Two Type of sound and listener preference are there more?

@audiotroy 

I'm usually with you on your posts, however this one has me searching for meaning... : )

As to deeper meaning there isn't any.

Is this nihilism?  

You have absolutetly no idea what the original recording sounded like

I imagine some do. I of course do not know if @royj   was present at the recording session, but the sentence comes across as personal. Did you mean "WE" as in most of us?

@royj  I enjoyed your post. Good stuff!

Yes if Royj was at the session then he can use that session as a barometer.

The reality is we have  no idea of what a John Coltrane performance was actually sounding like unless we were there. 

Many mastering engineers can alter tonal balance, add echo and reverb and change the actual taped performance to make a recording sound good as a finished product. 

Not all recording and mastering engineers belive in a more hands off approach. 

Again if that particular performance moved Royj great for Royj that doesn't mean another listener will find that same sound to be as good.

We set up a Naim system with ATC SCM 40 on a Naim NAC 272, 250dr, XPS system with Isotek power conditioning, all high performance cabling, and the sound was very realistic, with an excellent sense of image width depth, clarity and dynamics. The top end was very clear.

We played Beatles a Hard Days Night and it sounded like a great 60's recording, with a tad bit of brittleness on top, went to Black Sabath and it was spooky. Played some more modern recordings and the sound was more refined. 

The point is the Beatles recording sounded like a recording from its time, the slight hardness was in the recording. and the system accurately conveyed that, if you don't like reality a system such as this one might not be to your tastes, YMMV

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ

"We set up a Naim system with ATC SCM 40 on a Naim NAC 272, 250dr, XPS system with Isotek power conditioning, all high performance cabling, and the sound was very realistic, with an excellent sense of image width depth, clarity and dynamics. The top end was very clear.

We played Beatles a Hard Days Night and it sounded like a great 60's recording, with a tad bit of brittleness on top, went to Black Sabath and it was spooky. Played some more modern recordings and the sound was more refined.

The point is the Beatles recording sounded like a recording from its time, the slight hardness was in the recording. and the system accurately conveyed that, if you don't like reality a system such as this one might not be to your tastes, YMMV"

Using your words, how can you know since you weren't at the recording.  

Hearing is personal, so as you say "One personas nirvanaha is another persons hell."  Based on that, maybe you should not be so absolute and just say to YOUR EARS.......this is how something sounded.  Maybe not even write down what gear you used that you sell.  it's just a thought Dave, that's all. Nothing more than that.

Bottom line is that the question may make folks think, but in teh end, it's irrelevant as we like what we like and don't like what we don't like.  It's personal and maybe factors change constantly.  

I used to spend a ton of time recording in a studio.  I know what my interpretation was, but that also differed from others. etc...  A good friend of mine owns a store in Houston and he spent many of his years recording for some of the greats in the industry.  He has plenty of reels of 'live recordings' that he can call on.  It still comes down to what moves us and who doesn't.  

@audiotroy
"One personas nirvanaha is another persons hell."

Correction: One personas (sic) nirvahahaha is another person (’) s hell."

Sounds as if you are referring to audiophile ceilings and floors, but I could be wrong. Maybe it’s an "either or" kind of situation, depending on the number of personas. Lots of variables, though.
Personally, I know I’m on to something if my toes are tapping, which is, of course, one of the most important principles of Dahn Yoga.

Interesting discussion. Two things that have been somewhat alluded to but, I think, haven't gotten enough emphasis:

1) State of mind/body.  The degree to which music through an audio system speaks to you, pleasantly or unpleasantly, is largely dependent on your mental/physical state at that time.  If you're unduly stressed or otherwise mentally preoccupied (consciously or subconsciously), the music and its message will not fully penetrate.  If you are ill and/or suffering a serious malady, same thing.  This is the "car radio" phenomenon we always hear about. Or, in my case, the sonos effect.  I have experienced as many musically magic moments from my $150 remote sonos speaker as I have from my mega buck system. Why?  In those moments I was primed and ready to fully absorb and enjoy the music physically and mentally.  Critical faculties were switched off and there was a clear channel for the music to pass through. The quality of the system was secondary.

2) Confirming biases.  This is a well known phenomenon, we're all susceptible to it.  Say, as an audiophile, you did all the work to build your system.  You read all the reviews, went to dealers and audio shows to hear a variety of gear, then, you landed.....somewhere.  Doesn't matter where, could be a planar/electrostatic based system, high efficiency horns and low powered tube amps, big, dynamic floor-standers, mini-monitors, etc.  This, no doubt, was the the right answer for you.  The music spoke most loudly to you via that approach.  The problem is, you must be right, after all, you invested all that time and money and you're a smart, well intended person.  You, naturally, look for confirmation that you were right when you hear your, and other, systems.  It's normal.  This is why I trust non audiophile or "non-educated" ears more than audiophiles. IMO, audiophiles are mostly hopeless in this regard. Despite their best efforts, audiophiles (and reviewers) with those "educated" ears cannot turn off their analytical filter and fully suppress their biases, they have way too much invested.  In my case, if I can get my wife (non educated ear) to sit still and pay attention for an entire record side or CD and say, "wow, that was great," my system is doing a lot right.  This is worth more to me than my audiophile buddy prattling on about the size of the sound stage or the slight mid-bass hump that smeared a transient.

This doesn't mean we should give up pursing gear that truly enhances our personal enjoyment of music.  But we should do it fully aware of our own biases and with the grace to realize that what's meaningful to us is not universal.