My friend Walter was visiting yesterday and we were swapping stories between tracks in the listening room. He told me one that really hit the mark many of us can relate to.
While attending a cocktail party several years ago with a very famous high end audio designer, the two were only half listening to the band on stage. At one point the trumpet player in the band played a loud note from his horn. The designer covered his ears and said "now THAT's what I call harsh!" assuming the band was amplified.
"No, they're not amplified, that's just the way the instrument sounds" replied Walter.
"Really, if that sounded the same on my stereo system I'd go back to the design lab. Too harsh for my tastes".
Isn't it just like us to cringe when our systems don't sound the way we expect? If live is what we're after, then sometimes we're going to have to tolerate the blat of a trumpet or the bark of a saxophone.
After all, music isn't always pretty.
