Sound, neutrality and the pursuit of everything


The audiophile hobby is inherently a pursuit of some ideal. That ideal might differ from person to person, but what I am curious about is how each of us define that ideal. 

I kinda like where my system is at. I cue a well recorded track and think: damn that sounds good. But compared to what? Do I have a point of comparison to the original performance, the day it was recorded? Usually not. To use an overused album, unless I was sitting at the Olympia concert hall in Paris when Diana Krall performed there in 2001 and have a perfect auditory memory, how do I know my system if reproducing it with “fidelity”?

If the pursuit of perfection is useless as perfection is an illusion, how do you all define your level of satisfaction or achievement in this audiophile pursuit?

jabar102
For me it eventually comes down to 'suspension of disbelief'. There simply is no way to close the gap with live music, either acoustical instruments in a dedicated real acoustic space (sometimes called 'the absolute sound') or amplified instruments played anywhere.

Let's face it folks, even from around the corner you can distinguish if the music you hear is coming from a street musician playing live or recorded music coming from a store or something. It's a different 'gestalt' that your brain immediately identifies.

Being able to sit in front of an audio system that every once in a while succeeds in fooling your brain and make you forget you're listening to a recording played through electro-acoustic devices is probably the most we can hope to achieve. It puts a big smile on my face every time this happens.

These days I seem to smile more than I used to, so this 'audiophile thing' apparently did bring me a little bit closer to the 'real thing'. Nevertheless, a visit to the concert hall is always a sobering experience, telling you exactly how unattainable that real thing is inside your home. Now with COVID-19 unfortunately also outside the home. At this point in time 'suspension of disbelief' is all we have as music listeners, so let's cherish these moments.....

I'm after the most transparency I can have in an apartment.

It has to sound good at moderate listening levels and be so clear and lack distortion that I feel like you do when you are at the top of a mountain range, like you can see for miles, only with your ears.

Re-creating a live rock n roll performance is most definitely NOT my goal.

This part of Erik's post pretty much sums up where I'm at after years of pursuit, but it wasn't always this way. My taste in music has evolved over time, goal posts have shifted as I've aged and gained experience. Small Jazz clubs have replaced deafening Rock concerts. At home it's much of the same, mostly Jazz (lots of classic 50's and 60's recordings, piano trios, late-night smokey lounge, and moody Nordic stuff). Moving to a fleawatt SET/high-efficiency speaker system with its gorgeous clarity and tone has proven to be just about perfect for me now. Doubt it would have satisfied in my youth.



Folks, I really enjoy everyone's approach to this, so thanks for commenting. For once, there is not post touting "absolute knowledge" on a topic, or condescending comments. It's refreshing!

My purpose for the post was to see how different people approach the "quest" of this hobby and, even though the answers are highly personal, it does give some insights into what people are looking for. 

Thanks again (and keep'em coming, this is fun to read)
The terms "neutral" and "transparent" are abstract in the context of sound reproduction. Unless you talk about a gear selector or a physical material, like glass, for the latter; these terms are open to personal interpretation - as they should.
Going back to the OP's reference to the Dianna Krall performance. Even if you assume the sound crew nailed it for the live audience there are so many other variables at work in the recording process for that performance.

Microphones, cables, sound boards, tape decks (or discs), etc. that endeavored to capture what the audience heard - or what the recording engineer decided was optimal (to their ear). What if the recording did not sound exactly like the live performance? So what. Does it please you? My goal is to listen to music I enjoy on a system that helps me enjoy the music. If I don't like the sound then what else matters? My circus, my monkeys.

The pursuit we engage in is to put together a system that pleases us relative to the environment we listen to our music in.
You really can't achieve that completely by grasping at equipment that claims certain specifications or measurements.
You may get closer to your ideal by targeting equipment that you believe will deliver but the only true test is to acquire and listen for yourself - in the environment that matters to you.

Frustrating at times but fun more often than not.