The closest approach...really

there is one "fly in the ointment". that is the recording.
recording quality varies. if one is trying to attain a semblance of natural timbre, one has to carefully select recordings, as benchmarks.

since the sound of recordings is unknown, the best one can do is listen to a bunch of recordings on many stereo systems and make a selection based upon the results of all of the listening sessions.

essentailly the stereo system and recording is evaluated, not just the stereo system. if one "tunes" one's stereo systems based upon a group of recordings, it is possible that one may not achieve the realism attained from the reference recordings when listening to "non" reference recordings.

Mrtennis
LOL, you are so right and there are many more flies in the ointment: Changes in humidity, temperature,the grid, your own well being just to mention a few fat ones.
Strangely enough though, and I wonder if Newbee would not agree with this, after your rig has reached that level of satisfaction, we spoke of above and after listening to a lot of various software (LP,CD,r2r,music server, whatever), the quality of a recording does not matter that much anymore. Having finally reached contentment with your set up you listen to music, not to the rig and if the rig suddenly draws your attention away from the music, generally something is wrong, either with you or with the rig which has to be addressed. I have never really consciously "tuned" my system to specific recordings, but tried to tune it to what my ears told me was more or less right with a lot of different software with all kinds of music and of course have found ways in time to compensate, with the choice of specific gear, just as Newbee seems to have done, for recording flaws, which I found irksome and which distracted from the performance.

>>there is one "fly in the ointment<<

You don't know how right you are.

Interesting discussion. While I can understand the pursuit of best sound reproduction available (within the constraints of your budget if you have one) what I can't understand is how does one know when the pinacle has been reached and that further pursuit is merely a fine tuning to ones taste? We all know that absolute fidelity to the real thing is impossible, but we really don't know how close you can get.

A recording studio engineer has the luxury of hearing live music nearly everyday and then hearing the same music reproduced on a system. The equipment choices and acoustically tailored studios of these folks are probably most indicative of a "pinnacle" in sound. I agree that home audio enthusiasts don't stand much of a chance and probably end up with something tailored to their taste. However, you can find out what pros use and select gear accordingly rather than the latest models appearing in the audio rags (still many choices but ALL highly regarded pro gear will at least have been "vetted" by many professionals/musicians).

All of this presumes that the audio engineer's ears and tastes are inline with what whatever audiophile "standard" folks in this thread hopefully applies. That just about NEVER, EVER happens.

Let us not forget musicians, engineers, and audiophiles are three distinct species, with the overlap of audiophiles and the other two being by far the smallest in the equation. Yes, there is a small movement towards those who publish things almost exactly as they were recorded, but again, it is a small movement. The industry has accepted certain bastardizations as being necessary to make music either playable on a car/table radio or saleable.

Recording engineers, like anyone working in a field mixing both art and science, leave as much of a fingerprint on the sound as anyone in the band. When you go to different restaurants, the same recipe will taste different because a different chef has prepared it. Music is absolutely no different. Anyone who hears the original tapes in comparison to the mixdowns knows the latter rarely lines up with the former. In fact, musicians seek out engineers to lend a particular flavor or "seasoning" to the end product. For example, engineers such as Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois have very recognizable sonic signatures. Lanois' work, characterized by his incredibly dark and heavy sound is as far away from what is originally put down on tape as one can imagine, yet he remains always in demand with the most well known musicians in the industry.

Bottom line, the way your system sounds is as unique as your musical taste. No need to fret over it, or feel you aren't living up to some "standard". Just go with it; whether "it" is the absolute sound of unamplified instruments or something different than that. No one is ever held to account as to why they drink Coke or Pepsi, why let them them hold you to something with your system and/or music? After all, the tastes of those involved in making and producing that music are just as varied as ours.