Live Sound Versus Hi-Fi Sound

[Feanor]

I attended a funeral today and heard an unaplified trumpet playing and it got me thinking again about live versus Hi-Fi sound...
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So back to the trumpet: the sound was harsh and bright... which I found interesting considering how many times I hear audiophiles wax lyrically about the virtues of warm gear that never makes any recordings sound harsh... So how can I reproduce live sound with gear that makes everything listenable and/or sweet, considering that many live instruments and sounds are harsh and bright?

Have we moved so far away from the goal of reproducing the live event, that we now focus totally on Hi-Fi terms like prat, soundstage and detail?

I listened to some live trumpets today myself during the Easter Day service. I can assure you they were very harsh & bright, just like you observed.

I listen to live music, mostly classical, from time to time. It is very clear that, depending on the venue, many instruments sound bright. Some locations are naturally reverberate and this tends to exacerbate brightness. This includes not only brass but certainly string instruments -- violins simply are not produce the dulcit, silky smooth sound that some people think they ought to. In fact they can be downright skreechy.

As for recording, part of it is the natural accoustic of the venue and the rest recording technique. I suspect close-micing also emphasizes the "grating" elements of the sound of strings for instance.

Are many people deceiving themselves about want is actually accurate? In particular, like you, I think "warmth" is overrated. Some people do admit they prefer euphonic over accurate but others are kidding themselves.

What is "accuracy"? I agree with RGA and others that it's to accurately reproduce the recording, not some hypothetical live event. On the other hand without listening with the recording engineer in the studio, it's impossible to be sure exactly what the recording is supposed to sound like, and even that is filtered through the monitors and studio's other playback equipment.