John Curl's Blowtorch preamplifier part III

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Thanks Scott for listening and commenting.
This dynamic range is realistic for classic, opera is even more demanding.
Not many recordings convey such dynamics and I don’t think that’s accidental.
Recordings with high dynamic range speak trouble for the majority of home listening (ambient noise, high SPL). Ed has posted some proper (frightening) numbers in the past, listening is always more informative.

George

Yes - thanks George. I enjoyed the piece - not one I knew. On 'phones the dynamics were excellent...
 
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"at the moment". Have you ever heard of a term "primer"? In order for the paint product to stick to the surface sell well, there needs to be a primer as undercoat desire for the surface consumers.
I suspect that, should these cables ever become a product we on DIYaudio are unlikely to be the target market. I actually get riled by the continuous burson opamp 'reviews' thanks to their seeding the forum with free samples than a prototype cable.



Do you have the same view on Jakob(#)'s actions here?
On here Jakob is a total Gentleman and I have always enjoyed interacting with him. What he does outside the forum is not of my concern. He has not tried to sell me anything and handles my dumber questions with patience and grace.


We've seen many off topic subjects on this very thread over the months / years. At this point, it's simpler to ask how many posts are about JC's Blowtorch preamplifier. Perhaps off topic post is going with the flow. :yes:
I never said anything about on topic. I said productive...


That is the typical remark i dislike to read on the forum.


Why? At least in UK 'mediocre' is a very derogatory word. It may have a toned down meaning stateside but I always get the feeling Mark is using it for something thats 105dB down rather than 110dB down so his mediocre would be my transparent.



@George: sorrry not managed to listen to that clip yet. I'll pull my Mahler 8 off the server and see if it compares well. Always happy to see recordings that stretch the technology a bit and try to be realistic to dynamic contrasts.
 
In a live performance, I wouldn’t have missed that fagotto ppp and I wouldn’t have felt tensioned at choir’s fff. Not so with home listening.
Interesting, why do you think that is, the size of the space, microphones responding differently to ears?

It's enlightening for me to hear the experiences of people who are familiar with live orchestral performances, having not heard many myself. Perhaps for me that's not a bad thing, I don't know how limited the reproductions really are :)
 
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most of us don't have rooms that can handle the SPL of a full modern orchestra at full chat. Or neighbours! You don't understand the term 'effortless dynamics' until hear live unamplified music on this scale. My first epihany of this was aged 11 or so hearing Zadok the priest. When the choir came in (about 100 singers) I was astounded. Never found a recording that even comes within 20dB of the live experience.
 
Talking about preferred bit depth in recordings.
This recording (*) has a hefty 70 dB difference btn lowest and highest music level and if it was recorded without clipping it would have at least 3dB more.
Right at the beginning, during the first second, the fagotto changes from F to B#. Adjust the playback volume so that you can just perceive this change in note. This is the lowest music level. Now, listen the whole musical track at this volume setting.
What do you think, with the achievable dynamic range of the playback audio chain, the ambient noise level at your listening space and your highest allowed playback music level , would a higher bit depth recording be potentially advantageous?

(*) EAC wav rip: 2nd CD, 12th track from DECCA 467 314-2 (2001,DDD)
Dropbox - 12 2. Alles Vergangliche (Chorus mysticus).wav - Simplify your life

George
George,
Beautiful Mahler, but almost impossible to reproduce this at home.
In a concerthall this music comes to you as waves in a sea of sound, but becomes never too loud.

Hans
 
That is the typical remark i dislike to read on the forum.
There is a simple solution to that, read another forum. Unless you like to inflict unpleasantness to yourself. :scratch:

I would agree with that.

I look at my music collection and see rock, pop, jazz and classical recordings that have not been equaled since (for classical some of the very best recordings also took place in the 1960’s).

What’s the best on offer today? Bloody Taylor Swift (nice to look at but that’s all) and Ed Sheeran
Those who are about 10 years younger than you say that 80's was the summit. Those who are about 20 years younger that you say that 90's was the summit. As they say, to each own.

I suspect that, should these cables ever become a product we on DIYaudio are unlikely to be the target market. I actually get riled by the continuous burson opamp 'reviews' thanks to their seeding the forum with free samples than a prototype cable.
I have number of suspicions too. It's too many to list at the moment. Maybe later.

On here Jakob is a total Gentleman and I have always enjoyed interacting with him. What he does outside the forum is not of my concern. He has not tried to sell me anything and handles my dumber questions with patience and grace.
I haven't seen him trying to sell any electronic components however, there is something he's been trying to spread.

I never said anything about on topic. I said productive...
That too falls in a category of being simpler to ask how many productive posts are made instead.
 
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Interesting, why do you think that is, the size of the space, microphones responding differently to ears?
I guess the size and the acoustics of the performing space plus the (enormous) acoustic power of orchestra, choir, singers .
For home playback, give me the allowance to listen at high SPLs, a largish room and the equipment to play undistorted at 120dBSPL peak (and 100dBSPL for a few seconds) and I will be satisfied with a good -high dynamics- recording. That is my lo-fi dream for audio realism. If the music is inspiring I wouldn’t need much more. But as Bill and Hans wrote, it’s still far away from the real thing. Thus:
Perhaps for me that's not a bad thing, I don't know how limited the reproductions really are :)
Knowledge is a deadly friend” (“ If no one sets the rules”) as per above :)

George
 
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“ Those who are about 10 years younger than you say that 80's was the summit. Those who are about 20 years younger that you say that 90's was the summit. As they say, to each own.”

This is the kind of cheap shot inter-generational good old boy folklore bs you hear from time to time. I would think you were a bit better than this.

Maybe where you’re from. My children and their musician friends regularly remark on the quality of musicianship and artistry of 70’s pop/rock.

As for the classics, 1960 - 1980 we are spoilt for choice. This was they heyday of DG and Decca and conductors like Abaddo, Maazel (who was in his 30’s and 40’s), von Karajan, Previn et al.
 
WTF is an "audio professional" and how would one be recognized as such?

-Is a musician an "audio professional"?
-Is a acoustics PhD an "audio prefessional"?
-Is a high end audio store salesman an "audio professional"?
-Is an EE designing audio electronics an "audio professional"?
-Is a DAC chip designer an "audio professional"?
-Is, in general, any individual making money out of audio an "audio professional"?
-Are there good and bad "audio professionals" and how do we recognize them accordingly?
 
My children and their musician friends regularly remark on the quality of musicianship and artistry of 70’s pop/rock.

Mine don't, and I have three of them, all in the late 20's early 30's. They listen politely to the 60-70-80-90-00 stuff, they say nicely something like "wow, those were good times", then they are going back to their stuff (which, if nothing else, bores me to tears). I still have to find one piece of that music on their iPhones. Fortunately, we still have some common ground, but that's as far as it gets from the classic Beatles-Rolling Stones-hippy flower power-rock'n'roll path.
 
most of us don't have rooms that can handle the SPL of a full modern orchestra at full chat. Or neighbours! You don't understand the term 'effortless dynamics' until hear live unamplified music on this scale. My first epihany of this was aged 11 or so hearing Zadok the priest. When the choir came in (about 100 singers) I was astounded. Never found a recording that even comes within 20dB of the live experience.

I wonder what 30,000 sounds like Estonian Song Festival - Wikipedia
 
I've "performed" in several operas, and can confidently say that until you've been 2 meters downstage of a real operatic soprano, you don't know what loud is. The cool thing about being in an opera chorus is that you can sing as loud as (an untrained idiot like me) can, and you can't even hear yourself. People are loud.


All good fortune,
Chris
 
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