Accuracy vs. musicality

A while back, I had a chance to audition several, highly reviewed and totted speakers. One of the speakers that I spent some time with, was a $12K pr. of Raidhos - a smaller 2 way with dedicated stands. With their ceramic drivers, the little Raidhos have a reputation for being very accurate and detailed and are well loved by some audiophiles. At first I was impressed with the detail and impact of their sound, but after about 20 minuets of listening, at only moderate levels, I found them to be a bit fatiguing and harsh. I decided that I much preferred the detailed, but smoother, more open sound of my little $2K Gershmans.
Of all speakers, I still prefer the big open, detailed, yet very musical, sound of stats and ribbons, but then - it’s good that we don’t all like the same things. If we did - it would make for a boring world...Jim

One more thought on this topic.
 You’re never going to get a full symphony orchestra in your listening room, no matter how accurate or expensive your system is.
 The illusion of an orchestra is all you’ll get.  At times this approximation is not achieved by the most “accurate” components. I’ve sometimes  gotten the illusion better with lower quality gear.  It’s not an exact science.

Very few would really enjoy a perfectly accurate speaker.

IME, accuracy and musical are the exact same thing. If its somehow able to be accurate but not musical- that suggests a distortion of some kind- which suggests its not accurate. 

Quite literally the two cannot be mutually exclusive.

The illusion of an orchestra is all you’ll get.  At times this approximation is not achieved by the most “accurate” components. I’ve sometimes  gotten the illusion better with lower quality gear.  It’s not an exact science.

Yes. Setup is crucial and the room plays an enormous role. Modest equipment, if carefully vetted, can easily outperform much more expensive gear  if the latter is hampered by the room.

The more the sonic illusion of a full orchestra is created, the more it's going to fight with your perception (or at least knowledge, if eyes closed) that the room you're in could not get close to housing a full orchestra.  I think that's why I tend to prefer speakers that project a more laid-back or distant soundstage--the impression is of listening from a row further back in the auditorium, from which point the image of the orchestra would be narrower.

jhills,

Fascinating.

My impressions of the Raidho monitors vs the Gershman speakers I've heard was precisely the reverse of yours.

The Raidho sound actually has a reputation for not being in the "strictly accurate/neutral" school of design.   They deliberately depart from flat and are more designed by and for the ear, and have a dip in the upper midrange giving them a smooth, middle or further hall sound, though highly resolved.  

That's exactly what I heard when I auditioned them.  Unfortunately I found the frequency scoop a bit too obvious and all sorts of transient information I new well (e.g. cymbals, guitars etc in certain tracks) were reduced in vibrancy and presence.

On the other hand I find the Gershman sound to be competent, but more in the "fatiguing after a while" category.

Go figure!