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Although I am not an audio maniac, I have more opportunities lately to listen to music and to watch movies at home due to the CORONA virus “stay-at-home” restriction. When we listen to recorded music on an audio system, we hear the expressions of "dynamics" and "dynamic range" of the sound.
"Dynamics" in music composition and performance mean symbols, namely, dynamic level in musical notations, such as "pp (pianissimo, very softly)", "mf (mezzo forte, a moderately high volume of sound/strong)", and "f (forte, strong/laud)". It is represented by a symbol and may indicate the strength of music, or musical motif and expression.
When listening to recorded music on an audio system, it is said that if the dynamics of the speakers are excellent, the sound will be closer to the live sound. The "dynamics" of sound may be replaced with “dynamic linearity.” It is not about how loud the speaker can make, but how quickly the speaker can make the sound that you need to make instantaneously. In other words, you need to feel the instantaneous transient speed.
To give an easy-to-understand example, even if you cannot see it, you can easily judge which is the live sound, the actual piano sound played in the next room or the piano sound from the audio system. The difference in quality of sound could perhaps be a factor that distinguishes it. But more importantly, even if the frequency response and volume are the same, the speed at which the energy of the sound is emitted (or burst) is different. The live piano is overwhelmingly faster and more powerful. That is the reason why they sound decisively different. The result is the same if the instrument is a violin. In an audio system that converts an electrical signal into sound, how to raise these dynamics to bring it closer to live sound is an unlimitedly difficult task for physics.
"Dynamic range" in audio is a measure of the ratio and width of the minimum and maximum sound that can be recorded and played. Roughly speaking, "dynamic range (volume)" can be rephrased as "one element that constitutes dynamics (the strength of musical expression)." With an audio system with a small dynamic range, it is impossible to listen to a performance of a large orchestration with a force close to that of a live performance.
The unit that indicates the dynamic range, the ratio (magnification) that compares the relationship between the minimum volume and the maximum volume, is called decibel (dB). Since decibels are logarithmic (usually written as log), the ratio is not proportional as the number of units increases.
The relationship between decibels and volume is as follow.
Estimated loudness:
120dB near the airplane engine
110dB construction site riveting
100dB under the guard through which the train passes
90dB loud solo singer
80dB Inside the subway (with the window open)
70dB noisy office
60dB normal conversation
50dB urban residential area
30dB quiet residential area
100dB (under the guard through which the train passes) is 100 times louder than 60dB (the sound of ordinary conversation), and 120dB (the engine sound of an airplane) is 1,000 times louder. A difference of 6 dB is twice as loud, 10 dB is three times as loud, and 20 dB is ten times as loud. The inside of a subway with an open window is ten times as loud as a normal conversation.
The dynamic range of commercially available audio speakers is about 80dB to 100dB. We need an audio system with above 90dB to listen music with a large dynamic range such as Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 "Fate", Wagner's “Die Walküre", and Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition."
Is audio inferior to live music?
We often hear expressions such as "audio is absolutely unmatched by live music." I think that audio and live music should have both attractiveness, and advantages and disadvantages of each other. I know a lot of music connoisseur who enjoy audio not as a substitute for concerts. First-class audio products are said to be created when technology and art merge at the highest point. Technology refers to producing system that integrates acoustic, electrical, and mechanical aspects. The artistry in audio is expressed in the design, and the unique and attractive sound of the system. The purpose of improving the "dynamics" mentioned above is one of the most important issues in product development.
Audio that suits your taste gives you the joy of music that is completely different from live music and can be an independent entity. How wonderful the sound is created from my favorite audio system (it is even pleasing to watch), and the music that I listen to in playback is a different world from the music that I enjoy at concerts. It is also said to be another thing that is not the object of comparison. A connoisseur who enjoys playing music with audio is sometimes called a "record player".
The most attractive points of live music are the loud volume, wide dynamic range (wide playback space), and the feeling of air surrounded by the sound field. Also, at that time, I think that the realism of being in that place and getting the impression is unbearable and attractive. This is also an eternal wall that cannot be matched in the listening room of ordinary households. On the other hand, in live performances, there is unevenness in sound due to the seats, and there is also unevenness due to the performance of the performer. It is dynamic, but nothing is as discouraging as a live performance when it is poorly performed. In this case, it is much better to listen to audio at home.
In that respect, we can always listen to audio of the best performance and sound. Live music is live music, and audio is audio. They are two different things.
In that sense as well, I think that live music and audio are always held together, and that there are different ways to enjoy them, so I do not agree with the hypothesis; "audio is absolutely unmatched by live music."
The audio industry, which has long been swallowed by the waves of "miniaturization" and "analog to digital" since the 1980s, is no longer the same as the height of the 1970s and 1980s. I am worried about the tendency to listen to music with headphones and earphones. Nowadays, I think that there is no better way to enjoy music by DIY; either by playing an instrument or singing. It is a joke about people who cannot DIY.
(3/14/2021) Isao Sugawara: I am not a physicist thus I am not a right person to discuss Yasuda-san’s thesis above. But when I was young, I read Kosuke Gomi's* "「西方の音」 (Seiho no Oto), “Music from the West" carefully, and I longed for audio equipment, including speakers made by Tannoy or Wharfdale. However, it was not the price then that a young office worker could afford, and in the end, I settled on a system that I could afford. Besides, no matter how you try hard to configure your system with huge expenses, "fresh food is better than canned food" thus I believe “live music is perhaps better than recorded music (to be reproduced even by a high-end audio system)." And I wonder if there is any canned food that tastes better than fresh food?
In the world and time where miniaturization is so advanced, now my audio environment is quite simple. I am ashamed to say that I listen to music with headphone attached to my computer. This is perhaps the only way to enjoy music in a condominium environment. So, in daily life, I am enjoying “canned music” as well.
(note*) Kosuke Gomi, In addition to his career as a writer, Gomi was also a noted music critic of classical music, and also a reviewer and critic of audio systems. (Wikipedia)
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