There's an Audiophiliac/Steve Guttenberg imposter scamming my viewers, There’s no FREE gifts. DON’T respond! I don't do giveaways or ask for money (except for my Patreon).
If you listen to your system when you first get home from work, when everyone else gets back from work, your system will sound at its worse, because everyone gets home switches the kettle on, start cooking & the Grid drops voltage, & your system gets starved of electric, here in the uk, it drops from 230/40 v down to around 218 v, so the best time to get the most out of your system is late at night or early hours of the morning, when the voltage is at its highest & also a good tip, if you want to really focus on the music, listen in the pitch dark, your senses heightened in the dark, making hear more of the music, nice topic steve👍
Voltage is definitely an interesting topic, it definitely does drop, around getting home from work time, don't forget all the TV's that get turned on as well.
Steve, Wow! You've been (little by little) honing your audiophiliac sword in readiness for this subject of focused listening for some time now, but these top 10 suggestions went further than ever expected. By setting out to delineate soundstage, tone, and other aspects of ideally recorded venues, you've given us examples of ways to assess quality of presentation in more profound ways. Your example of acoustic guitar sounding like resonant wood, gut strings, etc. has taken us far beyond terminology one has normally used in the past to describe what we're hearing. Quite the phorensic blue print you've given us. Many thanks.
“To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable.” Ludwig Van Beethoven I'll also add that, to me, one cannot compose something like Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata (1st Movement) without pouring one's whole soul into it, and everything else, for that matter.
Couple of things I find important to hone listening: 1- Stop thinking: Relax, exhale, and stop thinking about soundstage, detail, sibilance, and instead listen letting the musical landscape penetrate your mind and senses. 2- Pay attention to tone: Tone to me is one of the most important components of music. How do you know tone is right? I don’t know, but I feel that when it is, you can tell, there’s a charm, a beauty to it. 3- Listen in the dark: Darkness somehow liberates us of distractions and relaxes us and allows the intention of the music to shine.
Pretty much everything you said applies to my experiences listening to Vangelis. Especially Oceanic, Voices and most tracks of Antartica. A lot, but not all of the tracks on The City, Bladerunner, China and Direct. I can listen to these tracks in any environment, my theatre (I run a complete 13 speaker Osborne Atmos setup but the Epitomes on their own are incredible), lounge, bedroom, car, workshop (with machinery running), anywhere from the worst sounding gear to the best. I know them all, can anticipate the phrases, I feel the flow of the music, revel in the seeming simplicity of the compositions and fluent playing but still marvel at how effortless the compositions seem and still envelope me. Played loud and I get totally immersed. Played softer and I am quietly absorbed.
#9 - the rhythm section, to me, is like the grammar of the music. If you can't hear the nuances while listening, much of the idea of the music will be lost. #8 - I think compression is why it's hard for some to venture into new music discoveries, because it's that 'wall of sound' compressed music that doesn't give an audiophile a very good experience; our priorities of hearing music as if it was live in our listening space is simply not matching priorities of record labels. Some new music does sound really great, though, like Fleet Foxes, Neko Case, Nick Cave, etc. #7 - try following the melodic bass play of Flea some time as a melody; it's hilarious how unpredictable his playing is but at the same time it sounds so 'together'. Genius. Thanks for a great episode! I think we all listen differently and focus on different things depending on preferences, and that's why it's fun to discuss - hopefully to learn from each other.
Great episode, thank you, Steve. I sometimes like listening in the dark! Tonight i am attending a concert with Autechre, the British experimental electronic duo. It will be performed in total darkness, pitch black, no light, no distractions, just sound!
I feel the same way... What is the best way you in which you get the soundstage you like? I often use my Hifiman Ananda's and they are the best soundstage I can get so far...
@@BrianVallotton I don't know how to answer you good but the way I get as good soundstage as I possible can is that I move my loudspeakers around until I get an as good 3D-image of the musicians as possible.
Easy for me. One of my faces was ELO's - Lucky Man. It just flowed and flowed with some wicked bass near the end. Managed to put a 5 ft. crack in a picture window and have a solid oak table moving across the LR carpet. Had a pair of ESS AMT 1B Studio monitors back then that went down to a flat 30 HZ + - 3 db. Also with any deep bass at volume they would literally shake one's internal organs pretty good. O heard the went into bankruptcy later on in the 80's. Seems someone either bailed them out or bought them as they are still with us last I saw. For some reason they don't seem to advertise or promote their products. I believe they are still outa California. Without question those were the best pair of speakers I have ever owned. The Heil Air Motion Transformer was very special indeed. Yep, Lucky Man can just float in my cranium - Of course as others also can and do.
I dig that you’re ultimate message is about enhancing and enjoying the experience that listening to music can bring. Super positive man and thanks for that Steve! It can be about gear but it should ALWAYS be about the music. My 2 cents.
Hey Steve, I just want to thank you for that video awhile back that encouraged me to listen with my headphones more. I’ve been enjoying my Meze 099 Classics a lot! I figured out I can’t wear my eyeglasses, which were really killing the bass notes.
When I explain to someone else how I listen to music (as an aspiring audiophile), I tell them: 'it is like when you watch a movie you enjoy'. Even when watching movies at home, they sit comfortably, dim the lights, and pay attention to the screen for more than 1 hour straight. Nobody puts their favourite movie in the background while reading the newspaper or cleaning the batroom.
Great discussion, Steve! I started guitar study a few years back, and I regularly watch TH-cam guitar instructors and gear aficionados. Your discussion closely matches what I hear espoused by music instructors on the guitar channels and groups.
Many items you out on this list were items (other than the rhythm portion, that is easy to follow) pointed out to me at a very young age by my brother-in-law who originally got me into audio. I don't spend as much on audio as I would like and have a very modest system but my daughter has shown interest in the hobby and I've started pointing out and teaching her any of the things on your list.
For me, decades of playing musical instruments, and other musical activities, has increased my engagement/focus/appreciation of recorded sound. Sometimes, "casual/uninvolved" listening is not possible for me... I find myself listening to the mix of in-store Muzak, for example. A sonic hazard, of sorts. Thanks, Audiophiliac, for another fine video.
For me point 3. Steve, you nailed it. I remember well when I was seventeen my parents bought me a Mahler symphony, the fourth . Firs time I listened to it I thought this music sucks, it's awful. But it was a gift made with love so I gave it a second try. Well, it wasn't so bad, not very good but ... then a third try. Oh man I was in heaven and I was engaged with Mahler forever. So many times with different music and musicians and almost always the same result.
