Encountering HiFi, Part 2

audiobliss

I'm sitting here on the couch listening to music. And as it should be, it is an awesome experience. I'm finishing up Mark Knopfler's Sailing to Philadelphia after already playing Alison Krauss and Union Station's "The Boy Who Wouldn't Hoe Corn" and Chris Isaak's Heart Shaped World. Night before last was Mark Knopfler's The Ragpicker's Dream.

I've been a member of this forum for a few years, and my activity here has jumped back and forth between two main categories: from actively seeking this 'audio nirvana' we all long for and contributing to discussions centered on that pursuit; to forsaking all audio-related conquests and hanging out almost exclusively in the Clubhouse, no doubt prompting many of you to wonder why I stick around.

If sitting here this evening, being enveloped by music and astounded at its presentation isn't adequate enough response to that quandry, then I doubt there is one.

So many times in reading on this forum I've come across such words as used to describe sounds and presentations that I never figured out exactly what they referred to and doubted if I'd ever be able to recognize and distinguish the characteristics they represented. I even began to wonder if they really were discernable or if they were simply figments of peoples' imaginations. However, as I sit here listening in awe, trying to find ways to express in words the sounds I'm hearing, desperately grasping for adequate descriptions, I find myself grabbing onto those very words I had previously viewed in such a confused, dubious light.

The sound is so light and airy. So textured and three dimensional. It's like it's real. Everything is represented. No sound, no instrument is hidden or stifled. No matter how busy the recording, no matter how much is going on, everything is there, and it never sounds compressed or stressed. I keep wanting to use the word forward, but it's not harsh or bright in the least. It only sounds forward in that it's effortless; there is nothing muffling any of the sounds, keeping me from hearing it. I suppose a good word would be transparent.

I'm still struggling with picturing the stage, placing the performers and instruments, but I'm hearing the depth and spatial nature of the music. In one recording I could clearly hear the piano just to the right of the right speaker.

And such incredible detail. Especially with the strings. Listening to the bass in the opening of "Coyote" on Mark Knopfler's The Ragpicker's Dream, I was amazed how I could hear everything the strings were doing, all the little nuances. I immediately listened to it on my computer and phone through my Sennheisers, and all that was lost. I regret my system is so far away so I can't directly compare.

Definitely a very cool experience.

Just in case you're wondering, here's what I know of the system:
Oppo BDP-83
Wyred 4 Sound Dac 2
Parasound Halo A21
Dynaudio S14
stereo Vandersteen subs
room treated with sound traps
extensive use of Signal Cables

reeltrouble1

Embracing Hi-Fi sound, excellent! Those that do understand the path takes time and has more than one way, there are no gimmicks to by-pass the basics of good sound ...years can go on then as you found it comes together.....continue through the Rabbit Hole make it your own and pass it on.

Good on You Audio!

RT1

cubdog

I'm starting to get there as well and when it sounds just right it's such a pleasure.

cubdog

stuwee

I kinda hope I never find it, the ride is half the fun

Erik Tracy

I can exactly relate to the auditory reaction to music and the struggle to express that in the written word.

My humble rig gives me hints of what you are describing - with the right music at the right time there is what I would call a sublime interplay of 'technology' (the rig) and the 'music' which can bring me to the border of tears because the experience is that moving.

All the more emotional because it has taken work and effort to piece different items together, listen to those who know more, and put into practice to assemble the 'right stuff' (or the best that my meager budget can afford) with the inevitable trial and error.

The real soul satisfaction is when you just marvel at the sonic experience and let the music take you away with no distractions on the 'how'.