Mind Stretchers
On Tue, 24 Jul 2012 11:36:54 -0700, ScottW wrote
(in article ):
Sniped for clarity and brevity
That's why the idea of a recording being successful or not is largely a
matter of taste. For instance, lots of people praised Telarc recordings while
I thought that they were mostly mediocre at best. Oh, they sounded good, but
they didn't give a very good illusion of a large orchestra playing in a real
space. I put that down to the microphones they used and how they used them. I
simply wouldn't have done them like that. Others may feel differently. Heck,
I know people that think Columbia and RCA recordings of the late '60's and
'70's where there was almost one mike per instrument and one channel per mike
are great. I think they sound like 100 different instruments, lined up in a
straight line between the speakers from right to left with almost no feeling
of an ensemble playing.
Maybe if you played them on Gary's reflected sound system they'd be
sufficiently blended into an ensemble.
Somehow I don't think so (I know you're being facetious - so am I).
The whole issue of optimal radiation pattern for a speaker is largely
dependent upon the recording technique used. Linkwitz recommends live
recordings of the type I suspect you prefer for his Orions and I tend
to agree.
I heard the Orions (and spoke at length to Mr. Linkwitz) at the Burning Amp
show a year or so ago. I was impressed with the speakers - at least in the
room where they were playing.
For close mic'd pan-potted recordings on vinyl, I still prefer my old
63's as not being near so critical.
I really don't have any experience with Quad '63's, so I cannot comment. But
I do have a pair of M-L Vistas which are also electrostatics, and I find that
close-miked, pan potted orchestral music still sounds lousy on them. OTOH,
this type of non-stereo recording process seems to be the preferred method
for small jazz ensembles and most pop music. I don't listen to pop much, but
I do listen to a lot of jazz, and I must say that a jazz quintet, close miked
and pan potted into three-channel mono doesn't sound all that bad, so I
accept it. I even sort of record jazz that way except that I still use a
stereo mike overall.
Speaking of...one of my 63's won't play without disconnecting the arc
detector antennae yet I can't detect the source of the problem. No
visible arcing in darkness and no audible issues with the antennae
disconnected. Anyone know of a good Quad tech in So Cal?
Sorry, Scott, can't help you with that.
ScottW
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