I didn’t even need to listen/watch anymore than the first few words of your topic. I commented couple Saturdays ago about this. I will and are/am listening to the entire video. Peace,love and music. Music on World Off 🙏✌️
Strangely enough, books and music have a few similar characteristics... If you really want to understand a book, you may practice "deep reading", where you slow down and research the points which seem a little vague to you... The same goes for music... Close your eyes, clear your mind, and concentrate on the music... I like to play a game where I concentrate on one particular instrument, whilst listening to a song or album... The next time, I concentrate on a different instrument while listening to the same song or album, and so on... If the band has five members, then you'll have five different points to focus on, five different times... It really illuminates a song's or album's tonal qualities, etc.... Granted, I only practice this with artists/albums/songs that really grab me, but still... It truly improves my 'understanding' of a particular artist/band... along with my "deep enjoyment"...!!!
Well done video! (As usual) For me I need to have some sort of emotional connection to the music I listen to. It doesn't matter what genre the music is as long as I can tap my foot or close my eyes and get lost in the song, I'm happy. I believe that music is one of our greatest gifts and it should always have a very deep and profound effect on us. I can listen to music that takes me back to being a little guy listening to the radio with my grandfather, or when I got married or when my kids were born. Listening to music just to criticize it and pick it apart would just rob me of the enjoyment we EXPECT from listening. Emotion definitely the key to enjoyment for me. Keep up the great work my brother from another mother.
I really get so much from videos like this that take me outside of the electronics and bring me closer to the music and the music closer to me. I love #10 Focus and #1 Authenticity. #10 is something I can get better at. #1 is something that (now that you pointed it out) keeps bringing me back to audio and the recordings I love (as well as the recordings still to be discovered and loved in my future).
Thanks for the vid Steve! I focus on MUSIC as much as I possibly can though the audiophile disease has wounded me to an extent as I can get lost on the quality of the reproduction than the music itself. The A number one thing for me is harmony. Is the harmony (i.e chords- the simultaneous combination of notes) progressing in an interesting and engaging way. Another big one is instrumentation/orchestration: Is the combination of instrumental timbres and/or voices gratifying to my ear? These are a couple of my main priorities as a listener.
Thanks Steve. I've been waiting for your guidance on this topic. I listen daily and always start with focus. I can't wait to add some additional elements.
We had music playing everyday in our greenhouses and our plants flourished where the naysayers didn’t.. Same on the farm.. The cows milk production increased dramatically.. Music has been proven to be good for the soul, BUT not all types of music👍 Of course in the 60’s there was no Rap and very little “fake” (non-instrument), experimental, or electronically created music.. Mostly Country, Blues, Bluegrass, Rock, Pop, Classical, etc. Being a Pro Painting Contractor & More, not one day went by that me & my crew were without music & we won “Best Painters of the Mountains” year after year in the Adirondacks 👍 We produced❤️ Everyone was always happy.. Stores and restaurant’s know what music means… More Money in the till👍
Hi Steven I just wanted to say that I couldn't find your TH-cam channel for so long and I finally found it and figured it out, I didn't watch you're channel and then I forgot the name of the channel, sure am happy now!
That energy factor is something I really look for in live recordings of the Grateful Dead. You can really sense the energy in the band (and the audience) when they're firing on all cylinders.
I love it when I can feel that energy. It’s a shame a lot of music is lacking in that department, so many recordings give a sense that the musicians don’t really believe in what they are playing. But every now and then you find recordings where you can tell everyone is having a blast together and you can really feel it!
Yes, I can Steve. I can listen to an entire album that way, several albums sometimes. Close your eyes, or turn off the lights. The eyes take away attention from the ears. Helps to have a great sounding system, it demands my attention. I'm old enough to have grown up without cable TV. I'd watch cartoons on Saturday morning, then go play. I would listen to music, without TV, even after we had cable TV. Then came MTV. I think some people are "wired" with their eyes, they like a song once it's in a movie. But, didn't pay attention to it otherwise. A show like Stranger Things can make an old song popular again. Maybe some of the audience had never heard it before, but others just didn't bond with it, till a video image gave them context, or a feeling, IDK.
When I listen to music it is the only thing I am doing and it is a whole body experience from tapping my feet and experiencing frisson. It is also about how the music makes me feel, the emotion contained within it. I like to say I experience music rather than listen to it but if something is off with my system or I'm tired or stressed then I don't enjoy it properly. I've also found that when I have upgraded something within my system it becomes easier to feel the music probably because all of the points made in your video have come together that much more it's difficult to describe exactly what is happening whilst listening, am I doing all of the points you mentioned I couldn't say, maybe I am without being aware of it.
For me, I have two modes of listening. Via my system I become immersed in the experience and lose myself. When trying to learn a piece of music to play on my guitar, I don't listen through a high quality source, but through my laptop's speakers so I won't be overwhelmed, and remain extremely analytical.
Thank you Steve - you are spot on and your 10 insights can be an eye opener for many of us already "in the business". I have a problem though... I cannot connect or be into the music if it has bad mixing quality no matter how great the performance is. I have nowadays a system that are really demanding (read revealing) and I have own a lot of systems. The good part is that high quality recordings sound really, really good, probably better than ever, but many great songs are so poorly recorded that they are unlistenable. If I hear compression/dull/flat I will instant skip to another song - totally unlistenable. I cannot understand how they can release such a crap really... What a waste. It is so bad that I sometimes believe that my rig has a default. It´s sounds totally weird/flat/boring... I have a serious dedicated room that I can do whatever I want with and it is quite treated and probably has better acoustics than most normal environments. My mains are electrostatics (CLS) that undress every little piece and throws a very good imaging standing 5 feet out from back wall. In my LP it can be pure magic with the right input. The questions are - Am I alone? Do you have to choose between a rig that sounds ok to most music or my rig that hit very low and very high depending of record/mixing/mastering quality? Cheers!
One word: Emotion. IF it does. not move me emotionally it will not be something I want to hear, but by practicing the things you just listed it is possible I have not given some music enough attention to get to that point! Of course, it is also possible to not be in the right mood at any given time as well. I really enjoy your channel. God bless you and all you love Steve.
I think, it's all about the century and digital ultra-edge we are living in!! Real listening to music, you don't see at all - same effect that most people don't even listen to each other anymore! Look around in this world, just very sad. Only extremes... TAKE A BRAKE, LEARN TO LISTEN AGAIN - MUSIC WILL HELP A LOT, IN EVERY LIFE SITUATION!!
Excellent video, Steve! I always give undivided attention when listening to music at home. I realized while watching your video, that I already do most of the things you mentioned. 👍👍
Maintaining your focus more than 3 minutes is a hard task, that accounts for meditation, I believe what audiophiles really meditate when immersed into the music.
