#sonic presentation

[richardvarey]

Not like hearing a record

Several times, I’ve written that I don’t hear the sound of a recording being played. That there’s something more happening. So, now I’m wondering if it’s something like expressive music recording being rendered by expressive audio equipment in a sympathetic room, heard by experienced attentive listening. I’m touching on something profound about high-end audio reproduction that goes beyond mere…

[richardvarey]

Sonic signature selection scenarios

With two speaker models in my den, I hear an obvious sonic difference. In a nearfield listening setup in a small room with an 8″ powered subwoofer, the ELAC Debut 2.0 B6.2 and Bowers & Wilkins 606 S2 Anniversary Edition exhibit distinct differences in sound quality. While both are well-regarded bookshelf speakers, their design philosophies and sonic signatures diverge, particularly in the…

[richardvarey]

Not just listening, but truly hearing the music

This article from Roger Skoff argues that the way an audio system renders or presents a recording decoded from its carrier is integral to what constitutes the music heard. In the cited case, he explains that speaker wires didn’t carry some element of the signal to the loudspeakers, so the music was changed. I’m struggling to imagine how an orchestral piece was transformed into a march! In a…

[richardvarey]

Audio system presentation

What is a system of music audio components operating in a listening room? It renders a recording for the listener. Is that all it does? Is it simply a bridge or conduit between an encoded recording, in whatever carrying medium format, and playback generating sound? I understand the function to be presenter. The purpose is not inert neutral reproduction of content but to create an engaging…

[richardvarey]

Phantom percepts and the pursuit of perfection

In the one hand, it’s kind of what home audio stereo is all about. The “stereo phantom centre” is the phenomenon in stereo sound reproduction where a listener perceives a sound source to be coming from a point in between two speakers, even if there is no physical speaker located at that point. On the other, it’s a deviance from the purpose of 2-channel stereo configuration – to create a more…

[richardvarey]

Sonic presentation and musical connection

I read this in his open baffle loudspeakers review by Jules Coleman at EnjoytheMusic.com, January 2025. He’s one of my go-to writers on home audio and music listening. Are we trying to enjoy the music, or intent on enjoying the sound of the system? It’s too far to consider the equipment as no more than a means to an end, but that’s the primary purpose, and the quality of the music listening…