Experiencing a £100k sound system

I'm a Mc fiend, so this stuff is amazing to me! I have much much lower priced, new McIntosh components as of last month, paired with much less expensive Bowers speakers - so i can sort of get an idea... not!

 

What does this have to do with anything? Do you know how many studio control rooms and mastering studios are equipped with B&W 800 speakers to make the very recordings that we all listen to?

ShockControl stated: "How bizarre to listen to noise rock on a $100K system." and I queried him on it. All audio systems are designed to play music, so it is no more bizarre to listen to noise rock than classical, or jazz, or .... A good audio system handles all genres with aplomb, and I have no doubt that the system assembled for this demo would do just that.

What are you talking about? Ego? An audio system was needed for a public demonstration. How many public demos have you done in large rooms for 25, or so, listeners? I have done hundreds, including in spaces like Abbey Road Studio 2. When not using large active ATC monitors, I used B&W 801Ds with 600 W Pass amplifiers. The systems did the job! They had to be powerful and expensive by necessity. Ego didn't enter into the equation.

And for those talking about non-optimal, etc., you are completely missing the point of such a demonstration. I also used to raise the speakers a bit so that the tweeters were above seated ear height, which is absolutely necessary when you have several rows of seats, Fortunately, the response of the B&W tweeter a few degrees below the horizontal is still pretty good. Moreover, the speakers could have been tilted forward a bit -- hard to see from the OP's photo.

You are talking nonsense. The B&Ws and SME are considered reference level products. Whoever put the system together knew what they were doing!

In actual fact, that is what you will mostly see!

 

FWIW I had a long audition with a similar setup- same Mac preamp and big 1.3KW mono blocs. Driven by a Mac DAC and feeding TOTL Magico Speakers with subwoofers.
The clarity and realism was spectacular- and I truly mean this when I say this- a system like this is not for me.
The big mega system in a larger room was bigger and bolder and completely "obnoxious" and bombastic like you were at a concert. It demanded your full attention like it or not!
My "full time" system sounds just as good to me yet on a much smaller scale- more "cozy" and relaxing if I want it to be, yet it can also rock as hard as I care to.
There isn't much relaxing happening when you listen to a system like these.

 

You meant those big mega system are missing volume knob to turn down the volume?

 

After an event like this I would go hit a fashion show to see if there's any runway models I'm looking for.

 

Haha

 

Keep this thread going man! If I knew how I'd save it for posterity! A gem. I'll never have a L100K system but I'll always have threads like this one.

 

Gonna post some pics of Sonic Youth but Canada just went legal and I’m listeningto King Krule on a $500k system. Post on!

 

I feel we're starting a new thread it's interesting but I'm not that knowledgeable. My understanding is that our brain is doing a complex calculation of the relative frequencies and corrects it as close as possible to how we would perceive colour in daylight.

So in old 'anologue' film you had daylight stock which is blue balanced so the end result is close to what our brain 'gives' us and flash on a camera is not pure white but shifted to the blue spectrum.

Take a picture under tungsten light and even a digital camera struggles, the end result will have a cream tint, our brain can give us something closer to the frequencies in difficult lighting conditions.
Your brain subtracts the light falling off the object, revealing the true colour, so viewing the photo lets you see how the camera was less able than you to colour correct.

Then on top of that you've got relative adjustment, there a psychological 'trick' with coloured blocks when the colour of a block viewed alone is different than when all blocks are seen (my head aches now).

The dress meme was an example where the boundries of our abilities lie.

 

The OP is the cause of the caustic comments. This session was about the music album being played and not a high end equipment audition. Of course they try and loan a great system that will likely work in a big space in order to best present the music. So how did you enjoy the album OP? How about a review of the music? Unfortunately I've heard these mega systems before and gone home to a more modest set up. Put some (same if possible) music on and found it equally as satisfying. Didn't leave me wishing I had £100K to spend on hi-fi. Quite often the vinyl cut used is more important than the system. Garbage in - garbage out. This thread should have been titled 'Experiencing a great sounding record'.

 

Yes I understand all that. It is just a note that we do have different experiences whatever that reference might be.

 

The quality of the recording is fundamental to the experience, I can listen to my £50 ipod docking player and tell a recording is compressed.

I said previously that first impressions are informed by our system, so I believe listening to the mega system has to be over a long period and then if you go back to your system you'll be unhappy about your current sound. So unless you can afford to go there better not listen but if you do make it short, I did this when I had a Rega 3 and heard the LP12 at HI-FI shows and came home thinking I wouldn't buy a LP12 but then had a LP12 on loan (expensive mistake).