I think listening to bootleg recording shows if a bands in sync or not a lot of 70s 80s recording are interesting for that . Keep Up the good work and reviews Steve Thank You 😉👍
Good Day Steve. No matter who on this platform has this issue, you nailed it, for all who are in audio, surely a part is aware, it is only the hearing which matters,the content from the piece we are listening to, matter fact,the looks of our gear is only distract us.
Yeah Steve, teaching us how to hear. Here here. This will also result in a better appreciation of how well your setup is clicking. I would add as a Buddhist that it also helps your listening tremendously if you can focus away from the noise your brain is adding. I'm talking about the ego brain that has a habit of trying to influence you constantly while you are trying to listen to something. The more you can listen without the noise the better. Tell your brain-self "thanks for all the helpful noise and suggestions but is there anybody else that I can listen to besides YOU?" After your brain calms down realizing you mean business---THEN you can REALLY hear what is going on! Mental distraction is a toxic curse of human existence but the more undistracted you get the more you can then "take in." Much love, cheers...
My best listening sessions, often happens in the late hours, with very little light on, and in fact, not playing that loud. My system sounds almost as great with lower volume, than when i really crank it up. But it's not necessary all the time. At least not in my system, which IS a High end system. Maybe a little taboo for some here, but i enjoy some grass on these occasions, listening once in a while at night time. It really drags me in 🤪 And btw, i use to be an all time musician, back in the late 80's, and all the way through the great 90's, playing drums. So i learned early on, to be good at listening and be able to seperate the difference in instrument, rythm and pace. Also pin point the many things going on, on some recordings, more than others, and vise Versa 😉 The otther night were something special, when i heard Wilco/Foxtrot Yankee on Remastered Audiophile 2x LP version, which sounds pretty good, on my Rega P8 Apheta II combo 👍 It was a thrill and that recording needs some good separation, on behalf of your system. ✌️❤️🇩🇰
One addition (number zero 😉): silence. If you can exclude yourself from the environmental sounds and you experience the silence of the space from your listening position, then that is the best way for me to experience the music (including the moments of silence in music). Keep up the good work! Greetings from The Netherlands, Ronald
I heard a lot lately about how when people (re)discover vinyl, they discover listening to an album SIDE! That they get far more involved in the music because of the commitment of an entire side!
Listen for elements that are "out of place"; they add interest/spice. It can be a note not part of key signature (modulation), a slight time variation (rubato), it may be a particularly loud/quiet note. Some out of place elements are adding, some are a distraction. Harmony/dissonance (also in the time domain) is critical for tension-resolution. Switch between listening analytically to just taking it all in. With wall-of-sound type music, the individual lines may be technically bad, but the resulting ensemble is glorious (e.g. Flipper). Look at the record art work and see whether/how it integrates with the music.
Love your channel, love your work, love your way of approaching the world of audio and music. My suggestion for the podcast would be, that you make an extra one for the audio only yt episodes. For me, if such things get mixed, I tend to not listen to the entire podcast anymore because I find it 'annoying' (for the lack of a better word) to search for the actual episodes to then have unplayed ones sitting forever in the timeline. Maybe it's only me? (which is very much possible) Maybe it's a thing to consider. Thank you for your work and for all the things I've learned from you. 🙏 (sorry for my Kauderwelsch, I hope it's understandable anyway🙂)
All the marks you laid out can be found in many south american music where the musicians synergie have to be or they just cannot play at all, examples : Jach'a Mallku , Altiplano Fusion Band , Sacambaya , Alpamayo , Los Ruphay , Los Kjarkas , Los Embajadores , Kamaq ....etc......
Damn you are good Steve. #3 really resonated with me. I used to find Rush much too complicated and would move to something simpler (not going to name names) and easier to "follow". Over the past 15 years or so I started investing the time into Rush and now the "simpler" music is so boring. I do enjoy it when I don't want to think about what I am listening to. To point #2. This is why I prefer to listen to recordings of live performances. You can feel the synergy, where a studio recording sounds dull and lifeless.
For me close listening is kinda random, an instrument or a voice will click a certain emotion and you just put down the phone or the book and listen to how the different parts are working. That'll last for a song or two, but ill listen to full albums and usually have a book of photography open for when im getting distracted from the music. Good music will make you focus and sometimes that focus can be fun to shift to another art form, but the quality of attention is still there and i get more out of both. If i start picking my phone back up? That doesnt last as long and i wind up looking for the next album to play instead.
Hi Steve!!! What a great topic!!! Love your videos. For me it is all about the music, and the gear is very important too, But you don't really listen to gear, you listen to music. And Yes, I can stay Focused on the music. 100% of my attention is on the music.
Hey, Steve. Great video. I would love to see you make a video where you list specific music that identifies the characteristics you describe in parts of your list. for example, which recordings exhibit exemplary tone? Which do not? Your number 2 is interesting to me as I often find myself preferring live recordings to studio recordings, perhaps because I can more easily sense the connection between the players. In addition, though listening in the dark may help one tune out environmental distractions I find that viewing the performance, as on TH-cam, provides me that connection with the music and the players I may not get without that visual stimulus or while sitting in a dark room.
The demos and extra tracks on “Revolver” are insanely good. I just got the two disc cd. I listen for proper balance, bass to treble and the “right” loudness. I like my system to disappear and sound three dimensional. A three way that can sound coherent at 6-7 ft away like the Canton Vento 7 is more to my liking than a two way. Would like to try a Spatial m4 ultra for a different sound but I’m content with what I have and it looks great and is all well made. Dodge 10, Denon DCD A100 and a pimped out Technics 1500C.
The cover photo was definitely a teaser. I am probably wrong, but it looks like David Chesky sitting there listening. I was expecting input from him. As for your comments on artificial reverberation, when done correctly, it can be very good. I find way too many multi-track recordings sound like the instruments are in different rooms. Yes, music must engage a person. If it doesn't, you change tunes or get distracted doing something else. I find when listening to a new piece (or album) for the first time, it might take a few times to warm up to it. Then other times I am all in and like "Wow, that is awesome!"
N.10 is necessary but not sufficient. But without focus nothing else matters. Attention is today’s most scarce resource. We should train ourselves to focus more on the things that matter as music does.
I like to listen for small mistakes in the performance, I actually really like it and I think it makes the music seem more real and human. Things like a singer slightly late on cue, a buzzed guitar chord, a piano key hit a little too hard or soft. Bigger mistakes are also interesting, things bumped or dropped in the background, a knob or slider accidentally moved and quickly corrected, things like that. Lets you know there were real people there making the music. I think if you notice that stuff you’re listening well and the system is decent!
I usually sit back on the couch, take some deep breaths and centre my mind on the music. But my wife usually choose that time to switch on the vacuum cleaner or a food blender or bang on a saucepan with a spoon. Especially when I am listening to love songs by Kanye West.
