Klarinet Archive - Posting 000223.txt from 2002/11

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausmann1@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Why Bb? (was: reverse Mozart)
Date: Mon, 4 Nov 2002 22:04:51 -0500

At 05:33 PM 11/4/2002 -0700, William Semple wrote:
>The problem is that she was an international concert-goer, not an
>audiophile. She would have had no way to discern which of the recording
>companies produced what kind of sound. Of course, I could, familiar with the
>miking of EMI engineers vs. say the multi-miking crazies at DG.

With such a background, she probably DID pick out the individual orchestras
and/or their leaders.

>I suppose the same folks who listened to the CDs you mention wouldn't be
>able to tell the difference between Tony Pay and Harold Wright.

That is not what they were measuring. But when they compared $500 high-end
CD PLAYERS to $149 Symphonic ones playing the SAME CD, the listeners could
not accurately pick which was which. A few could get it right 6 or 7 out
of 10 tries; many could not even get 50-50 -- pure chance. Nor could they
tell Monster Cables from zip cord in other tests.

>Ears therefore can hear differences before scientific equipment can measure
>them.The discerning eye can tell the difference between a real Vermeer and a
>digitized counterpart. The human hear can tell the difference between the
>digitized CD and its analogue counterpart primarily because of the CD's low
>sampling rate, distortions, and other problems that simply resulted in
>homogenizing the complex harmonics of massed strings.

Actually, I think the opposite is true. Differences in audio equipment can
be measured that are absolutely transparent to the ear. As for CD
distortion, the distortions inherent in vinyl disks are orders of magnitude
greater. I'll take the CD EVERY time! I have never heard any of the
distortions alleged to exist on CD's.

Bill Hausmann

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

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