live music versus hi-fi
Dear audiophile, far be it from me to be contentious, but ... I have to touch a sore spot!
In my professional life, I have encountered many audiophiles with hyper-costly systems, but can you believe most of them have never set foot in a concert hall?
Even worse, the same applies to the owners (and sales assistants) of hi-fi stores that have attained the status of “hi-end temples”, as well as so many reviewers in hi-fi magazines!
This situation is particularly concerning, as retailers and reviewers hold significant sway over their customers' and readers' minds. Having spent 54 years in this field, I can confidently assert that, with exceptions, sonic and technical ignorance is a pervasive issue among insiders in the hi-fi world, including the hi-end sector.
Likewise, many audiophiles lack the fundamental knowledge to judge the equipment they own or want to buy, and this helps explain how aesthetically striking yet sonically mediocre products end up being sold at stratospheric prices.
Broadly speaking, if hi‑end "gurus", reviewers, and audiophiles went to concerts, they would better understand music and how it sounds live. Audiophiles would be less prone to falling for the "succulent baits" set by the other two groups. And those "gurus" and reviewers, if they acted in good faith, could finally deliver the serious, overdue, and genuinely useful service their customers and readers need.
However, while regularly attending concerts is certainly enjoyable and invaluable for developing a deeper understanding of music and sound, it's not enough to judge the sonic accuracy of a hi-fi system. Why? Simply because you have no way of knowing the true, original sound contained in any given CD (or LP, for the "nostalgics") you use to evaluate, for example, a pair of speakers. It’s a fact that without knowing the instruments' peculiar timbres, the venue’s acoustics, the recording technique, the placement of the microphones, and the manipulations of the master, with the possible addition of sonic effects and compression, you risk misjudging a good system as bad, and vice versa.
For example, if you play a sharp and harsh CD on a very “soft” and “slow” system (what I call “funeral systems”), the resulting sound might seem almost acceptable. You might then conclude that the system is good, but that is a false impression. In fact, the acceptable sound is merely the result of two opposing flaws compensating each other. In reality, you're playing a terrible CD on a hopeless system! Now, if you play a perfectly recorded CD (good luck finding one) on the same "funeral system", the inevitable result will be… a funeral. And you'll now conclude that the previous system isn't good. Likewise, poor sound can also arise from coupling a flawless system with a terrible CD, and so on.
In light of these unassailable facts, I hope you start realising that all reviews, opinions of esoteric “gurus”, and even your judgments are based on nothing certain! The reality is that these individuals act as modern-day Pythias of Apollo’s oracle at Delphi, claiming to be able to tackle problems formulated without any known data.
Now, you probably agree with me that the only way to correctly evaluate a system (or a single component) is to use a sound source whose sound you are familiar with. But ... how can an ordinary person get their hands on a known source of music? If you are based in Auckland or its surroundings, it’s simple: come to concerts of Bach Musica New Zealand and later buy the CD of the concert you attended!
Attending these concerts lets you experience and retain their sound. Later, when playing the CD on different systems in some “hi-end temple”, you'll finally have a concrete, not pie‑in‑the‑sky way to evaluate them properly. You'll also use these CDs to check your system, and I hope you won’t get any shocking news: best wishes!
I make the live recordings of these concerts, and I assure you that the resulting CDs are true references: completely authentic, capturing even the coughs, incidental noises, and the hum of air conditioning! They are free from phase errors, as well as from any electronic manipulations or effects. Unlike commercial CDs, mine have not been compressed, so with highly dynamic music, they unleash blistering transients (over 80 dB of dynamic range), ideal for testing the dynamic limits and "speed" of your system. You’ll also realise that "digital" is an exceptional medium, anything but harsh!
Moreover, these CDs feature pristine recordings of the audience’s applause, and this is one of the most taxing and complex things you could feed to a hi-fi system. Indeed, clapping spans an incredibly wide frequency range (excluding infrabass, unless the audience and/or musicians start stamping their feet) and demands a system with extreme speed and dynamics. Every single clap is like a miniature explosion! For these reasons, to assess a hi-fi system, a perfectly recorded audience applause is one of the most valuable "tools" you can use, perhaps even more so than music itself. So, when playing my CDs, if a system delivers applause that is crisp, clean, natural, and perfectly articulated, it already possesses all the "credentials" required to reproduce music faithfully.
Conversely, if the clapping sounds unrealistic and lifeless (too smooth, homogeneous, not crisp enough, and sometimes confused and/or nasal), the system has NO hope of reproducing music properly. You may be sceptical, but there's no denying it!
Even after forty years, I vividly remember the sheer dismay of hearing a system that cost over a hundred thousand dollars (a crazy amount for the times) turn one of my recorded applause into the pounding of a waterfall.
To understand the unique sound and quality of these CDs, please visit the live recording page and, to learn more about their sale, click here.
I’d also like to add that the Bach Musica NZ orchestra, its chorus, and its conductor, Rita Paczian, are of exceptionally high calibre. Performing in the beautiful Concert Hall of Auckland’s Town Hall, they primarily focus on Baroque music, but also present works by contemporary Kiwi composers, along with world and New Zealand premieres.
However, towards the end of last year, we received unwelcome news about the Conductor: our dearly beloved Rita, after gifting us 32 years of unforgettable music, has sadly stepped down. It's a deep void to fill, yet BMNZ will carry on, with four guest conductors taking the podium in this season’s four concerts.
If you are interested in joining the Bach Musica “family", you are welcome! To learn more about this orchestra, please visit their website by clicking here. To finish, have a look at the 2026 programme. The ticket prices are extremely reasonable, but you might also consider subscribing for the whole Season to enjoy even more affordable rates!
If you are interested in joining the Bach Musica “family", you are welcome! To learn more about this orchestra, please visit their website by clicking here. To finish, have a look at the 2026 programme. The ticket prices are extremely reasonable, but you might also consider subscribing for the whole Season to enjoy even more affordable rates!
Below, a few shots of Bach Musica New Zealand, performing in the Concert Hall and in the Holy Trinity Cathedral of Auckland.
