For You: THE most imprortant element...

I have to agree with Drubin- for me it is tonal purity. I guess to be totally honest with myself my perception of tonal purity is probably influenced by imaging, transparency and frequency extension, but they are all means to an end- losing myself in the texture of the sound.

Actually, CornFedBoy was spot on - it's the music. I can listen to Dwight Yoakum, for example, on anything capable of making some semblance of the sound. Do I prefer to hear it on good gear - naturally. But I first fell for music listening to Chicago blues and MoTown pop on the old Sony "Ball and Chain" am radio. Stupid thing could sometimes pull in Chicago, sometimes Texas, sometimes Canada, and as a kid it was the most amazing thing - to hear all this music I'd never heard before. And back then I didn't know AM from my A$$, stereo from steering, I just loved the music. If I'm doing "serious" listening, then it'll be on the main, but I can get just as much joy out in the barn listening to Bill Monroe on the beat to bits boombox when I'm working on something. If I get hung up on how it sounds, I lose that foot tapping fun feeling, and that's really why I listen to music, at all. On the other hand, put any "101 Strings..." recording on the mightiest, most magnificent, as yet unheard, unbelievably realistic sounding, you-are-there system, and I'll just pull the plug. Can't stand it. Really don't want to hear it.

No system can make music, but the music makes the system, for me.

chas

I agree with Drubin and the Trekkie (couldnt resist). Taking for granted that we are listening to music we like, accurate tonality comes first for me, then dynamic realism, then imaging (ie 3 dimensionality), then soundstaging.

...is being able to get lost in the music. When suddenly it's 2AM, and the past hours belonged only to oblivion, things are just right.

Most important is accurate retrieving of low level musical information. Without? Musicality and sense of ambience and space, is lost.