Musician vs. audiophile

I may have missed it, but what type of music does your wife play?

As a student of Yehudi Menuhin (while he was still alive), as well as some great jazz violinists, the big problem for me is getting midrange frequencies accurate with great resolution. When I say "midrange", I do not want to fall into the trap of how many frequencies can dance on the head of a pin in the midrange (e.g., I have read comments in TAC, Stereophile and elsewhere about "upper midrange", "lower midrange", etcetera). 

Bass and treble are much easier for audio speakers (systems) to reproduce, but the analytic separation of strings in orchestral music seems quite challenging for most audio systems.

If I was still playing the violin 6 - 8 hours a day, especially during performances, the last thing I would want at the end of the day would be to listen to more music, unless it was more rehearsal time.

-Gerry

As a retired classical pianist and audiophile, what I look for is a natural presentation.
I am not obsessive to the point I must have the most expensive, or best of the best equipment. The audiophile in me wants to obsess over the sound, but the musician in me simply wants to sit down and have an experience of the music that closely resembles what I have heard in live situations.
I think audiophiles look for different parameters than musicians do: Agonizing over parameters that musicians don’t care about.
A musician realizes there is no “one” sound of a performance. Yes, bass may not be “tight” in certain venues.  Similarly, “highs” may be compromised. There is no holy grail of one “perfect” sound.  So, if a recording is not ideal by audiophile standards, a musician may accept it because it better transmits the musical message, even if it’s not acceptable  by audiophile standards.

+1 Russbutton

Your “sizzle” remark is right on the mark. I would add that most high end sells sizzle too. Choosing the goldilocks sound (neutral overall - not too hot and not too cold) requires discipline and careful selection through audition of many tracks. B&W and others sell based on sizzle.

Imo, the correct solution; time for a hybrid speaker system. Consider a hybrid horn along the lines of the PureAudioProject Trio15 Horn 1 (reviewed). You will not find agreement on sound between the dynamic and panel sound, likely�. A hybrid can get you there. It's not a matter of sound quality�, but technology employed. It has not so much to do with the subs, amps, etc. YMMV

The entire system can be taken up several levels of sound quality, if you wish to pursue it. If you approach this with the correct perspective, you can achieve far more satisfaction for both of you.