Music vs. Equipment (Poll)

i was just being snarky ...

 

I’m not so much interested in the actual review as such but more in becoming aware of recordings I have previously been totally unaware of. If it looks like something I might potentially really like I’ll take the trouble to check it out.

The only loss is a bit of time compared to the gain of discovering something I might truly love.

 

The human brain can recognize and interpret music in its lowest LOWEST resolution. With that information, our brain can transform that "transistor radio" performance into sitting at Boston's Symphony Hall, simply through memory and imagination.

Try it: Sing or replay a song you know really well in your head. It sounds pretty damn good, right?

But bad music... that's just bad music, even on a dream system. Your imagination can't do a whole lot with that.

 

It would be a horribly divisive subject around here so please let’s not pursue it but I wonder what the heck would be the definition of “bad” music in this particular case?

 

That is perfectly true. A good example is in the visual system. We all have a blind spot where the optic nerve exits the eye but we are unaware of it because our brain fills it in. In the auditory system the case of the missing fundamental springs to mind where we perceive a fundamental frequency even if only presented with the harmonics of that frequency.

 

Does this have anything to do with beer goggles ?

 

Why Beer Goggles Work

 

I was 11-12 when I had a paper route delivering the long defunct Herald-Examiner in WLA. The first thing I remember buying was a fairly large (4"x6"ish) transistor radio that I attached to my handlebars so I could listed to music as I delivered my papers or riding my bike to the beach. That radio was one of those childhood things I wish I'd kept for posterity. I can picture it in my mind but couldn't tell you the brand. But man, having music on the go back in '62-63 was pretty damn cool.

 

You know what a telegraph is, don’t you?

 

I guess when I wrote that I was thinking about whatever music was unappealing "to me", and by extension, any one of us as the listener, based on our own criteria.

I'm a longtime jazz musician (guitar) and have recorded my work for years in my home studio. "Bad" music for me would be poor musicianship, composition, tracking, mixing, mastering; or really just a banal musical idea poorly executed.

For me, the idiom matters far less than the quality of the "music" from a creator point of view. How clever and complementary was the composition, the rhythm, the harmony, and the melody. How tight is the performance, how expert is the mixing and mastering (which is more craft than science)? Was the song sincere, was there a message that transcends the notes?

I guess for me it's about the creativity, the performance, and the technical/artistic production.

However, there is no absolute truth to any of this -- it's all in the ears of the beholder but I think all of us have a line where what we're listening to grates against our sensibilities enough that we just turn it off.

 

Don't forget about the semaphore!

 

I was reading some smoke when a huge gust of wind came up…..

 

Yeah life was hard back in the days...

 

But, the sound quality and imaging of the smoke was stunning... it kills vinyl if you ask me.

 

What kind of cables are you using with those seashells?

 

I prefer magnetic wire recordings.
Has a nicely thin and metallic sound to it.

 

It would really depend on the seashell’s circuit topology. I’m extremely fond of class ‘A’ shells specially on Jazz reproduction. They don’t sound great on Hoedown stuff and take a pass on yodelling as its really wicked.

 

Kelp Systems, but I depends on what she’ll you’re going to pair it with…

 

Agree, seashells fall into 3 main categories for me, your basic half shell, your conch and your nautilus. I go by Huber’s rule which exponentially adds half shells for linear increases in conchs or nautili.

 

Does the world need another horribly compressed, middle of the road sounding QOTSA or Metallica review?

 

No.

 

The premise seem like a wash to me. Fortunately, we don't have to make that choice in real life.
We can choose great music regardless of out playback system.

 

its rounding 78.26% up to 79%

 

Yesterday, the two choices totaled something like 101.5%. Maybe a couple of people voted for both choices, as it looks like you can do that in this poll.

 

I think the poll options are quite limited as both choices would not work for me. Either choice is not going to be very enjoyable IMO.