I’m unfamiliar with most of the music I listen to. As Steve indicates here, some new-to-you music is easier to concentrate on than others, though this does not mean the latter can’t ultimately be engaging. To start to give this sort of steep-learning-curve music it’s fair attention, I have found that initially splitting my listening attention with additional information about the music is helpful. Previously this additional information would be on album covers, liner notes, lyrics and the like. My current world of streaming music is largely devoid of this, but is often be more than compensated for by Wikipedia and lyrics sites like Genius. From this split attention, I can slowly increase my listening concentration.
IMO to become a better listener hear a lot of unamplified acoustic music to drum the sounds of various musical instruments individually and playing together into your head. The more you listen the more familiar you will be with them and the better you will remember them. This should be your reference. High fidelity means recreating these sounds from recordings. Don't always listen up front. Sit further back in a room, especially a large room. That way you will better hear what the space is doing to the sound. How it alters the tone, the dynamics, envelops you. This is the essence of the role acoustics play in what you hear and why some places make life music sound better and some make it sound worse. Accept that countless times it's been measured, the conclusion is always the same, this part is most of what you hear live. Here's a tip for learning something about your perception of sound. Use a system with an A-B repeat CD player and a graphic equalizer, 10 octaves is good. You might want to listen to just one channel. Each time you play the short part of the music you will repeat over and over again, make a slight change to the equalizer setting for just one octave. See if you can hear the difference that small change makes. You might start with a larger change until you can hear a difference and then see how small you can make the change and still hear a difference. Try it for all the different octaves one at a time. In this way you will learn how changes in frequency response affect the tone of musical instruments. Warning! The more critical a listener you become the more you will recognize the differences between hi fi recordings of music and real music. I did not start becoming what I'd call a golden ear listener until I was in my forties so it's never too late to start.
For a future video, could you describe your A/B listening technique? Do you play one album, CD, et al then switch out? Or is it one gear item one day then the other item the next day? I only ask because I’d like to A/B my own gear and I’m curious as to fairest way to do that. Thanks!
When I notice I start tapping my foot to the music I know I’m engaged in the experience and listening. System for me has a profound impact on this (even though mine is humble it has a synergy and PRAT). Thank you for your efforts, love the content.
@@bradmodd7856 Michael Corleone, Godfather III "Just when I thought I was out, ... they pull me back in". Underrated, solid film... on the heels of the first two, it faced mammoth shoes to fill.
Timbre is the unique sound of a particular voice or instrument, instead of tone/tonality Tonality is actually the notes being played and their relationship to one another in the piece of music. :) I love this video, and it is a good primer for budding audiophiles.
Turn off your mind, relax and float down stream It is not dying, it is not dying Lay down all thoughts, surrender to the void It is shining, it is shining Yet you may see the meaning of within It is being, it is being
Steve has it ALL CORRECT! Stereo sound stage is the creation by an engineer with all those MONO microphones and channels/tracks and PAN POTS! STEREO IMAGE, can only be created in a TRUE STEREOPHONIC recording. Few and far between they are. NO mixing! Stereo single point microphones, or other 2 channel, live recording mike techniques will get you there. I use ORTF and now a single point Mid Side mike, and you get plenty of the room acoustic with it, very wide coverage while keeping the musicians anchored at the front. Great 'audience perspective' results.
I cant listen anything without paying attention to all these points. However the issue is I can only do this in a really silent environment which means night. That is very limiting in terms of time I have to listen music. Also this means I can only listen with headphones.
Ah, dynamic range...or rather the lack of it. I know we've all discussed it ad nauseum, but it still remains one of the sticking points regarding not enjoying modern recorded music. Ugh. I'm old, probably as old as Steve. When I was in elementary school our teacher would play LPs and give us exposure to classical music asking us to focus on the music and any repeating motifs we would hear and ask us how the music made us feel or what the music was saying to us. This has stayed with me all my life. Just a little exposure to "music appreciation" pays huge dividends. #Education.
I enjoy sitting WAY beyond 3 or 4 minutes. We orchestral music listeners sit through a complete symphonic work. Take Mahler for instance! Sitting and enjoying for 1.5 hours is common place 😉
I feel I lost my aspiring audiophile card by not buying the Klipsch 600M IIs on sale. Honored my wife's will to not buy anything. And I really feel I need a better CD player with better DAC. I am listening with what I have.
![[LIVE] : ONE ลุมพินี 85 | คู่เอก "ยอดเหล็กเพชร vs ผึ้งหลวง"](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Qq_19bnnxEo/mqdefault.jpg)
There's an Audiophiliac/Steve Guttenberg imposter scamming my viewers, There’s no FREE gifts. DON’T respond! I don't do giveaways or ask for money (except for my Patreon).
Good point mentioning this - Perhaps in Bold Type would stand out more considering the seriousness of the scam. Rock on Steve👍
Is it that telegram a-hole? I keep getting "you win" replies by "cheap audio man"
@@spamcan9208 Just keep reporting them
@@spamcan9208 yes, there's an idiot doing it to Randy (Cheap audio man) as well.
I'm listening to the new Taxman hi res release on qobuz fantstic sound.
If you listen to your system when you first get home from work, when everyone else gets back from work, your system will sound at its worse, because everyone gets home switches the kettle on, start cooking & the Grid drops voltage, & your system gets starved of electric, here in the uk, it drops from 230/40 v down to around 218 v, so the best time to get the most out of your system is late at night or early hours of the morning, when the voltage is at its highest & also a good tip, if you want to really focus on the music, listen in the pitch dark, your senses heightened in the dark, making hear more of the music, nice topic steve👍
You're so right!!!
I agree, even you're tv picture improves late at night.
I always listen in the dark, & always recommend it to my audiophile friends, that's a great tip.
Voltage is definitely an interesting topic, it definitely does drop, around getting home from work time, don't forget all the TV's that get turned on as well.
@@thetinyrestorationworkshop7258 it certainly does👍
WOW I’ll be approaching to listening to my records in a total new way.
Thank you Steve
no internet, phone browsing, wife chatting, tv watching.....only you and the music that's the first :)
Steve, Wow! You've been (little by little) honing your audiophiliac sword in readiness for this subject of focused listening for some time now, but these top 10 suggestions went further than ever expected. By setting out to delineate soundstage, tone, and other aspects of ideally recorded venues, you've given us examples of ways to assess quality of presentation in more profound ways. Your example of acoustic guitar sounding like resonant wood, gut strings, etc. has taken us far beyond terminology one has normally used in the past to describe what we're hearing. Quite the phorensic blue print you've given us. Many thanks.
