new fangled way of portrayng reverb and delay! It sounds just as fake as the old AVR's with 20 different digitized "surround programs" that no one ever used!

 

[SIY]

All actual peformances are in front of you!

I haven't ever been to a concert in an anechoic chamber. I guess venues are different here than there.

 

[WisEd]

I haven't ever been to a concert in an anechoic chamber. I guess venues are different here than there.

Thats entirely not the point.

 

[SIY]

Thats entirely not the point.

Well, at least you used fewer exclamation points this time. So, progress.

 

[NTK]

The band may be in the front, the sound sources seem not. Not to say that this type of sound field is what I want to recreate in my room. But here is live sound.

 

[WisEd]

Thats entirely not the point.

Again I have yet to see a recording that is a pastiche of 20 microphones all around and above you that can be stitched into prfect representation of MUSIC that you would actually hear anywhere!

 

[WisEd]

The band may be in the front, the sound sources seem not. Not to say that this type of sound field is what I want to recreate in my room. But here is live sound.

Perfect example! Do you see any performers in the stands or spectators behind the stage? all those surrounding PA radiators are there in an attempt for the sound to sound similar to the people in the arena not at home! The live recording is miked directly from the microphones passed through a console and mixed to stereo! Any recording from the actual sound field in the venue sounds like crap!

 

[WisEd]

BTW I was wrong that venue does have instruments in the rear! But I dont't think . x channels inthe the ceiling can quite capture their range!

 

[WisEd]

BTW I was wrong that venue does have instruments in the rear! But I dont't think . x channels inthe the ceiling can quite capture their range!

Oops I forgot the pic! Real surround sound.

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

 

[WisEd]

The pos and clicks drive me nuts!

 

[WisEd]

The pos and clicks drive me nuts!

I Think Getz would sound a lot better in surround

 

[mcdn]

Oh please enlighte us of all the concerts you have attended to where the musicians are behind you, or above you. As far as I know, performances are arranges so you can see them! And whatever acoustics the venue may may have are perceived with just 2 ears!

Kate Bush at the Hammersmith Odeon had a helicopter descending from the circle to the stalls. Not to mention the full size tree falling through a grand piano later.

 

[WisEd]

Kate Bush at the Hammersmith Odeon had a helicopter descending from the circle to the stalls. Not to mention the full size tree falling through a grand piano later.

And some politicians are occasionally honest too!

 

[gzost]

Oh please enlighte us of all the concerts you have attended to where the musicians are behind you, or above you. As far as I know, performances are arranges so you can see them! And whatever acoustics the venue may may have are perceived with just 2 ears!

Mahler 8th symphony, Gewandhaus Dresden, 2023, second row. The choirs were up in the stalls behind the stage, and for the finale there were some brass players off to the sides and behind me.

 

[BeeKay]

Kate Bush at the Hammersmith Odeon

The name alone makes me cringe. That voice will remain unbearable to me. Would stop the hobby immediately if I had to listen such stuff twice a year.

 

[Arindal]

Multi-channel music is an oximoron! All actual peformances are in front of you!

Not true for all genres. Before the classical period, a lot of compositions required ´multi-channel´ performances, particularly Baroque and Renaissance sacred music.

With reinforced concerts nowadays, that might be an exception, but maybe rather because it is expensive and complicated to have a multichannel-PA. Bands like Pink Floyd and Kraftwerk were using such, and not without good reason. A growing number of albums are mixed in multichannel since Atmos became the way to distribute it on the streaming platforms.

 

[RichJT]

When I bought my first real system in Korea in 2008, I spent just under 1 million Korean won (about $730 USD). It consisted of an ex display Rotel integrated amp, some Polk floorstanders which were end of line for sale on Ebay.

I was already playing everything from my computer (CDs, audio files, some streaming) so the guy who was selling me the Rotel said, “You need a good DAC and speaker cables” and showed me what he recommended. Price for the DAC? 80000 KRW ($58 USD). The 6 metres of cable? 100000 KRW ($65 USD) with banana plugs. I remember him saying, “This is great cable so will last you ages”. Well, he was right as I’m still using it although I have changed my amp twice and my speakers once. Times have certainly changed. Bet he couldn’t work in a store like that now…