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Today I listened via The Loudspeakers to the Music and Arts CD version of Beethoven’s 9^th by Furtwangler/BPO, 1942. I have already gone off at some length (years ago, in Musical Discussions) about this seminal performance, and I could add plenty to that report from today’s session. But right now, I want to get down to some of the Loudspeaker-specific thoughts about sound vs. musical content that arose today.>>

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I think today is the first time I’ve listened to this CD since I fixed my skipping CD transport (also documented, in Digital Things). There were no tracking problems at all today, but this CD does have “some issues”, and I think it’s worthwhile to learn something about the history of this performance, and the recording of it, also Music and Arts’ efforts to make it easier to listen to, this to shed some light on what we are talking about. That behind us, the idea I want to play with is the actual sonic cues we listen to, depending on what we are listening for and what’s actually available to us.>>

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In terms of Musical Cues, it is worth repeating here that The Loudspeakers have a “flat frequency response”. In other words, any particular sound in any mix played via The Loudspeakers is heard relative to the other sounds, more or less as they were recorded, from soft to very loud playback levels. This means that plenty of sounds one might want “highlighted” at a “comfortable volume” are simply not highlighted. Soft sounds stay soft, and one might miss them unless the volume is turned up enough.  To the good, appropriate details are distinguishable at appropriate volumes, according to the recording. Details are natural at natural volumes, and, more important to me, I get great Musical Insight from performances I listen to via The Loudspeakers. Back to the CD in question, I am not sure what it would sound like via an “enhanced system”, but in any case, any “treatment” or “enhancement” of the sound of the playback might or might not work for any particular recording. Generally speaking, the Loudspeakers are “uncolored”, in and of themselves. As I have mentioned before, as a purely practical matter of fact, recordings via The Loudspeakers are “all over the place” and, for better or for worse, this is audible to me when I listen. Since I don’t really want this, in and of itself, I am glad to share that this sort of information is not prominent, and it is (somehow…) “set aside” from the Music, itself, which allows me to focus naturally on the Music and the Sound of the Music. I find the relaxation this affords me to be invaluable for “deep listening”.>>

Paul S

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