Two Type of sound and listener preference are there more?

LOL
I play in an 11 piece band.
i also have live sound and recording experience.
I know exactly what your saying.
As far as listening i tend to lean towards  Dialing in the  overall sound.
It varies with the type of Music and recording Era and process.
I like to dial my System into what i am listening to.
My favorite is the sound i grew up with.
Late 60s early 70s Rock.
All Hi Fi is The reproduction of Music so it varies with music style, your individual taste and the flexibility of your System.
John
www.thebstreetbombers.com

Can we please add the adjectives engaging, seductive, unrelenting, like a Gila Monster?

Let's just go into everyone's brain to see how much their pleasure centers light up on each system and each tracked played.  That's the truth if folks want to label things.  It's even scientific to make those folks happy (daughter is a physic's major and I am more of a show me guy).

First  a couple of admissions:
1: I have the smallest audiophile phallus in this conversation
2: I am a fanboy of Dave Audiodoctor. He has a wonderful small shop with an incredible inventory and lots of patience and spent hours moving equipment in and out for me and my wife.

Having gotten that off my chest, now my comments.

I once read an article by someone who went out with a coffee reviewer. These are the people who test coffees. They do it black, no sugar slurping sips and rolling them around in their mouths before spitting them out. The writer was amazed that the reviewer had his coffee with sugar and cream. When asked about it, the reviewer said that he was drinking the coffee for enjoyment at that moment, and not to review.

In my mind, it is about enjoying listening to the music.
Whatever floats your boat is right FOR YOU.
My new amplifier, Primaluna Dialogue HP with KT150 tubes has a remote that can change from triode to ultralinear. There are recordings that IN MY MIND sound better in one mode than the other, and the next recording might be the opposite. This will depend on the type of music, the way it was recorded and my mood.

I had visited a number of shops and listened to a number of very nice speakers. When I went to Dave's shop I again listened to a number of speakers at different price points, sizes and construction.
For me, the speakers I chose were a pair of Vivid Oval 1.5s. I felt like I was glued or velcroed to my seat. I just didn't want to get up. I went back to the shop and had the same experience and bought the speakers.
Several months later and an upgrade to my amplifier, I have the same experience every time I listen.

There were other speakers that Dave clearly preferred. He explained his reasoning clearly, but he respected my reaction to these speakers. Again I have no second thoughts. If I looked at impedance, frequency response, off axis response, etc, it would not matter one iota, I like the sound, and I want to listen.

We have all heard systems that for no clear reason from which we wanted to walk away. The last thing any of us want to have is "listener fatigue."

Aside from a classical concert hall, all of the music to which we listen is amplified and manipulated.

The one thing I think we on which I think we can all agree is that compression and loss of dynamic range is not consistent with "live" music even when amplified and needs to be avoided.

When I met my wife, my therapist said that she "resonated" with me.

I think that my system also has to resonate with me..

It is certainly wonderful to feel happy and satisfied from a listening session. It’s understandable to expect higher levels, greater versions of those events.

Now, we experience ’things’ whenever we can name them.
Perhaps here we seek the experience itself.
This would make ’being happy’ a thing experienced.
What then is ’the experience’?

Every artist says, "It’s something beyond words, but here are some ideas."
I get some of ’that experience’ hearing artists up close and live, and when playing music myself. I am never thinking ’I’m happy’ until it’s over.

This would mean always
A: Seek deeper experiences, not greater satisfaction.
B: Expect to simply recognize an experience when ’it’ happens.
C: ’It’ can happen with one change in a system, unexpectedly,
D: and most ’deeply’ while playing the best artists, who commune with the deepest places.

It has helped to remember
I’ve no idea what the best artists wish me to experience.
Poor gear reduces the artistry and mastery of the best artists, blocking deeper connection.
Someone right next to me may not be wired to make the connection.
Perhaps he or she is not really into the arts, beyond "I like that."
I am glad they are happy!
The world is a better place right then and there anyway!

Does not the above seem right to keep in mind while striving to make systems better?
Granted, it’s deep and hard to discuss, but that’s music! Or any art.

Does this fit with anything you’ve been thinking about?

Roy
Green Mountain Audio

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