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.
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.