Dark Energy
pfm Member
The best you can afford, but be guided by WH (?) or JW (?)
I think this is where hi-fi went all wrong in the 70s and 80s; it became too much about tonal balance and soundstage, and dynamics suffered as a result. If you listen to a old acoustic gramophone, you get a dynamic, direct sound, and the music sounds 'real' as a result, even if if it's not that accurate.
What Decca cartridges and Tannoy speakers and the like seem to do, is to remind us just how important dynamics are.
Agreed. Dynamics are the most important requirement for a realistic sound.
And what physical property of the audio signal do dynamics correspond to?
Easy to tell from a waveform where the peaks are, how many db above the median etc. Far less easy to measure loss of same in a domestic setting as none of the simplistic measurements used by audiophiles or released by manufacturers cover it, yet even a cursory listen to a huge pair of Altec, Tannoy, JBL or similar monitors indicate how most speakers struggle to convey that utter ease and freedom one hears with live acoustic music due to lack of headroom, air-moving capabilities etc.
Do you have any suggestions for a recording of a drum kit that could sound realistic given a replay system capable of suitable dynamics?On the other hand you could just listen to a drum kit and see how realistic it sounds.
Indeed, no problem measuring the dynamics of the actual signal. Lots of standards for that. But somehow there has to be a measurable change to the signal between the source and our ears where the reduction in dynamics happens. One source of loss is of course compression of peaks due to saturation/clipping in the amp or speakers, but if that was all there is, we would all have 2 kW amplifiers
Do you have any suggestions for a recording of a drum kit that could sound realistic given a replay system capable of suitable dynamics?
Do you have any suggestions for a recording of a drum kit that could sound realistic given a replay system capable of suitable dynamics?
Paul
The old audiophile staples were the Sheffield Lab Drum Record and the Charlie Byrd Crystal Clear direct cut. I have the latter and it is very good indeed. I’m sure someone must have done a good high-res digital stunt recording by now though.