“To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable.” Ludwig Van Beethoven
I'll also add that, to me, one cannot compose something like Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata (1st Movement) without pouring one's whole soul into it, and everything else, for that matter.
Thanks for sharing this! A deep truth here!
@@BrianVallotton really enjoyed it too!
That’s an amazing quote, my next tattoo perhaps. Cheers
And, more than a half century old... :)
@@steveschermerhorn773 1801 is technically more than a half-century ago :D
Couple of things I find important to hone listening:
1- Stop thinking: Relax, exhale, and stop thinking about soundstage, detail, sibilance, and instead listen letting the musical landscape penetrate your mind and senses.
2- Pay attention to tone: Tone to me is one of the most important components of music. How do you know tone is right? I don’t know, but I feel that when it is, you can tell, there’s a charm, a beauty to it.
3- Listen in the dark: Darkness somehow liberates us of distractions and relaxes us and allows the intention of the music to shine.
Pretty much everything you said applies to my experiences listening to Vangelis. Especially Oceanic, Voices and most tracks of Antartica. A lot, but not all of the tracks on The City, Bladerunner, China and Direct. I can listen to these tracks in any environment, my theatre (I run a complete 13 speaker Osborne Atmos setup but the Epitomes on their own are incredible), lounge, bedroom, car, workshop (with machinery running), anywhere from the worst sounding gear to the best. I know them all, can anticipate the phrases, I feel the flow of the music, revel in the seeming simplicity of the compositions and fluent playing but still marvel at how effortless the compositions seem and still envelope me. Played loud and I get totally immersed. Played softer and I am quietly absorbed.
#9 - the rhythm section, to me, is like the grammar of the music. If you can't hear the nuances while listening, much of the idea of the music will be lost. #8 - I think compression is why it's hard for some to venture into new music discoveries, because it's that 'wall of sound' compressed music that doesn't give an audiophile a very good experience; our priorities of hearing music as if it was live in our listening space is simply not matching priorities of record labels. Some new music does sound really great, though, like Fleet Foxes, Neko Case, Nick Cave, etc. #7 - try following the melodic bass play of Flea some time as a melody; it's hilarious how unpredictable his playing is but at the same time it sounds so 'together'. Genius. Thanks for a great episode! I think we all listen differently and focus on different things depending on preferences, and that's why it's fun to discuss - hopefully to learn from each other.
I use IEM’s , a quiet and darkened bedroom ..totally chill .
Great shirt.....as usual Steve!!
Great episode, thank you, Steve.
I sometimes like listening in the dark!
Tonight i am attending a concert with Autechre, the British experimental electronic duo. It will be performed in total darkness, pitch black, no light, no distractions, just sound!
Soundstage is the most important for me, with ease.
I feel the same way... What is the best way you in which you get the soundstage you like? I often use my Hifiman Ananda's and they are the best soundstage I can get so far...
@@BrianVallotton I don't know how to answer you good but the way I get as good soundstage as I possible can is that I move my loudspeakers around until I get an as good 3D-image of the musicians as possible.
Easy for me. One of my faces was ELO's - Lucky Man. It just flowed and flowed with some wicked bass near the end. Managed to put a 5 ft. crack in a picture window and have a solid oak table moving across the LR carpet. Had a pair of ESS AMT 1B Studio monitors back then that went down to a flat 30 HZ + - 3 db. Also with any deep bass at volume they would literally shake one's internal organs pretty good. O heard the went into bankruptcy later on in the 80's. Seems someone either bailed them out or bought them as they are still with us last I saw. For some reason they don't seem to advertise or promote their products. I believe they are still outa California. Without question those were the best pair of speakers I have ever owned. The Heil Air Motion Transformer was very special indeed. Yep, Lucky Man can just float in my cranium - Of course as others also can and do.
Do you mean ELP not ELO. As I believe that, Lucky Man, was Emerson Lake and Palmer.
@@jamesschneider3828 Phhh, a big WOOPS/Thanks👍👍
I dig that you’re ultimate message is about enhancing and enjoying the experience that listening to music can bring.
Super positive man and thanks for that Steve!
It can be about gear but it should ALWAYS be about the music. My 2 cents.
Hey Steve, I just want to thank you for that video awhile back that encouraged me to listen with my headphones more. I’ve been enjoying my Meze 099 Classics a lot! I figured out I can’t wear my eyeglasses, which were really killing the bass notes.
When I explain to someone else how I listen to music (as an aspiring audiophile), I tell them: 'it is like when you watch a movie you enjoy'. Even when watching movies at home, they sit comfortably, dim the lights, and pay attention to the screen for more than 1 hour straight. Nobody puts their favourite movie in the background while reading the newspaper or cleaning the batroom.
You can hear everything with Good recording and good system .
Great discussion, Steve! I started guitar study a few years back, and I regularly watch TH-cam guitar instructors and gear aficionados. Your discussion closely matches what I hear espoused by music instructors on the guitar channels and groups.
This explains everything I couldn't put in words myself, when I am building and optimising my system. Great collection of points in there...
Terrific episode, Steve! Thank you!
Many items you out on this list were items (other than the rhythm portion, that is easy to follow) pointed out to me at a very young age by my brother-in-law who originally got me into audio. I don't spend as much on audio as I would like and have a very modest system but my daughter has shown interest in the hobby and I've started pointing out and teaching her any of the things on your list.
For me, decades of playing musical instruments, and other musical activities, has increased my engagement/focus/appreciation of recorded sound.
Sometimes, "casual/uninvolved" listening is not possible for me... I find myself listening to the mix of in-store Muzak, for example. A sonic hazard, of sorts.
Thanks, Audiophiliac, for another fine video.
For me point 3. Steve, you nailed it. I remember well when I was seventeen my parents bought me a Mahler symphony, the fourth . Firs time I listened to it I thought this music sucks, it's awful. But it was a gift made with love so I gave it a second try. Well, it wasn't so bad, not very good but ... then a third try. Oh man I was in heaven and I was engaged with Mahler forever. So many times with different music and musicians and almost always the same result.
Great list Steve! One tip: to help with focus, listening in the dark is a must for me.
Everything you brought up is so on point! Keep them coming.
I didn’t even need to listen/watch anymore than the first few words of your topic. I commented couple
Saturdays ago about this. I will and are/am listening to the entire video. Peace,love and music. Music on World Off 🙏✌️
Strangely enough, books and music have a few similar characteristics... If you really want to understand a book, you may practice "deep reading", where you slow down and research the points which seem a little vague to you... The same goes for music... Close your eyes, clear your mind, and concentrate on the music... I like to play a game where I concentrate on one particular instrument, whilst listening to a song or album... The next time, I concentrate on a different instrument while listening to the same song or album, and so on... If the band has five members, then you'll have five different points to focus on, five different times... It really illuminates a song's or album's tonal qualities, etc.... Granted, I only practice this with artists/albums/songs that really grab me, but still... It truly improves my 'understanding' of a particular artist/band... along with my "deep enjoyment"...!!!
