As a vegetarian, the thought of eating (or worse) the making of a meat sausage isn't something I like to think about. Yet, it is the perfect analogy for today's topic.
How is it that in the recording process with its miles of cables, hundreds of connectors, microphones, patch bays, computers, pots, and switches can produce glorious sound? Our audiophile senses tell us this cannot be true since even a small change in cables, connectors, and equipment makes such a huge impact on the way music is reproduced.
It turns out the answer is rather simple because while the two scenarios seem connected they are not. The creation process can be as messy and complicated as it needs to be while the reproduction of the final result must be the opposite.
Creation and consumption. Two very different activities. We can consume in a moment that which might have taken years to create. We don't see or relate to the creation mess.
When we consume sausages or listen to our stereo systems purity is important. The difference between eating sausage quickly while being shoved onto a crowded subway car would be very different than tasting and smelling every little bite at a quiet dinner table.
It's a mistake to imagine that we can conflate the recording process to that of the playback process.
They are, at their cores, opposite endeavors.
