High Performance Audio - The End?

On a rightfully embed system everything sound better, badly recorded or not...

Resolving power is only one attribute of a good audio system and by itself in no way define Superior S.Q.

The idea that we must pay 100, 000 dollars or even 10,000, to enjoy hi-fi is a myth at best and a lie at worst...Especially if we buy used or vintage mythical good components and takes controls of their embeddings dimensions......

For most audio system between, 1000 bucks and 10,000 dollars the quality controls of the triple embeddings of the system define his working capability to deliver a musical great experience....It is even true for high priced one but less evident.... Upgrading an element before embedding rightfully the audio system is the way to the money pit linked to the without end upgrading pit by endless frustration....

When you cannot change without listening it till it ends most of your cd because they are so beautiful and musical now, you are there...

There will be no end to audio, because the good vinyl, or files or cd are there already, and many people will want to listen to them at their optimal S. Q. without the same gear than today but who gives a dam about the gear if the music is sublime ?

If you believe all "new" music sounds bad it's your system that is at fault. 
"New" music demands a lot from your system that the "old" doesn't. In my opinion the average quality of recordings never been better than today. Guttenberg? Who listens to him? What does he play?  

His analysis, and this thread, remind me of selling LCD projectors 15-20 years ago and having clients comment on the “screen door” effect that was apparent if the projector was perfectly focused. The person being Demo’d would inevitably be like “that’s annoying, can anything be done about it?!” 

My response was always the same, to take the focus wheel on the projector and back it off perfect focus just enough to blur the lines between each pixel, but not enough to make the picture look fuzzy overall. Customers were always satisfied, and with good reason, 35mm film in theaters doesn’t look like modern 4k video production. It stands to reason that poorly recorded or produced music may be more enjoyable on systems with less resolving power. 

It stands to reason that poorly recorded or produced music may be more enjoyable on systems with less resolving power.

it is the reverse, if you like this bad recording very much... You want to "extract" all his wine juice with the bad vinegar.... A very good system will give you the 2....But you will always think Alas! it is a bad recording of a so beautiful music....

But it is more relaxing in a bad system....But who want a more relaxing but bad audio system sound no questions asked?
It is like saying i like prostitutes, no love, no real emotions, only thing done.... :)

Myself i prefer to be in love with a way less beautiful girl than with the beautiful prostitute....His heart is my sound audio system....

In my car like with a prostitute i dont give a dam yes.... Then you are right on this count.... :)

You say " it stands to reason" but the world experience dont stand to reason at all..... :)

@dougeyjones,

'My response was always the same, to take the focus wheel on the projector and back it off perfect focus just enough to blur the lines between each pixel, but not enough to make the picture look fuzzy overall. Customers were always satisfied, and with good reason, 35mm film in theaters doesn’t look like modern 4k video production. It stands to reason that poorly recorded or produced music may be more enjoyable on systems with less resolving power.'



Yes, it's very similar to the same approach to soft filtering as used by film makers and photographers for decades now. 

Most of us do not want to see high resolution images of less than perfect looking actors and models in harsh light without make-up?

Instead most people tend to prefer to see only perfect looking, highly made up, well lit images in the highest resolution.

In audio we want our music recorded in the best way possible, but when it's not (99.9% of the time) a little soft filtering may help a little. That was Steve's point.

Some manufacturers like Harbeth have even openly said they don't want their domestic products to be as ruthlessly revealing as the ones they make for professional use. 

Those so-called monitors tend to be the unforgiving 'warts and all' types. In fact it's their very ruthlessness that's often cited as the main reason to not to use pro audio products in a domestic setting, isn't it?

Too much resolution.

For audio playback to move forwards it's very hard to avoid the conclusion that we need better recordings.

Recordings are the unfortunate bottleneck after a certain performance point, not the equipment, and climbing the sonic ladder further will only serve to make that more obvious.