mats wrote:

A couple of nights ago WFMT re-broadcast a concert I had attended some weeks earlier.  It was the Emerson SQ performing in the lovely Martin Theater at Ravinia.  On the program were the last quartets by Haydn, Bartok and Schubert.  I sat about 20 rows back, and a little off to the side.  The performance was good, but ultimately only moderately satisfying.  Maybe I was too far back, or the dinner too heavy, or the folks around me a bit dull, but I could not get very excited. Then came the WFMT broadcast, produced by Kerry Frumkin and recorded by Hudson Fair.  What a difference!  Two microphones, in what must have been the absolute sweet spot of the hall, captured the large, detailed and very exciting sound of the Emerson.  It was a great blend of bold scale, integration, dynamics and tone, much different from my live experience.  So often we hear about the disapointment of coming home from a concert to our stereos, but here was an example of how the, surely different, sound of a recording could lead to something very good.  I think Romy has written about the goal in audio not being to recreate the sound of the performance, but to generate a meaningful event.  Well, this evening with WFMT validated the efforts by musicians, recordist, producer, radio station, equipment makers, and system integration.  Most satisfying art!

I think to a great extend it is due to the fact during the FM broadcast the sound is mixed for the microphones that are hanging just above conductor.  When you are in the hall then you can get any mix and it will be greatly depends from where you sit.  No further than last weekend a local friend of my was complaining that BSO was planning last weekend Beethoven 7 an brass was flooding the whole sound. The FM broadcast quite in contrary presented so phenomenal brass balance and quality that it made me to speak about it publicly:

http://classical-scene.com/2011/06/24/wcrbs-tanglewood-coverage/comment-page-1/#comment-7167

I do feel that in many cases the FM broadcast is more palatable for consumption then live event, at least after FM broadcast you do not need to stay 2.5 hour in traffic jam in the Tanglewood exit of MassPike…

I truly love that. Sometimes in the randomness of internet audio idiocy there are events where I become sort of epicenter of bashing.  I say “sort of” as they do not discuss my personally or what I stay for but instead the intent Morons mostly share with each with each other their fears how bad I might be. I am sure that someone having interest in the fields social group psychosis would write a PHD dissertation about it. I personally have great amusement reading pages and pages of white trashes from some kind audiokarma or stevehoffman forums discussing that they understood from the pictures from my site.

I mention the pictures from my site as 95% of those white trashed do not invest themselves into anything deeps then to look a few pictures and to browse “for sale” section of my site. There are however 5% of the intellectuals who do try to read my site. They have enough efforts to read a part of “my playback” page and then they share their idiotic “expressions”.  My beloved “expression” that I absolute adore is the following: If he invest all those efforts and then listening FM radio 80% of time then he is a fool who have no idea what he listens.

Well, as I told. Each of the internet idiots express opinion restricted by own ignorance, own stupidity and own fear, thankfully all of it exes in great volumes in internet audio.  The reality is that FM radio is a phenomenal source, as the subject of this thread suggests.

Let take yesterday for instance.

Early morning it was The Bach Hour with Brian McCreath, the Harpsichord Concerto in E and two cantatas. Brian play CDs, he knows Bach well and I a few times bought some CDs when I liked what Brian played. Then there was life broadcast from Fraser perfuming studio with renown harpist Ina Zdorovetchi plaing harp. I do not care too much about solo harp play but I need to admit the Liszt’s Piano Consolation converted to harp was very nice. Then there was a repeat from last night live broadcast of Marc-Andre Hamelin celebrated the Liszt’s 200 birthday. How many chances the mortal Morons have to have pianist of Hamelin caliber to play for them a private recital, including the Sonata in B minor? Then there was re-broadcast of Saturday live performance of Boston symphony with Brahms Second piano concerto and Third symphony. Then a program dedicated to Franz Liszt 200th Anniversary with semi-live broadcast from a dozen concert hall around the world with pianists palsy Liszt music. I said semi-live as it was a synchronous translation in studio of the host from different countries.  Then there was Arias and Barcarolles programs with most of WGBH own recordings in New England and one track from Dorian CD.  Then there was a program with historical recording of Toscanini with BBC Symphony. Then there was live broadcast of Verdi's Rigoletto from Washington National Opera. Then I was trying to listen last night’s live broadcast from Sanders Theater of Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra but it was too much for me.

