Quote Originally Posted by poppachubby
Sounds like your funeral trumpeter could use a lesson or two in harmonics and tone. Have you ever heard a player the likes of Hubbard or Hargrove play live? A trumpet is certainly brighter than many other instruments, but should never be harsh.

One of my favorite trumpet performances, and an album with great live feel, is Hancock's Empyrean Isles. Hubbard is genius harmonically on this one, he has no tenor to help smooth him out. The harder he plays, and higher the note, the more the hair stands up on my arms. Wonderful tone. The first solo in Cantaloupe Island ALWAYS gives me goose bumps, never harsh or bright.

Junk in, junk out. I agree with Joe.

I mentioned in another thread how great The Cowboy Junkies - Trinity Sessions is for stereo imaging. It's damn near perfect. The depth is such that you feel like you can climb into the speaker. Proportionally, the instruments create the space exactly as it was. This album was recorded using a single mic in the center of the room.

Some of the older Blue Note, Verve and Prestige recordings have the same feel. Using only 2 or 3 mics and recording live off the floor, the imaging comes off amazingly potent and audible.

For me, as a bass player, nothing can replace the live experience. I just look for as much accuracy as possible with the gear I have. Right now I'm pleased with how my room sounds. It's the exact right amounts of sweetness and technicality for my ears.
Undoubtedly, the trumpter lacked talent, but if a recording of his performance was played through a HiFi setup it should sound as bright and harsh as it did live.... A UK review mag (What HiFi?) always looks for products that are "all-rounders" i.e. if the recording is bright and harsh, then it should sound bright and harsh, if it's smooth then it should sound smooth... While there are numerous valid complaints about What HiFi's review approach (especially the length and detail in the published reviews), I do agree with the fundamental principle that a good HiFi system should not hide the fact that a recording is bright etc..

At this point in the game, nothing can fully recreate the live experience, but I still wonder if we've lost focus and are now more concerned with HiFi traits than being accurate to the live event...

When I see reviews and they say that a product lacks the detail and soundtage of more expensive models, I wonder if that detail and soundstage might actually be more than what is present in the live performance... So could it be that a mid level product with inferior soundstage and detail is more accurate to the live performance than a SOTA one (as the SOTA gear overshoots the target)?