Ever heard speakers which sound like live music?
Hello dear forumers, I have just got some speakers custom made (will post a review soon but in short they are great) which got me fooled into thinking I was listening to live music. Now I know we all love our hi-fis but I'll be honest my Mezzo's never sounded real by any measure although they are great speakers. This led me to think, have you ever heard speakers which made you feel like you were listening to live music? Are you using that experience to build your setup towards that or are you pursuing a more studio type perfect sound? I mean I have heard clinical and I have heard live and they are very different things, so what do you prefer?
A speaker that I've heard that sounds real are the Avantgarde Unos, they were playing in a high end dealers separate high end room (which I presume is separate to keep away the rif raf much like myself). I barged in, I had to meet the woman with such a beautiful voice, turned out it was the speakers playing vinyl from an outlandish turntable. That memory stuck with me ever since and I've been slowly pursuing it. The beauty of the sound was that I couldn't describe it, it wasn't bright, wasn't warm, it was music and how do you quantify music in those terms?
These speakers remind me of those Avantgardes everyday...its a similar listening experience and I'm glad to say I won't be upgrading my speakers anytime soon.
Please share your experience, what have you heard that you really thought sounded live and how did that influence your setup?
Looking forward to reading your thoughts as always,
Shafin
my Magnepans. but they are only entry level speaker. I believe there's even more to be had with more sophisticated designs; namely those using long true ribbon from Magnepans or others. since others are waaay too expensive to me (Analysis Audio) or out-of-business for a long time (Apogee) I think my next stop up the ladder will be a Magnepan of 3 series; most likely a 3.7 one day?
The closest I ever heard was a Naim DBL set-up (with A LOT of Naim amps powering them) at a hi-fi show many moons ago.
I don't think music ever sounds 'live' through speakers alone. Most amps deliver whats on a source so 'perfect' or as the engineer mixed it is the best/worst you will get, clarity and seperation is not something one really hears when dealing with live music, it comes to you as a whole, room reflections aswell.
Saying that running jazz through one of the DSP 's on my AV amp works for me when I'm in the mood for some 'live'music. ran as normal its more unnatural. Its like vocalist on my set up 'a giant head in the middle of the room singing to me personally' is how I'd discribe the sound I get - a most un natural sound....compared to having someone singing to me live.
Focal Maestro Utopia; Kef Muon & 207/2s; Linn Active Klimax 350As and (surprisingly) Audio Note AN-E/lx.......takes a great source and amp though.
Hi Shafin
For me ATC's SCM150ASL Professional monitors and C6 - SCM0.1/15 active sub 
http://www.atcloudspeakers.co.uk/scm150aslpro.php
http://www.atcloudspeakers.co.uk/scm0.1_15.php
All the best
Rick @ Musicraft
Musicraft (Derby), Specialist Hi-Fi/AV & Multimedia Dealer
good accurate audio monitoring and good sound reproduction to all
I agree ian dury's live version of sink my boats is a lot better than the album version, is this what were talking about.
Speakers that can sound real are usually held back by the quality of the music being played on them. The toughest test to see if a speaker is capable of sounding real is to listen to a recording of some spoken words. This test may sound simple enough but you'd be suprised to find that most speakers don't quite sound 100% convincing when listening to spoken words.
My Neutrons are better than most and have suprised me by how realistic they can sound at times but usually they don't quite manage to sound totally real. The most realistic sounding speakers that I've ever heard were probably some big two way Quested monitors.
Many years ago I thought there was a band in the basement section of a retailer in Chester, turns out it was an LP12 / Naim / Isobarik system at full chat. I have never heard a drum kit sound quite so realistic since.
have you ever heard speakers which made you feel like you were listening to live music?
No, and it will never happen.
Currently listening to: Megafaun's entire catalogue
This is a strange question, what do you mean by live music. With the exception of a busker playing an acoustic guitar pretty much every live act I have ever seen has been amplified and played through a pa? So surely the only speaker that sounds like live music is the one the artist is using?
Also, what does recorded live music sound like. Does your CD sound anything like what it sounded like at the mixing desk? I imagine it sounds nothing like what it would have sounded like if you were standing in the studio...
I assume that shafesk is referring to live music played using acoustic instruments without any speakers to amplify the sound.
I assumed it was a comparison between any live instrument, electrical or not. An electric guitar isn't much of an instrument without an amp, so a valid comparison between a guitar + amp in your room vs on your hi fi system. That seems reasonable to me. Whether the recording production aims to record an instrument naturally or manipulate it during the mix down process is of course another issue, many recording are obviously processed or manipulated with artifical effects (reverb, stereo soundstage position, multitracking etc)
Hello dear forumers, I have just got some speakers custom made (will post a review soon but in short they are great) which got me fooled into thinking I was listening to live music. Now I know we all love our hi-fis but I'll be honest my Mezzo's never sounded real by any measure although they are great speakers. This led me to think, have you ever heard speakers which made you feel like you were listening to live music? Are you using that experience to build your setup towards that or are you pursuing a more studio type perfect sound? I mean I have heard clinical and I have heard live and they are very different things, so what do you prefer?
A speaker that I've heard that sounds real are the Avantgarde Unos, they were playing in a high end dealers separate high end room (which I presume is separate to keep away the rif raf much like myself). I barged in, I had to meet the woman with such a beautiful voice, turned out it was the speakers playing vinyl from an outlandish turntable. That memory stuck with me ever since and I've been slowly pursuing it. The beauty of the sound was that I couldn't describe it, it wasn't bright, wasn't warm, it was music and how do you quantify music in those terms?
These speakers remind me of those Avantgardes everyday...its a similar listening experience and I'm glad to say I won't be upgrading my speakers anytime soon.
Please share your experience, what have you heard that you really thought sounded live and how did that influence your setup?
Looking forward to reading your thoughts as always,
Shafin
Yes, that have happened to me once or twice and i've already posted in this forum.
It was the Shahinian ARC, was connected to a Well Tempered Lab "Amadeus" Model, the pre-amplifier i dont remember, but the power amps it was two mono from Rega...
All together sounded like a live performance of the jazz band that was playing.
Nop. I usually see live bands or single performers once or twice a week and I dont think I'd like to have that in my living room to chill out to! - I also have no draught beer or good looking women I dont yet know at home so the illusion would never be real.
regards
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Lots that have come very close, but the ones that fooled me best were the Spendor A9.
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