Well done video! (As usual) For me I need to have some sort of emotional connection to the music I listen to. It doesn't matter what genre the music is as long as I can tap my foot or close my eyes and get lost in the song, I'm happy. I believe that music is one of our greatest gifts and it should always have a very deep and profound effect on us. I can listen to music that takes me back to being a little guy listening to the radio with my grandfather, or when I got married or when my kids were born. Listening to music just to criticize it and pick it apart would just rob me of the enjoyment we EXPECT from listening. Emotion definitely the key to enjoyment for me. Keep up the great work my brother from another mother.
I really get so much from videos like this that take me outside of the electronics and bring me closer to the music and the music closer to me. I love #10 Focus and #1 Authenticity. #10 is something I can get better at. #1 is something that (now that you pointed it out) keeps bringing me back to audio and the recordings I love (as well as the recordings still to be discovered and loved in my future).
Thanks for the vid Steve! I focus on MUSIC as much as I possibly can though the audiophile disease has wounded me to an extent as I can get lost on the quality of the reproduction than the music itself. The A number one thing for me is harmony. Is the harmony (i.e chords- the simultaneous combination of notes) progressing in an interesting and engaging way. Another big one is instrumentation/orchestration: Is the combination of instrumental timbres and/or voices gratifying to my ear? These are a couple of my main priorities as a listener.
Thanks Steve. I've been waiting for your guidance on this topic. I listen daily and always start with focus. I can't wait to add some additional elements.
It is pretty well established that listening to music is good for your mental health and physical well-being. Lowers stress, etc.
Tube amps do this best
We had music playing everyday in our greenhouses and our plants flourished where the naysayers didn’t.. Same on the farm.. The cows milk production increased dramatically.. Music has been proven to be good for the soul, BUT not all types of music👍 Of course in the 60’s there was no Rap and very little “fake” (non-instrument), experimental, or electronically created music.. Mostly Country, Blues, Bluegrass, Rock, Pop, Classical, etc. Being a Pro Painting Contractor & More, not one day went by that me & my crew were without music & we won “Best Painters of the Mountains” year after year in the Adirondacks 👍 We produced❤️ Everyone was always happy.. Stores and restaurant’s know what music means… More Money in the till👍
Great video as always, but I have to watch it three times because of that shirt. It steals my attention every time.
Pure psychedelic masterpiece.
Hi Steven I just wanted to say that I couldn't find your TH-cam channel for so long and I finally found it and figured it out, I didn't watch you're channel and then I forgot the name of the channel, sure am happy now!
It’s all about focus…focus and all those 10 points become clear. Great segment thanks.
You are really a great storyteller. Love your channel.
I love listening to equipment JUST AS MUCH AS I like listening to music... end of story
That energy factor is something I really look for in live recordings of the Grateful Dead. You can really sense the energy in the band (and the audience) when they're firing on all cylinders.
I love it when I can feel that energy. It’s a shame a lot of music is lacking in that department, so many recordings give a sense that the musicians don’t really believe in what they are playing. But every now and then you find recordings where you can tell everyone is having a blast together and you can really feel it!
Yes, I can Steve. I can listen to an entire album that way, several albums sometimes. Close your eyes, or turn off the lights. The eyes take away attention from the ears. Helps to have a great sounding system, it demands my attention.
I'm old enough to have grown up without cable TV. I'd watch cartoons on Saturday morning, then go play. I would listen to music, without TV, even after we had cable TV. Then came MTV.
I think some people are "wired" with their eyes, they like a song once it's in a movie. But, didn't pay attention to it otherwise. A show like Stranger Things can make an old song popular again. Maybe some of the audience had never heard it before, but others just didn't bond with it, till a video image gave them context, or a feeling, IDK.
When I listen to music it is the only thing I am doing and it is a whole body experience from tapping my feet and experiencing frisson. It is also about how the music makes me feel, the emotion contained within it. I like to say I experience music rather than listen to it but if something is off with my system or I'm tired or stressed then I don't enjoy it properly. I've also found that when I have upgraded something within my system it becomes easier to feel the music probably because all of the points made in your video have come together that much more it's difficult to describe exactly what is happening whilst listening, am I doing all of the points you mentioned I couldn't say, maybe I am without being aware of it.
For me, I have two modes of listening. Via my system I become immersed in the experience and lose myself. When trying to learn a piece of music to play on my guitar, I don't listen through a high quality source, but through my laptop's speakers so I won't be overwhelmed, and remain extremely analytical.
Hi Steve, thoughtful video. I focus by: choosing what I want to hear, and sitting down or cooking while listening. Excellent channel, ta, Brett
Thank you Steve - you are spot on and your 10 insights can be an eye opener for many of us already "in the business". I have a problem though... I cannot connect or be into the music if it has bad mixing quality no matter how great the performance is. I have nowadays a system that are really demanding (read revealing) and I have own a lot of systems. The good part is that high quality recordings sound really, really good, probably better than ever, but many great songs are so poorly recorded that they are unlistenable. If I hear compression/dull/flat I will instant skip to another song - totally unlistenable. I cannot understand how they can release such a crap really... What a waste.
It is so bad that I sometimes believe that my rig has a default. It´s sounds totally weird/flat/boring... I have a serious dedicated room that I can do whatever I want with and it is quite treated and probably has better acoustics than most normal environments. My mains are electrostatics (CLS) that undress every little piece and throws a very good imaging standing 5 feet out from back wall. In my LP it can be pure magic with the right input. The questions are - Am I alone? Do you have to choose between a rig that sounds ok to most music or my rig that hit very low and very high depending of record/mixing/mastering quality? Cheers!
Educational as ever. Indeed you are the H I L I A C as the sign says ! Sorry, couldn't resist it - my brain latched onto it straight off !! 😃😃😃
One word: Emotion. IF it does. not move me emotionally it will not be something I want to hear, but by practicing the things you just listed it is possible I have not given some music enough attention to get to that point! Of course, it is also possible to not be in the right mood at any given time as well. I really enjoy your channel. God bless you and all you love Steve.
I think, it's all about the century and digital ultra-edge we are living in!! Real listening to music, you don't see at all - same effect that most people don't even listen to each other anymore! Look around in this world, just very sad. Only extremes... TAKE A BRAKE, LEARN TO LISTEN AGAIN - MUSIC WILL HELP A LOT, IN EVERY LIFE SITUATION!!
