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
The ideal system will let you hear the distortion added during the recording and mastering process... free from distortion added by the playback system. So the ideal system only gets you half way there.
Ask Lewis Hamilton how much horsepower does he really need? Hey Usain, how much speed do you really need? Excuse me, Mr Honnold, but do you really need to Free Solo? My telepathic powers were employed to reach out to Sir Edmund Hillary. I asked, "How much reality do I really need?" It was a bad connection. His reply was a little hazy. But I could swear he said, "Until it's there."