3D lifelike sound and impeccable measurements - mutually exclusive???

No, good measurements and good sound are not mutually exclusive, but good measurements don’t ensure good sound.  Poor measurements don't ensure good sound either.

For example, Pass Labs preamps and amps measure well and most people think they sound great at their price point, which isn’t cheap but not outrageous these days. Of course other people don’t like the Pass sound.

In general, if you want 3D immersive sound without spending a fortune, go with tubes, pre and power. They don’t measure as well as solid state and you can often hear those poor measurements, loose bass, for example. I think tubes is where the sounds good / measures poorly dichotomy can be most readily experienced.

I will say that I’ve only heard one setup so far that would probably satisfy both sides of this equation- it was a pair of higher end magicos with an all Moon front end. Pretty much had everything sonically. Other than that I’ve heard a lot of compromise as tomcy6 referenced, usually when you get that beautiful holographic imaging and organic texture to the music there May very well be some trade offs, it seems until you get to the megabuck gear perhaps.

op

Really only one or two people have answered my question and made suggestions of brands that they believe both measure very well AND offer an immersive musical experience in their opinion. That’s really all I’m looking for. How hard is that?

there is a website that is right up your alley, run by a ex microsoft guy who uses measurement as the key yardstick to audio equipment greatness, then he listens to the gear, sometimes, as an afterthought... you can get his greatest hits list and cross tab against opinions here or the recommended lists of stereophile or the absolute sound

good luck

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?forums/stereo-and-multichannel-amplifier-reviews....

Charles1dad
yes, i appreciate the sentiment and it’s pretty much what I’ve always followed is just my ears not worrying at all about measurements hence why i run Harbeths with a hybrid notorious for measuring poorly and sounding great. But you know how it is, we get bored and want to see what is possible in this hobby. 

Jjss49 yup I have checked his reviews out. Interesting but he’s so skewed to the measurements side you never know how it will actually sound. Ah yes Rereading your post I think you’re right that is not a bad way to go to use it as a cross list along with stereophile measurements etc.