08-05-2020, 09:37 PM
Already done, I'm afraid.
There's no shortage of valve amplifiers with terrible specifications and absolutely massive price tags. And to go with these low-powered amplifiers, there's no shortage of high-efficiency loudspeakers that also have terrible specifications and absolutely massive price tags. Some people seem to like them; I find them to be universally horrible. But then, knowing what real instruments and voices sound like is a large part of my job.
For obvious reasons it didn't happen this year, but normally I go to the Munich hi-end hi-fi show each year. This show is pretty much the largest event in the hi-fi calender, and virtually all manufacturers are there. I make a point of visiting as many of these "wacky" systems as possible, hoping that one day I'll see what all the fuss is about, but to be honest, it's just a form of torture.
As I say, in the recording studio or on the stage, throw in as much of your preferred distortion as you like - it's part of the creative process. If you want to do that to an existing recording in the privacy of your own home, that's your choice, but it isn't what the artist intended. Knowing a fair bit about how recordings are made, I prefer to listen as accurately as possible, mostly out of respect to all those concerned in its the creation.
What some might not realise is just how much the hi-fi industry plays on insecurity to sell products. It's all about the next upgrade, be it new kit or new accessories like interconnects or damping pebbles or pylons for your speaker cables (I'm not kidding!). It doesn't matter what your system is, recordings quality varies. But there is something you can spend your money on to improve matters - that is what these people believe; that is the myth that is propagated by the hi-fi press, internet "experts", dealers and manufacturers. The result is a constant life of insecurity and (hopefully) spending. The whole thing is seriously quite worrying - like any hobby, there are those that take all this to extremes, and it's simply staggering to look at how much they spend on it. Their choice, but there's got to be better uses for that money.
The answer is simple: to accept that not all recordings are perfect, and to enjoy them for what they are - after all, they would have been produced with a target demographic (and hence assumptions about replay equipment and surroundings), which is why Nirvana will never sound good, whatever the system - but that doesn't matter if you love the music.
A good hi-fi should add nothing to a recording - it should just deliver what is present. A "wacky" setup using valve amplifiers and horn loudspeakers will add lots of colour and excitement, and that will work well with certain recordings (but make others worse, unfortunately). But you can't change the nature of the added colour and excitement without changing the equipment. It's like having a particular filter permanently enabled on your camera, with no option to choose another or turn it off.
Once you know that your system is very accurate, you know that any problems with the sound is nothing to do with your gear and everything to do with the recording. That's very liberating - it removes all the worry and allows you to just concentrate on the music. And when you play a really well produced recording, it will sound amazing. That doesn't happen with the "wacky" system - all recordings send to sound pretty similar as they've had the same "filter" applied. A good hi-fi allows you to listen right into the production techniques in a really forensic way - such details are obscured by systems with large amounts of distortion. Worse, it's possible to mistake some sorts of distortion for added detail!
In short, I use solid-state amplification and monitor-class loudspeakers, and mostly listen to CD. It's not what everyone wants, but having heard an extremely wide range of systems, I've heard nothing to tempt me away...
There's no shortage of valve amplifiers with terrible specifications and absolutely massive price tags. And to go with these low-powered amplifiers, there's no shortage of high-efficiency loudspeakers that also have terrible specifications and absolutely massive price tags. Some people seem to like them; I find them to be universally horrible. But then, knowing what real instruments and voices sound like is a large part of my job.
For obvious reasons it didn't happen this year, but normally I go to the Munich hi-end hi-fi show each year. This show is pretty much the largest event in the hi-fi calender, and virtually all manufacturers are there. I make a point of visiting as many of these "wacky" systems as possible, hoping that one day I'll see what all the fuss is about, but to be honest, it's just a form of torture.
As I say, in the recording studio or on the stage, throw in as much of your preferred distortion as you like - it's part of the creative process. If you want to do that to an existing recording in the privacy of your own home, that's your choice, but it isn't what the artist intended. Knowing a fair bit about how recordings are made, I prefer to listen as accurately as possible, mostly out of respect to all those concerned in its the creation.
What some might not realise is just how much the hi-fi industry plays on insecurity to sell products. It's all about the next upgrade, be it new kit or new accessories like interconnects or damping pebbles or pylons for your speaker cables (I'm not kidding!). It doesn't matter what your system is, recordings quality varies. But there is something you can spend your money on to improve matters - that is what these people believe; that is the myth that is propagated by the hi-fi press, internet "experts", dealers and manufacturers. The result is a constant life of insecurity and (hopefully) spending. The whole thing is seriously quite worrying - like any hobby, there are those that take all this to extremes, and it's simply staggering to look at how much they spend on it. Their choice, but there's got to be better uses for that money.
The answer is simple: to accept that not all recordings are perfect, and to enjoy them for what they are - after all, they would have been produced with a target demographic (and hence assumptions about replay equipment and surroundings), which is why Nirvana will never sound good, whatever the system - but that doesn't matter if you love the music.
A good hi-fi should add nothing to a recording - it should just deliver what is present. A "wacky" setup using valve amplifiers and horn loudspeakers will add lots of colour and excitement, and that will work well with certain recordings (but make others worse, unfortunately). But you can't change the nature of the added colour and excitement without changing the equipment. It's like having a particular filter permanently enabled on your camera, with no option to choose another or turn it off.
Once you know that your system is very accurate, you know that any problems with the sound is nothing to do with your gear and everything to do with the recording. That's very liberating - it removes all the worry and allows you to just concentrate on the music. And when you play a really well produced recording, it will sound amazing. That doesn't happen with the "wacky" system - all recordings send to sound pretty similar as they've had the same "filter" applied. A good hi-fi allows you to listen right into the production techniques in a really forensic way - such details are obscured by systems with large amounts of distortion. Worse, it's possible to mistake some sorts of distortion for added detail!
In short, I use solid-state amplification and monitor-class loudspeakers, and mostly listen to CD. It's not what everyone wants, but having heard an extremely wide range of systems, I've heard nothing to tempt me away...
