How much reality do you really need?


The real question to the audiophile  is, “how much reality do you need” to enjoy your system? Does it have to be close to an exact match?  How close before your satisfied?  Pursuing that ideal seems to be the ultimate goal of the audiophile.
The element of your imagination has to come into the equation, or you’ll drive yourself mad.  You have to fill in part of the experience with your mind.
But this explains the phenomenon of “upgraditis.”
rvpiano
I have one requirement: If it's on the recording, I want to hear it. Without exaggeration or distortion. Simple.
I can enjoy most any well done system where noise and distortion are under control.   The rest is icing on the cake and I like the icing!
Depends. It is related to what the system is intended to do. A critical top end system, a music player, or juke box. For my critical listening, I want the full Monty. A system that covers the entire frequency range with perfect tonal balance and deep 3D soundstage.