Excellent video, Steve! I always give undivided attention when listening to music at home. I realized while watching your video, that I already do most of the things you mentioned. 👍👍
Maintaining your focus more than 3 minutes is a hard task, that accounts for meditation, I believe what audiophiles really meditate when immersed into the music.
There's no hope for me. My wife always says I don't listen and my son doesn't listen to her either. It's genetic.👹
😎🤣
I think listening to bootleg recording shows if a bands in sync or not a lot of 70s 80s recording are interesting for that . Keep Up the good work and reviews Steve Thank You 😉👍
#3 - that's true. The things I like the most - I had to play them quite a few times to really like them.
Good Day Steve. No matter who on this platform has this issue, you nailed it, for all who are in audio, surely a part is aware, it is only the hearing which matters,the content from the piece we are listening to, matter fact,the looks of our gear is only distract us.
Yeah Steve, teaching us how to hear. Here here. This will also result in a better appreciation of how well your setup is clicking. I would add as a Buddhist that it also helps your listening tremendously if you can focus away from the noise your brain is adding. I'm talking about the ego brain that has a habit of trying to influence you constantly while you are trying to listen to something. The more you can listen without the noise the better. Tell your brain-self "thanks for all the helpful noise and suggestions but is there anybody else that I can listen to besides YOU?" After your brain calms down realizing you mean business---THEN you can REALLY hear what is going on! Mental distraction is a toxic curse of human existence but the more undistracted you get the more you can then "take in." Much love, cheers...
Bass rumble, sticks hitting cymbals, hearing the upright bass string and wood vibrate. Oh yah, the reverb! Heaven
My best listening sessions, often happens in the late hours, with very little light on, and in fact, not playing that loud.
My system sounds almost as great with lower volume, than when i really crank it up.
But it's not necessary all the time. At least not in my system, which IS a High end system.
Maybe a little taboo for some here, but i enjoy some grass on these occasions, listening once in a while at night time.
It really drags me in 🤪
And btw, i use to be an all time musician, back in the late 80's, and all the way through the great 90's, playing drums.
So i learned early on, to be good at listening and be able to seperate the difference in instrument, rythm and pace.
Also pin point the many things going on, on some recordings, more than others, and vise Versa 😉
The otther night were something special, when i heard Wilco/Foxtrot Yankee on Remastered Audiophile 2x LP version, which sounds pretty good, on my Rega P8 Apheta II combo 👍
It was a thrill and that recording needs some good separation, on behalf of your system.
✌️❤️🇩🇰
Great episode! In a system the listener is the most critical piece of gear 😀
I got three words for you all that covers most of Steve’s tips. Especially the last two.
FRAMPTON COMES ALIVE. ☮️
Always an entertaining show. Thanks.
I am completely lazer focused when I'm listening around 35 % of my time listening and yes I am at my happiest in those moments
One addition (number zero 😉): silence.
If you can exclude yourself from the environmental sounds and you experience the silence of the space from your listening position, then that is the best way for me to experience the music (including the moments of silence in music). Keep up the good work! Greetings from The Netherlands, Ronald
I heard a lot lately about how when people (re)discover vinyl, they discover listening to an album SIDE! That they get far more involved in the music because of the commitment of an entire side!
Listen for elements that are "out of place"; they add interest/spice. It can be a note not part of key signature (modulation), a slight time variation (rubato), it may be a particularly loud/quiet note. Some out of place elements are adding, some are a distraction. Harmony/dissonance (also in the time domain) is critical for tension-resolution. Switch between listening analytically to just taking it all in. With wall-of-sound type music, the individual lines may be technically bad, but the resulting ensemble is glorious (e.g. Flipper). Look at the record art work and see whether/how it integrates with the music.
Love your channel, love your work, love your way of approaching the world of audio and music.
My suggestion for the podcast would be, that you make an extra one for the audio only yt episodes. For me, if such things get mixed, I tend to not listen to the entire podcast anymore because I find it 'annoying' (for the lack of a better word) to search for the actual episodes to then have unplayed ones sitting forever in the timeline. Maybe it's only me? (which is very much possible) Maybe it's a thing to consider.
Thank you for your work and for all the things I've learned from you. 🙏
(sorry for my Kauderwelsch, I hope it's understandable anyway🙂)
All the marks you laid out can be found in many south american music where the musicians synergie have to be or they just cannot play at all, examples :
Jach'a Mallku , Altiplano Fusion Band , Sacambaya , Alpamayo , Los Ruphay , Los Kjarkas , Los Embajadores , Kamaq ....etc......
Damn you are good Steve. #3 really resonated with me. I used to find Rush much too complicated and would move to something simpler (not going to name names) and easier to "follow". Over the past 15 years or so I started investing the time into Rush and now the "simpler" music is so boring. I do enjoy it when I don't want to think about what I am listening to.
To point #2. This is why I prefer to listen to recordings of live performances. You can feel the synergy, where a studio recording sounds dull and lifeless.
For me close listening is kinda random, an instrument or a voice will click a certain emotion and you just put down the phone or the book and listen to how the different parts are working. That'll last for a song or two, but ill listen to full albums and usually have a book of photography open for when im getting distracted from the music. Good music will make you focus and sometimes that focus can be fun to shift to another art form, but the quality of attention is still there and i get more out of both. If i start picking my phone back up? That doesnt last as long and i wind up looking for the next album to play instead.
Hi Steve!!! What a great topic!!! Love your videos. For me it is all about the music, and the gear is very important too, But you don't really listen to gear, you listen to music. And Yes, I can stay Focused on the music. 100% of my attention is on the music.
Thanks Steve...you gave me a lot to think about. Can't wait to try this out later. Nice shirt!
Hey, Steve. Great video. I would love to see you make a video where you list specific music that identifies the characteristics you describe in parts of your list. for example, which recordings exhibit exemplary tone? Which do not?
Your number 2 is interesting to me as I often find myself preferring live recordings to studio recordings, perhaps because I can more easily sense the connection between the players. In addition, though listening in the dark may help one tune out environmental distractions I find that viewing the performance, as on TH-cam, provides me that connection with the music and the players I may not get without that visual stimulus or while sitting in a dark room.
The demos and extra tracks on “Revolver” are insanely good. I just got the two disc cd. I listen for proper balance, bass to treble and the “right” loudness. I like my system to disappear and sound three dimensional. A three way that can sound coherent at 6-7 ft away like the Canton Vento 7 is more to my liking than a two way. Would like to try a Spatial m4 ultra for a different sound but I’m content with what I have and it looks great and is all well made. Dodge 10, Denon DCD A100 and a pimped out Technics 1500C.
I listion all the time like that because i hardly get time too so when i do its heaven to my ears
AMEN!!! GOD BLESS!!!!
