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Doublereed Archive - Posting 000058.txt from 2005/08

From: "Hill, Shannon" <shill@-----.org>
Subj: RE: [DR-L]classical downloads and home music collections
Date: Mon, 29 Aug 2005 19:12:29 -0400

(Overlooking that speakers are only one component of what makes for good
sound reproduction...) Some of the best musicians I have known, with the
most catholic tastes and the most discriminating musical standards, have
owned complete and utter junk for a sound system. Musical enthusiasts
though they be, blister-pack stereo is just fine with them. Or more
likely, they don't give a rip about a sound system. I find this
puzzling. I guess audiophiles and music enthusiasts can be and often
are separate interests, with some overlap. Go figure.

I have pondered the future of recorded classical music in recent years,
especially each time the death knell is rung. The future of the home
music collection is bound to change (look at what digital cameras have
done - not just for picture-taking convenience, but it also affects the
number of shots we take, the number of shots we do or don't print, how
we store photos, how we retrieve them, how often we look at them, and so
on). I think home music collections are in for the same type of mental
overhaul (maybe we won't "own" performances anymore, but just borrow
them from the e-jukebox for a listening). It's just that classical is
such a tiny, tiny percentage of recorded music sales. Our wants and
needs are not going to be on the bleeding edge, but they are bound to
follow eventually -- even the 5-hour operas. Think of the cataloging
advantages to online storage. You wouldn't have to agonize anymore on
where you filed that obscure little overture that's tacked onto a disc
with a major work filed somewhere else (but where?). There are many
other filing conundrums I haven't solved that digital storage would fix
right up (yes, I'm aware of CATraxx and other cataloging systems).

Once, I never thought you could tear me out of the CD store and make me
buy CDs online. After all, in the bricks-n-mortar store there's
knowledgeable staff (maybe) and resource books and listening stations
(maybe) and cover art and liner notes to help you make your selection.
But little by little, I've worked around those objections and have ended
up compromising little if any -- I rarely go into a CD store anymore,
and apparently others don't either, judging by the shrinking store
inventory and floor space.

We'll change. We're slow, but we're teachable.
- Shannon Hill =20

-----Original Message-----
From: herb fawcett [mailto:herbgosia@-----.net]=20
Sent: Monday, August 29, 2005 2:09 PM
To: doublereed@-----.org
Subject: Re: [DR-L] newspaper article--classical downloads

Unfortunately, not all of my computer addicted friends have great
speakers.
I am fortunate to have some pretty nice audiophile stuff and I also am
fortunate to have many years of experience as a professional orchestral
player. I was not trying to be elitist, but to express sadness when so
many think that what they hear from speakers of any ilk can reproduce
the actual sound of music. I fear that the squeaky little domes attached
to most computers will drive many interested listeners away.
Enjoy your music!
Herb =20

On 8/29/05 1:46 PM, "Tim Hunt" <tim@-----.uk> wrote:

> herb fawcett wrote:
>> People who listen to fine music on computer speakers really deserve=20
>> the beating they get.
>> Herb
>=20
> That is exactly the sort of crappy elitist comment that gets classical

> musicians a bad name - one of the issues mentioned in the article.
>=20
> Any since my computer is also my DVD player, I have much better=20
> speakers attached to it than to my hi-fi.
>=20
> Tim.
>=20

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