[Audio Empire]

On Tue, 15 Feb 2011 05:31:34 -0800, Arny Krueger wrote
(in article ):

"Harry Lavo" wrote in message

"Scott" wrote in message
...

snip, irrelevant to what follows


Certain elements do the trick. We do have experience
with human voices, drum kits, acoustic guitars, painos
etc. We can judge the quality of those elements aginst
our experience with live music. Heck just listen to the
barrage of clocks going off at the begining of the track
called Time on Darkside of the Moon. Sounds pretty real.


Actually, I've heard the clocks sound very real (my
grandparents had a house full of wind-ups...I've head at
least eight of various sizes go off at once) to sounding
very unreal. Using the SACD version. And the
culprit....the preamp. Audio Research SP6B vs. Onkyo
P301. So much for big-box store electronics.

I own a weight-driven grandfather clock with chime movement, so I know
exactly what one sounds like. I can move it in my listening room and listen
to it chime, if I want the true live experience.

Getting the DSOTM clock to sound like it is entirely possible with the CD
version, mid-fi electronics and speakers that are well-configured for the
room.

The DSOTM recording was miced incredibly close, so any claims that
close-micing bodes poorly for fidelity is brought into question by the high
end audiophile comments on this thread.



Well, close miking is one of those "horses for courses" questions. In some
music it works, in some it doesn't. For rock, I would suspect that it's de
riguer. For small, intimate jazz ensembles, it also works. For classical
string quartets and symphony orchestras, solo acoustic guitar, solo piano,
etc. it does not work and anybody who uses it in situations where it does
not work is incompetent (and there is a lot of that around. If I had a dollar
for every solo guitar recording I've heard where the guitar is 7 feet wide, I
be a richer man now). For some music you mike the musicians, for other music
you mike the space the musicians occupy. The skill is in knowing which
technique to use in which instance.

Anybody who thinks that a dozen violins, each close-miked and mixed together
in a mixer, sounds ANYTHING like a real string section is crazy. String sound
in an orchestra is designed to mix in the air, naturally, you can't do it
electronically and if you try, you will fail and what you will get is 12
separate violins. Also, close miking robs any recording of any semblance of
a natural soundstage. Grossly multi-miked/multi-channel orchestral recordings
(such as those done in the 1970s) where each instrument is pan-potted into
place, sounds like the orchestra is lined-up across the stage in a straight
line. Such a recording has no depth and no height to the image and doesn't
even sound like an orchestra.

There is a story told about British composer Ralph Vaughn-Williams. Decca had
just recorded one of his 9 symphonies (I forget which) and he was listening
to the playback. Suddenly he jumps out of his seat and yells "Stop the
playback!" "What's wrong" asks the record's producer. "I hear the tuba."
replies the great man. "Oh, is that all. Yes, it comes through nicely. We
gave your tuba it's own microphone because it wasn't coming through on the
recording ."

"That's nice." Retorts Vaughn-Williams. "The tuba part is there so that the
horns can hear the bass line while they play. It plays softly because It's
NOT SUPPOSED to be heard by the audience!"

So much for multi-miking.