 

I agree - should have auditioned another high end TT. BTW I never rated the old Rega 3 (current model is a different matter). Linn Axis was better. My home system is a slightly higher level so even if I hear something expensive and better it is not that much better I get upgraditis. A mega system may or may not be that much better than lower high end / mid range depending on the listening environment.

 

I would say this is close to the apotheosis of this thread. The OP simply shared his equipment experience in the Audio Hardware forum. All that is required to bring this to a close would be a call for banning the poor bastard.

 

Ummm, no. The title of his post is exactly the reason he started it: to express his excitement at hearing a high end system. And he correctly posted it in the Hardware forum. I'm not surprised he hasn't been back in awhile.. he must be aghast at the derailing of it.

 

The OP went to an event that featured an expensive, high-powered system, enjoyed what he heard and reported on it. That is it, there is nothing to pick over and divine about the sound quality or the particular choice of gear. It was a big venue, so a "big" system was a practical choice. Would it have been realistic to choose a low-powered system that works in a big venue?

As to the reported sound quality, there is not much to go on here. If this is the OP's first listen to a really high end system, there is not much context for a judgment in sound quality so his reported reaction is kind of what one would expect. When Edison went around promoting his cylinder players, people were amazed because they never expected to hear music coming from a box; he even did live vs. recorded and there were some who could not tell the difference. A lot of it has to do with experience, expectation and a whole lot of other context. If the OP were to hear many more and varied high end systems, who knows what would be his ultimate preference.

I have heard a few really high end systems, and I appreciated systems that seem to be at opposite ends as far as power and fundamental approach. Most of the systems I like are large, horn-based and use low-powered tube amps. But, one of the best systems I heard used three of Wilson's top speaker for the front channels and two cheaper Wilson speakers (still giants) for the rear channels. I would never argue that such systems must be this or must be that.

What most of these big systems, whatever the approach, can deliver is a sense of scale--you are aware that the source of the sound is substantial and not being squeezed out of a small box. The sound is not necessarily loud, but it is large. A lot of the modern, high-powered systems deliver this "large" sound with a lot of kick and and a sharp edge to the attack of a note that is kind of exciting. For my taste, I like the big systems that deliver sound that is more relaxed and not as edgy. With good horn systems, that does not mean that the sound is lacking in detail or is soggy, it is just the opposite, the sound has clarity and liveliness, particularly at lower volume levels, but it remains more naturally relaxed--it's as if the system is coasting and doing little work.

 

Yes but that is a correction for the limitations of the medium and the brain's adaptive process, while efficient, is not instantaneous. In a side-by-side comparison, the differences are clear and that is because we can compare the reproduced with the original. (It would have been difficult with film processes but digital photography makes it feasible.)
None of this applies directly to sound with which simultaneous comparisons are impossible and A/B comparisons have other issues.

 

Having a great recording is a good start.

However, having a good/great system is equally important.

With my old system, I can't stand many recordings. I wonder why my friend raved about those recordings.

With my current system, same recordings I can't stand before are now sounding great.

 

This is probably annoying others but what the hell, for all real life situations it's instantaneous and the issue is neither we or picture are representing the true frequency of the light so we're both 'wrong'.

It could well be that given our brains seem to be wired for music that we do internal 'corrections' of the cues our HI-FI gives us to perceive the music but I don't think that get us anywhere when talking about the relative merits of different systems.

 

Other than the OP, who else on this forum was there?

If you weren't there, and you've never attended an event in that room, and most likely have never heard of the venue until this thread, then comments about the room and how the equipment sounded in it are uneducated and useless.

The OP was excited about hearing an album he loved, in a cool venue, with some great gear, and the artist present to discuss the album. He posted a pic of the costs, probably because if he is anything like me he won't ever dream of buying gear that expensive, and it's damn impressive. Who cares what anyone's thoughts on the costs are.. seriously? He never said anything about it being the best room ever, or the best system ever. He simply said it was expensive (It was) and he liked it. GASP!!!

All this negativity towards the room, the equipment, etc is chasing people away from the hobby. He had a great experience that you didn't have. Show some class, ask some questions maybe, but for the love of god get off your high horses. If all you can do is pick a post apart, move on to a post where someone is actually asking for your opinion.

The OP hasn't commented again, so mission accomplished I guess. Another successful day at the office dragging an excited guy down.

 

The cause of the caustic comments is the inherent sadness of the people making them. Period.

 

Including yours?

 

More, More, More, More!

 

People hate being told truth and getting called out for being miserable. Be better.

 

No! Be BEST!