The cover photo was definitely a teaser. I am probably wrong, but it looks like David Chesky sitting there listening. I was expecting input from him. As for your comments on artificial reverberation, when done correctly, it can be very good. I find way too many multi-track recordings sound like the instruments are in different rooms. Yes, music must engage a person. If it doesn't, you change tunes or get distracted doing something else. I find when listening to a new piece (or album) for the first time, it might take a few times to warm up to it. Then other times I am all in and like "Wow, that is awesome!"
N.10 is necessary but not sufficient. But without focus nothing else matters. Attention is today’s most scarce resource. We should train ourselves to focus more on the things that matter as music does.
I like to listen for small mistakes in the performance, I actually really like it and I think it makes the music seem more real and human. Things like a singer slightly late on cue, a buzzed guitar chord, a piano key hit a little too hard or soft. Bigger mistakes are also interesting, things bumped or dropped in the background, a knob or slider accidentally moved and quickly corrected, things like that. Lets you know there were real people there making the music. I think if you notice that stuff you’re listening well and the system is decent!
it all started with digital desks early mid-80s
analogue valve compressors are much more gentle
I usually sit back on the couch, take some deep breaths and centre my mind on the music. But my wife usually choose that time to switch on the vacuum cleaner or a food blender or bang on a saucepan with a spoon. Especially when I am listening to love songs by Kanye West.
Sometimes you have to listen to something (10) times to fall in love with it
Good advice. Thank you for your research and enthusiasm!
I’m unfamiliar with most of the music I listen to. As Steve indicates here, some new-to-you music is easier to concentrate on than others, though this does not mean the latter can’t ultimately be engaging. To start to give this sort of steep-learning-curve music it’s fair attention, I have found that initially splitting my listening attention with additional information about the music is helpful. Previously this additional information would be on album covers, liner notes, lyrics and the like. My current world of streaming music is largely devoid of this, but is often be more than compensated for by Wikipedia and lyrics sites like Genius. From this split attention, I can slowly increase my listening concentration.
IMO to become a better listener hear a lot of unamplified acoustic music to drum the sounds of various musical instruments individually and playing together into your head. The more you listen the more familiar you will be with them and the better you will remember them. This should be your reference. High fidelity means recreating these sounds from recordings. Don't always listen up front. Sit further back in a room, especially a large room. That way you will better hear what the space is doing to the sound. How it alters the tone, the dynamics, envelops you. This is the essence of the role acoustics play in what you hear and why some places make life music sound better and some make it sound worse. Accept that countless times it's been measured, the conclusion is always the same, this part is most of what you hear live.
Here's a tip for learning something about your perception of sound. Use a system with an A-B repeat CD player and a graphic equalizer, 10 octaves is good. You might want to listen to just one channel. Each time you play the short part of the music you will repeat over and over again, make a slight change to the equalizer setting for just one octave. See if you can hear the difference that small change makes. You might start with a larger change until you can hear a difference and then see how small you can make the change and still hear a difference. Try it for all the different octaves one at a time. In this way you will learn how changes in frequency response affect the tone of musical instruments.
Warning! The more critical a listener you become the more you will recognize the differences between hi fi recordings of music and real music. I did not start becoming what I'd call a golden ear listener until I was in my forties so it's never too late to start.
I like the pillow uses das bass trap I guess behind those puppies….
For a future video, could you describe your A/B listening technique? Do you play one album, CD, et al then switch out? Or is it one gear item one day then the other item the next day? I only ask because I’d like to A/B my own gear and I’m curious as to fairest way to do that. Thanks!
When I notice I start tapping my foot to the music I know I’m engaged in the experience and listening. System for me has a profound impact on this (even though mine is humble it has a synergy and PRAT). Thank you for your efforts, love the content.
All the atmos recordings I have heard have incredible sound stage and dynamics. But synchronizing 6 record players is quite a tricky business.
Cinerama could do it, you can too!
@@FOH3663 just when I thought I was out you dragged me back in with that
@@bradmodd7856
Michael Corleone, Godfather III
"Just when I thought I was out, ... they pull me back in".
Underrated, solid film...
on the heels of the first two, it faced mammoth shoes to fill.
Excellent Steve, really helpful now going to settle in and listen to Van Morrison’s ‘Veedon Fleece’.
Timbre is the unique sound of a particular voice or instrument, instead of tone/tonality Tonality is actually the notes being played and their relationship to one another in the piece of music. :) I love this video, and it is a good primer for budding audiophiles.
Turn off your mind, relax and float down stream
It is not dying, it is not dying
Lay down all thoughts, surrender to the void
It is shining, it is shining
Yet you may see the meaning of within
It is being, it is being
Steve has it ALL CORRECT! Stereo sound stage is the creation by an engineer with all those MONO microphones and channels/tracks and PAN POTS! STEREO IMAGE, can only be created in a TRUE STEREOPHONIC recording. Few and far between they are. NO mixing! Stereo single point microphones, or other 2 channel, live recording mike techniques will get you there.
I use ORTF and now a single point Mid Side mike, and you get plenty of the room acoustic with it, very wide coverage while keeping the musicians anchored at the front. Great 'audience perspective' results.
I cant listen anything without paying attention to all these points. However the issue is I can only do this in a really silent environment which means night. That is very limiting in terms of time I have to listen music. Also this means I can only listen with headphones.
I often expect too much from a recording based on other listeners reviews/evaluations before I actually have listened to the piece for myself.
Do musical ear training. Intervals, harmonies, rhythm. Your ability to follow and feel music will vastly improve.
Ah, dynamic range...or rather the lack of it. I know we've all discussed it ad nauseum, but it still remains one of the sticking points regarding not enjoying modern recorded music. Ugh.
I'm old, probably as old as Steve. When I was in elementary school our teacher would play LPs and give us exposure to classical music asking us to focus on the music and any repeating motifs we would hear and ask us how the music made us feel or what the music was saying to us. This has stayed with me all my life. Just a little exposure to "music appreciation" pays huge dividends. #Education.
There must be someone else in audio, that can explain things like Steve. I just don't know who that could be, if at all. Never, ever boring too.
Oh man, thank you!
A big fat spliff helps.
Just checked out your Podcast - now in my Bookmarks department👍
I enjoy sitting WAY beyond 3 or 4 minutes. We orchestral music listeners sit through a complete symphonic work. Take Mahler for instance! Sitting and enjoying for 1.5 hours is common place 😉
Fine work thanks Steve.
I feel I lost my aspiring audiophile card by not buying the Klipsch 600M IIs on sale. Honored my wife's will to not buy anything. And I really feel I need a better CD player with better DAC. I am listening with what I have.