Quote:
Originally Posted by
PaulDA 
In the end, what matters is the music. Pristine sound with music I don't like is wasted while even an AM broadcast over a clock radio of a favourite song is more enjoyable than not hearing the song at all (granted, these are extremes and I will not settle for clock radio sound for very long).
It's the same thing for movies (for me). I prefer a BD or HD DVD of a favourite title on my wall mounted screen and hi-def projector with the full surround sound experience but I can still enjoy a late night TV showing of something on the living room SDTV. Content first, delivery method second is my motto.
Very true although I'd say video had been lagging so very far behind audio in terms of fidelity that I do find this principle apply (sorta) less to video in actual practice than to audio. But then again, that may only be because I have not (yet?) become a fan of older classics beyond the handful famous ones.
RE: John's question, I've only been mildly curious about multi-channel hirez audio so far -- I'm really not that convinced of its viability as a true audiophilic format (in practice anyway) just yet, not that I consider myself a serious audiophile or any such thing (although I did formerly fancy myself heading in that direction ages ago
). I got into SACD mainly for the best 2-channel playback I can reasonably afford (and use) of great recorded performances (mainly of classical music, but also a bit of jazz, et al). But unfortunately, most of the recordings that interest me aren't readily available in (or seemingly could make quite that much use of) the hirez format so far -- and probably most of them never really fit the criteria of the serious audiophile anyway.
There is a fine balance to consider (along the lines of what Paul suggests) between great recorded performances and great technical sound quality/fidelity so that we do not lose sight of the real goal and merely, effectvely become "measurebators" (of sorts to borrow a term from the camera world) rather than music lovers. And that balance will differ some for each of us here.
And truth is no recording is gonna match live acoustic music, especially up close, anyhow. Even as an adult amateur beginner, I can pick up almost any 2 violins I might come across, play something simple and hear a substantial diff between them that rarely, if ever, comes across in recordings -- and that was something I really didn't expect before I got into that "hobby". And a lot of that diff can get lost for the audience even from a mere 10ft away too. I guess all that is partly why musicians are typically not as hung up on audio gear as non-musician audiophiles -- but the music instruments themselves would be a different story for them of course.
_Man_
PS: Since we're listing gears/setups re: this sub-topic, my 2-channel setup includes a Denon SD2910 player (that replaced a broken Philips 963SA), Yamaha 663 AVR (for prepro that replaced an old, non-5.1 Rotel piece when I went HiDef), B&K AV5000 amp and a pair of Vandersteen 2Ci's. The latter 2 normally expensive pieces were both bought used at ~1/2 their "new" prices a long time ago -- and the speakers could probably use some sort of tune-up (or maybe driver replacements) now. Like others, I've become less and less inclined to upgrade gear in the pursuit of higher (audio) fidelity, especially as I've become more interested and involved in actual musicmaking (at the amateur level of course). When it comes to audio gear, I'm more about bargain hunting for quality used gear (whenever that makes sense) that are good enough for my situation nowdays, which includes having a growing family and limited resources of all kinds (eg. time, space, etc., not just $$$).
Edited by ManW_TheUncool - 12/22/09 at 8:30am
I just got that disc recently, John. I agree that Ray was certainly on the downside of his career. But I look at it (er, listen to it) with the idea that it's one last chance to hear the genius at work. Some of the pairing and song selections really work well for me--especially my favorite, Diana Krall, on You Don't Know Me. Sweet Potato Pie was already one of my favorite JT tracks. And, I like the surround mix! 
I'm glad that disc is in my collection. But, then again, I might be just a little less discriminating than you. 
. A little latitude there perhaps. There is a DTS 96/24 label on it so maybe....
) and it only has a "High Definition Stereo tracks which are an exact duplicate of the studio master files".Also...
Well, Monster is a local company so I guess I can fool myself into believing I've somehow helped the local economy, but really.
).
