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View Full Version : Re: Time to retire the SDR24/96


May 1st 11, 06:09 PM
On 2011-05-01 said:
<big snip>
>Consider this: I've heard Yo Yo Ma and Isaac Stern in a 3,000 seat
>venue in Portland, Oregon; Leontyne Price at Symphony Hall in
>Boston (probably also a 3000
>seat house), and several other top solo/duo/trio players in
>similar-sized venues.
>These were absolutely spell-binding performances that I'll remember
>vividly for the
>rest of my life. No PA.
<snip>

>But midway back in the halls, peaks probably hit 80-84 dB for Ms.
>Price; 75-78 for
>Mr. Stern. A side point here is that IMO people have simply been
>overly conditioned
>to hearing everything going through transducers and electronics
>when they don't need
>to be -- and the sense of what true acoustic music can be has
>been/is getting lost.


WOuld agree, and also would note that for that classical
performance, the audience sat, and actually "listened" to
the performance. At the popular music event, often the
folks will be coming to and fro with cold beers and other
refreshments, etc. etc.

THese folks at classical and many jazz venues will sit
quietly listening, applaud and make noise when appropriate,
etc.

>One side note about that 3000 seat hall in Portland. I also heard
>Nickel Creek in
>that house. Sonically passible but still annoying PA sound for most
>of the show,
>but in the 3rd encore, Chris Thile asked that the PA be shut down,
>and invited the
>remaining audience (probably 500-700 of us) to come down toward the
>stage.
>I got a little a little closer, but not much. Again, spell-binding;
>it was jaw dropping to hear those players with those instruments.
>There was no "PA veil" to
>bleed off some of the magic.
>You can argue that good performances transcend all, but that's
>perhaps saying that
>good performances transcend bad PA vs. good PA.
>But *removing* PA entirely takes you to a whole new place with
>players of this level.

INdeed, and the folks there who endeavored to moe a bit
closer and actually pay attention when they learned the
group asked for the pa to be killed actually did just that
then.

Culturally people are just growing more accustomed to the
din and hubbub. tHeir phones vibrate buzz and play tunes,
etc. THe band played one or two tunes during that no pa
encore, so maybe folks ignored the vibrating phone etc.


But, I"m with you and Scott D. on this one.

Regards,





Richard webb,

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