What is Musicality?

I was not suggesting that you had "elevated" anyone, Sabai. I'm sorry, I reread what I wrote and realize that I was not clear. I included it in the same sentence which might have implied that, qualifying it with the phrase, "..OR, making broad generalizations..." The inference of elevating a group was more around the discussion of those with a more thorough knowledge of music having the capacity to enjoy music more, as well as the idea of elevating celebrity, both of which I think are absurd notions myself. My comment around what you said about women, is more about generalizing about any group of people - sure, you can generalize, but I was trying to point out that generalizations are most certainly not a rule. For instance, I do not fit your general descriptions of men and women that you've set forth as based on fact, and on Carl Jung's studies. I am not at all a cogitator and operate far more on feelings than I do on thinking. I also have known many men and women who are the exception to these generalizations. I have no doubt the studies exist as you say they do. Again, I don't see the point in the same way I don't see the point of implying something like; more caucasians are audiophiles than African-Americans. That may be one person's experience, and there may actually be studies to back this statement up, but really, what's the point? What does this information serve to do? In some contexts far more harm than good. Perhaps it's that I'm not a cogitator (though I guess these tomes require a bit of reflecting, so there's certainly some element of that in me). I'd rather just experience people, and the world, at face value than try to predict everything ahead of time. But I digress, as usual. Just my .02 Lincolns on the subject.

Music appreciation and the audiophile are mutually exclusive. Aquiring the electronics and building a sound system to reproduce sound is a materialistic hobby. Sure the basis for an audiophile is the love of music but when many of us have stereos costing many times that of our music collections, our priorities become obvious. My wife is perfectly happy walking around the house playing her music out of the tiny speaker built into her cellphone. Of course, she can hear the difference with my nice stereo, but it does not matter to her. I know people with music collections far exceeding the value of the stereo they play them on. btw- some are musicians, and some are not.

Why do we keep upgrading/tweaking our systems? Simple, we get bored with the music side of it and need a change to spice things up. I liken it to the day I got an HDTV and HD Cable. I was sitting there mesmerized by the detailed, crisp picture of a baseball game. My wife walked in and asked why the sudden interest in sports? I said, it's not about the game, it is about the picture quality. She just shook her head and left.

"Simple, we get bored with the music side of it and need a change to spice things up"

Tonywinsc - do you think that listening thru better equipment doesn't offer better overall experience? People get better TVs to see games better not just for the sake of having larger TV. I had a choice of listening to music with poor sound or with good sound. What do you think I chose.

I know I enjoy the music more through a better sounding system. That's why we are here. The rest of the world doesn't care. Perhaps the live music experience is more preferred by others. I enjoy both, but I enjoy listening at home more.

Well, you're all making very good points today, IMHO. Jax2 no apology needed. I think we're talking about the same thing in different ways, like a diamond with different facets. I think that the "studies" over a period of quite a few decades confirm that there are very real differences between men and women in a generalized sense. Of course this does not apply to everyone. It is just a broad stroke with the psychological paintbrush. I like what Tonywinsc observed. My wife is the same way. She has her little battery-powered mini radio in the kitchen and carries it all over the house with her to listen to her favorite music. I gave her my back-up system that now occupies center stage in the living room but she rarely ever turns it on even though it is a darn good system and she has a lot of CDs she enjoys when she does turn it on. When she comes into my small listening/computer room upstairs and I ask her what she "thinks" of the latest tweak or component she simply says "good" and then gets on with whatever she happens to be involved with at the moment. But sometimes a special song does elicit her request for a dance together. She appreciates the improvements in my system -- that I know -- but she is not obsessed with audio matters like I am -- and like I have been for many decades. My wife is very musical. I sleep in in the mornings and I am very often awakened by her lovely voice singing A Cappella or accompanying a song on her little radio. Our musicality is different but we both appreciate music in very much the same way -- as non-cogitators. Her appreciation of music does not depend on a "system". To reflect on one of your comments, I am not upgrading because I am bored. I am upgrading because this is the first time in my life that I have been able to afford a quality music system. I have a budget for it now, I have made most of my purchases and I am enjoying music in a way that I never thought I would be able to. The improved equipment makes a big difference to me. Music appreciation and audiophile live happily under the same roof in my modest listening room. I am very happy about each upgrade and tweak. I have my list and once it's all in place later this year then that will be about it -- except for maybe a plug here or an IC there -- but I'm not even sure if that will be necessary. Nothing major remains to be done. IMHO, The trick is to be happy with the best you can afford -- and I certainly am. I am very happy with my system and I am neither bored with it nor motivated to tweak it to death. On the video side, I am not a TV watcher although I do enjoy watching the occasional movie. So video upgrading and tweaking are not concerns for me. My wife enjoys watching TV a lot but since she is very happy with our TV set video upgrading or tweaking is not an issue for either of us.

Sabai