Have Music and Hi-Fi become two different things.

[karatestu]

IME musicians taking a line of coke = talking a lot of bollocks, being very annoying, over playing and speeding up (or trying to).

[savvypaul]

Like at the last MCRU (turntable) bake-off when I remarked that Nils Lofgren must (to the great benefit of the music) have 'done a line of cocaine' in between switching from the Clearaudio to the Garrard. A guy stood next to me, who had just inherited an old Rega, and never been to a bake-off before, simultaneously exclaimed 'cor, fuckin' 'ell, that's it'!

But that just sums up what I don't understand.

First, it may have been a good analogy that was understood at the time by someone listening to the same change in equipment. But as a way of describing the difference to a non present third party I don’t see what it gains over a hifi talk version of the same. Obviously the recording was the same so the players didn’t take a line of coke, so what does it mean? Does it mean the player became less aware of his fellow musicians, his timing became less precise, he started to develop an overconfidence in the limits of his playing ability and the overall performance suffered as a result? I doubt that’s what you mean but I think its a reasonable interpretation of a musician taking a line of coke.

Second, how is that using music to judge a system? AFAIK I have never seen a musical score that contained the instructions "take line of coke". I may have described the same change as "I became more aware of the use of a thin plectrum", but I don't see how that’s any better if you don’t play guitar.

If we agree that the sound was changed, and the only thing that changed was the turntable, arm and cartridge, then how can using a musical description help, as the thing that changed is not a musical instrument. But saying that "the resolution of edges, pitch stability on transients and retrieval of micro details was improved", which I assume would be described as hifi speak, is at least trying to explain what actually did change.

Mine is a 'top of the head' reaction. He sounded like a better player, and more 'up for it'.

Yours is an analysis of how that reaction happened, I think.

I'm sure that both are valid, assuming (to my mind) that the emotional connection of the music is the starting point.

[savvypaul]

IME musicians taking a line of coke = talking a lot of bollocks, being very annoying, over playing and speeding up (or trying to).

Yeah, that's just my taste in music...

[Lurcher300b]

I'm sure that both are valid, assuming (to my mind) that the emotional connection of the music is the starting point.

But I dont know what that means.

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Like at the last MCRU (turntable) bake-off when I remarked that Nils Lofgren must (to the great benefit of the music) have 'done a line of cocaine' in between switching from the Clearaudio to the Garrard. A guy stood next to me, who had just inherited an old Rega, and never been to a bake-off before, simultaneously exclaimed 'cor, fuckin' 'ell, that's it'!

But that just sums up what I don't understand.

First, it may have been a good analogy that was understood at the time by someone listening to the same change in equipment. But as a way of describing the difference to a non present third party I don’t see what it gains over a hifi talk version of the same. Obviously the recording was the same so the players didn’t take a line of coke, so what does it mean? Does it mean the player became less aware of his fellow musicians, his timing became less precise, he started to develop an overconfidence in the limits of his playing ability and the overall performance suffered as a result? I doubt that’s what you mean but I think its a reasonable interpretation of a musician taking a line of coke.

Second, how is that using music to judge a system? AFAIK I have never seen a musical score that contained the instructions "take line of coke". I may have described the same change as "I became more aware of the use of a thin plectrum", but I don't see how that’s any better if you don’t play guitar.

If we agree that the sound was changed, and the only thing that changed was the turntable, arm and cartridge, then how can using a musical description help, as the thing that changed is not a musical instrument. But saying that "the resolution of edges, pitch stability on transients and retrieval of micro details was improved", which I assume would be described as hifi speak, is at least trying to explain what actually did change.

The comment about cocaine I applauded as I see it as a functional Zen koan (philosophical riddle), It made him think laterally and a spark of understanding came.

[savvypaul]

I'm sure that both are valid, assuming (to my mind) that the emotional connection of the music is the starting point.

But I dont know what that means.

You don't have an emotional connection when you play your records?

Why bother?

Do you mean that you don't know what that means...or that you don't know how to explain it?

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Physical connection = it makes you want to dance etc
Intellectual connection = it makes you want to follow the score etc
Emotional connection = emotional response, cry, laugh, smile, grimace, little tingly hairs rising etc.

They are all connection, if you don't get any then you wouldn't bother. The odd one that makes no sense to me is hi-fi connection, it seems you have to connect to strange things like inky blackness etc.

[montechristo358]

The odd one that makes no sense to me is hi-fi connection, it seems you have to connect to strange things like inky blackness etc.

not sure you connect to it just a means to describe it. An over used one

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

It is a connection to a terminology that in reality is delusional. You are using it so you are connected to it.

[Lurcher300b]

You don't have an emotional connection when you play your records?

Yes, of course I do, but I don't find that that is different if I listen to a HiFi or in the car on on the kitchen radio. My emotional connection is to the music not the equipment its being played through.