Quote "Lon" - "Good suggestions below about posting reviews on Audio Circle, etc. I'm "internetted" out, I need to spend less time online not more, and I'm also more and more turned off by the idea of "reviewing" amps etc, it's all so subjective, and I find cliche's like "the musicians are in the room" etc. so very wearying and not really "telling." But for those who know how to translate these I guess the process can be helpful. "
Hi Lon,
It's good to see that you are still contributing to the forum and "fighting the good fight". It's a shame that more folks are unaware that there is something much better than the often expensive mass produced and "name recognition" audio gear .....
I guess I'm guilty of being one of the worst "offenders" in the "musicians in the room" club .....
As you suggest, the phrase may be overused, but sometimes helpful to those who feel that they can translate the term correctly ..... but it goes a bit deeper with me.
When I say that an audio system puts the performers in the room, it has to be something pretty special. From my experience, this effect usually happens with very high quality recordings ..... more often than not of very sparse recordings with a minimum number of instruments and voices. It seems that the vocals have the ability to be "in the room" much more often than the instruments. I am a huge fan of female voice, and when the vocalist is so palpable and three dimensional that I get the feeling that she is singing to me personally I have no problem describing that sensation as being "in the room". Admittedly, these recordings are not the norm ..... but I have a good number of them in my collection that qualify.
But, the recording is only part of what is needed .....
I have heard more audio gear and systems than I care to think about over the years. Some of the systems were very good ..... some not so good. Of all the systems that I have heard, I have honestly only heard a very few that would qualify as having the ability to pull off this effect.
One such system was at a DecFest at Steve's old place. A single Zen Select was driving a pair of Parker Audio Crusaders and a pair of SO Imperial subs in parallel. The effect was incredible and made the jaws of several seasoned music lovers drop to the ground.
Another system was at the HornFest a few years ago with a pair of The Horns being driven by a $30,000.00 GM-70 based amplifier designed and built by Jim Dowdy (the Dowdy Lama). I have been to live events that were not nearly as captivating and everyone in attendance was stunned.
Two other systems that pull this off on a regular basis are the system I have at home and a very similar system at Parker Audio Dave's home. Both of these systems have very similar and superb front ends, high resolution loudspeakers and custom built DH-SET amplification.
It should be noted that all of the systems mentioned above feature loudspeakers with either no crossover components or very, very simple ones consisting of a single capacitor between the mid-bass driver and high quality "tweeter", either a ribbon or a Heil Air Motion Transformer. It's only my opinion (for what it's worth), but I have never heard a more complex speaker that could get me close enough to the music to put the vocalist "in the room".
I am fully aware that the bridge between live and recorded music can never be fully crossed ..... but the systems mentioned above have the ability to get me close enough to the music that I become lost in the performance. As to whether the performers are in my room or I am in the recorded space with them can be debated ..... but either way, it's a good place to be .....
Stay well and happy listening,
Randy
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