Klarinet Archive - Posting 000217.txt from 2002/11

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausmann1@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Why Bb? (was: reverse Mozart)
Date: Mon, 4 Nov 2002 18:50:10 -0500

At 11:58 AM 11/4/2002 -0700, William Semple wrote:
>Measurable. You sound like Julian Hirsch of Stereo Review. Can't measure the
>difference between a Strad and a violin bought off of the shelf! What
>difference could varnish possibly make?
>
>The human ear is capable of astounding degrees of differentiation that go
>beyond the capabilities of our finest electronic instruments. That's why, as
>an audio reviewer, I could long detect the differences between CDs and vinyl
>recordings. That's why they still haven't been able to build a robot that
>can drive a car; or a microphone that responds the same way as the ear drum.

I used to be an avid Stereo Review reader. I remember when they used to
conduct double-blind tests on speaker cables and CD players and so forth
and, without fail, the listeners were UNABLE to detect the differences to a
statistically significant degree (indicating something beyond pure
guessing). As I believe you pointed out in a previous post, you noticed a
blown tweeter in a speaker system you were reviewing while a room full of
others apparently heard only the LABEL on the speakers and swooned over
their beautiful sound. Yes, the ear is capable of astounding degrees of
differentiation, but it is also extremely sensitive to bias from any number
of outside sources. I can hear differences between LP's and CD's, too,
mostly how much quieter and free from distortion (and therefore vastly
superior) the CD's are.

> I had a friend who had an astounding ear.
>Once, I twirled six recordings (blind) of the Brahms 1: Chicago/Solti;
>Berlin/Von Karajan; London/Boult; Pittsburgh/Steinberg; Vienna/can't
>remember; Cleveland/Ormandy.
>
>SHE GOT EVERY ONE OF THEM.
>
>Now, what were the clues? Probably the ten things that you mention. The
>sound of mass violins; the phrasing on various notes section by section; the
>sound of the oboe; the coherence of the brass section; the intonation of the
>entire orchestra; the intonation of the woodwind section; the interpretation
>by the conductor.

Notice that virtually all of these possible differences, excluding the
conductor's interpretation, can be manipulated at will by the recording
engineers. She may actually have been identifying the different recording
companies! This may also explain most of the difference you hear between
vinyl and CD -- the different ears, monitor speakers, etc., used by the
person doing the remastering will naturally alter the overall result.

Bill Hausmann

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is TOO LOUD!

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