High Performance Audio - The End?

I have never had a recording get worse by improving my system. The old recordings of Lois Armstrong sound better than ever and his playing is way better than when he was older and making great recordings.
Bad systems make bad recordings sound worse. Good systems make everything sound better.

@twoleftears,

'If as claimed above contemporary music sounds good and it's the fault of our systems if it doesn't, perhaps we should be listening to it on those giant powered professional monitors they have in studios, because evidently it sounded good (and just the way it was supposed to sound) to the producers listening to it in that environment.'


Because of audio's notorious circle of confusion you'd probably need 3 systems to do that.

The first could feature a pair of Tannoy Dual Concentrics primed mainly for UK recordings from the 1950s and 60s.

The second could feature a pair of vintage JBL L100s (or their predecessors the 4310 or even Altecs) as used in the US throughout the 1960s and 70s.

The third might employ a pair of ATC/Genelec/Yamaha's/ Neumann's or whatever they use today. 

This way you might get close to what they heard whilst actually recording.

Let's face it, no one's recording music to be played back on ultra high performance domestic systems.

No one.

Okay maybe one or two audiophile producers such as the likes of Barry Diament who according to his website uses Magnepan's Magneplanar MG 3.7i loudspeakers for monitoring!

http://www.barrydiamentaudio.com/

Yup.  Nice post.  Couldn't agree more.

there is a balance between resolution and musical.  A designer has to use his ears and the parts necessary to achieve those results.

Happy Listening

In the world of classical oboe, for a long time players could choose between the "Swiss/German" sound (precise, neutral tone; very little vibrato; no "romanticizing of note production) or the "French" sound (highly expressive, large vibrato, overtly romantic note production). I quickly learned that I preferred the French sound because the players expressed such passion in their playing, and IMO the instrument simply sounds better played that way.

One of the first sonic decision points I faced in my early days of audio gear appreciation was rather similar: many in the hobby are proponents of "neutrality," "accuracy," and "detail," while others are more interested in "musical," even "romantic" sounding gear. I was going to much live music all through those years (jazz & classical, primarily)--and I realized I prefer "musical" gear simply because music I knew well (once or twice  recorded in front of me) retained its core sound & "feel" better on the "musical" gear than the other kind.

These divergent sonic concepts have pursued me into headphone audio, where treble-cannon headphones are often the most prized (they give me a headache).

My point is simple: if music played IRL in real space is your ultimate reference, it’s pretty easy to figure out what sounds good to you.