You got to be kidding yourself if you feel that this density of LIVE programming is “not enough”. I know, I know, the Morons complain about the “quality” of FM that they accustom to get in their cars. I can only assure you that the sound I am getting in my room from FM is much more interesting then 1000s of white trashes out there are getting from their LP and SACDs. I am very much not kidding.

I truly enjoy reading the different internet audio idiots expressing their “wisdom” about what I do.  There is a site out there filed with typical audio white trash and they suddenly developed a desire to criticize my admiration of FM based upon the allegation that FM has limited bandwidth. One idiot proclaimed: “How FM might be good if it never goes lower then 40Hz?”

Well, that certainly requires some commentary from me. First of all am very much convinced that even 40Hz bass is NOT reproduced by great majority audio morons but it is not the point.  The bandwidth of my TU-X1 is from 10Hz and up. The bandwidth of stock Roden-Schwartz receiver is 40Hz but after my modifications it is 2.8Hz. This takes care about the prejudices about receivers.  Mind you that this is true bandwidths that I measured driving modulated sweeps.

Now about the signal. Sure, the FM standard is written from 30Hz but the reality is way not like this. In fact FM that I am getting has MUCH more ULF signal then most of the CDs. Do not forget that I have my ULF channels running by Yamaha B2 and this amp has very high quality and very well calibrated large modulation meters. The B2 sits behind high order crossover (18dB and 24dB) at 20Hz, so by looking at the ULF power amps meters I can absolutely objectively judge about the LF bandwidth of the signal. I can only assure that there is very few CD I’ve ever seen that has as much LF information as FM broadcasts.

I do not insist that FM bass is the best but with all my humility and modesty I truly do not see need to explain to most of the typical ignorant audio idiots the specific of bass reproduction. However, even in quantitative would, the only world that most of audio fools understand, the statement that FM has no bass below 40Hz is absolutely faulty.

Like many other audio-trashes the retards from Audiogon forum have express this “oponoin”

“I read somewhere that 80% of his listening is FM radio. That says a lot...lol”

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?eanlg&1319292658&openflup&35&4#35

I do not what that it says to that “Rockitman”.  As far as I concern he can only kiss me in the ass, right along with his rest of the dead life forms cultivating at Audiogon.  What I do know is that while the audio trash convince each other at Audiogon that they just about to miss the current stupid hype of the week I have been listening my miserable FM. Just 20 minutes ago Ludovic Morlot finished his broadcast with Harbison’s Symphony No. 4,  Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé, Suite No. 2  and Mahler’s Symphony No. 1. The sound I got was at the level that good luck to get this presentation of BSO live on CD or LP! What the idiots. 

Here in Boston the WCRB has a program “Drive Time Live”. The idea is that on Friday night when people drive home, at 4PM, then invite musicals in Fraser studio and let ten to play life  (and for sure to promoted the upcoming concerts during weekend). The quality of play wary but the quality of sound is the same: FM LIVE. I made many comments about the idiots out there who laugh that I spend too much time with FM. I am who I am. Here is argument from today broadcast.

http://www.wgbh.org/articles/Pianist-Olga-Kern-and-Violinist-Vladimir-Spivakov-5578

Olga Kern played horribly and her interview was even more moronic but if you are interested about the objective quality of FM I am getting then here is 88/24 bit file. It is Rohde & Schwarz receiver with Schwarz decoder and into Lavry Gold A/D. Copllain.

http://www.mediafire.com/?t05ggksnju32bc2