Fidelity vs. Musicality...........Is there a tug of War?

For me it's like comparing cars. A Lotus will be an exciting ride, but you probably wouldn't want it as an everyday driver. A BMW gives you a more comfortable ride and is still very enjoyable. 

So the uber revealing system is the Lotus, it will thrill you when the conditions are right...and perhaps irritate you when they're not. The BMW is the "musical" system that always aims to please. 

The unicorn is a system that can do both. Me personally, I started off in pursuit of the Lotus, but after 30 years have comfortably settled on a more balanced system that I enjoy immensely....all the time.

I think the problem for a lot of folks is that they believe a "better" system will always make the music sound better. When in reality it can actually be the opposite.

So the car analogy may be stupid to some, but I think it's a very accurate way to look at this. Everyone loves that shiny sports car...but do you really want one. It's all about balance.

Tim

I have it all.

Fidelity and musicality are not mutually exclusive; rather there is a high positive correlation between the two.

In the context of music reproduction, without equipment capable of high fidelity you will not obtain a high level of musicality.

@pauly "Fidelity and musicality are not mutually exclusive; rather there is a high positive correlation between the two."  

Quite so. Everything else is hand-waving bordering on a religious experience - read over how many times people "believe" or convey their feelings and memories of a variety of ephemeral experiences.

Hence my initial one word post right at the start of all this. Its a trick question by the OP, @ishkabibil.

I agree that these are not mutually exclusive.