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.”
In many cases a realistic volume level is not all that loud. I take my sound pressure meter to some venues.(some you can't take it in with you.) At the Regatta Bar in Cambridge, Ma I get between 85 and 95 dB. At those volumes my ears never ring. These are relatively easy levels to achieve in a home system with the exception of low bass. A speaker will have it's frequency response tested at 1 meter, say it does 20Hz to 20kHz +- 3 dB. what that means in reality in a room at 4 meters is 50Hz to 20kHz if you are lucky. The entire bottom octave is missing and it is that octave that give you the visceral sensations you get at a live venue. So, some systems regardless of the volume are never going to give you the "I am there" vibe. This is just one reason subwoofers are so important even if they open another can of worms. It takes at least two 15" woofers or four 12" woofers to properly load a room at 20 Hz minimum. You can add bass with smaller subwoofers but you won't make it down to 20 Hz effectively enough to get to 95 dB.
Everyone’s "reality" is different, as is everyone’s system, room, recordings etc...so in essence it is not achievable. One may think he has reality, while another may think it sounds like crap. There are way too many variables at hand, not to mention we all hear differently. What is important is that "you" are happy in your "own" reality.
I find that _most_ current ultra-high end gear focuses too much on the enhanced resolution aspect, creating an illusionary sonic envelope that feels very much real, but also quite a bit different from the original source. It traps you in the superficiality, and shuts down the imagination, which is the exact opposite of what a live performance does. So, by getting even higher resolution we might be getting further away from the music itself.... yet, much closer to an imaginary perfected sensory experience. A great and fun endeavor, but ultimately a form of escapism: adoring the shape of sound while shunning the message of the music.
+1000 on this. Brilliant post and I couldn't agree more. So astute and eloquent. Thank you! @terry9
Hiide, that's a good point about definition, but I don't agree. Sometimes a good definition only arises in the context of a discussion or a legacy of agreement.
I actually agree with you. I was not meaning to insist on a definition first, but on one which might help in the context of this discussion. Just thought the word "reality" was too unconstrained and we needed some structure. Even sandlot baseball (or pickup basketball, etc.) needs rules to get going.
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