Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/07/27
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Alan wrote: <(perhaps this is why the best musicians often have the poorest hi-fi).> The conclusion in my mind is that perhaps the best musicians and certain music lovers focus on the melodic lines, harmonics, rhythms and all the rest of the essence of music itself. I'm that way, I know a lot of my recordings nearly note for note. For fun, I like to whistle the first line of next piece in perfect pitch during the break. I get lots of amazed looks from people in my office when they realize I got it right. Most however, ask me if I need to change the cd. Some "audiophiles" are more concerned about impressing their neighbors and old college buddies with how great it sounds when you play a $10,000 system really, really loud rather than actually enjoying the subtle nuances of a particular recording.. I'm bothered more by static, an occasional ahem, cough etc. or a Glen Gould humming while playing the piano or worse yet playing off pitch. I'd rather put $800 into good recordings than into a new improved power cord. I found for me that a $500 Yamaha receiver, adding a decent CD player and another $500 or so for speakers, gave me a level of sound where I was no longer distracted by the technical quality and could focus on the music itself. Can I hear difference between it and my brother's Audio Research pre-amp, Moscode tube amplifiers and Snell speakers? Of course. Does it make the music more enjoyable? Only if I really think about it. Does it make a poorly performed piece sound better? Definitely not. But, a Stradivarius, well, it certainly has an unmistakable tone that still wows me. I recognize one far faster than picking out what slides I shot with a M-6 when laid side by side with my Canon stuff. To get this back on topic, Leicas are Leicas and whether they are the worth the money or not is not the point as we've all spent a relatively small fortune on Leicas. A lot of great photographs have been taken with them and many more have been taken without them. Photography is still about making images, not about owning expensive pieces of equipment.. Technical quality, while important, doesn't make lasting images out of useless information. Passion about the subject and being at the right place at the right time does. Duane Birkey HCJB World Radio Quito Ecuador http://members.tripod.com/~Duane_Birkey/index.html (Best of travel pod award)