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

Lemonhaze It is not about "My Benchmark" but rather about idea we are discussing.  It could be any other amp of similar character.  I hope you understand it.

Let's summarize what you said:

You don't like very detailed sound
You don't like perfect imaging
You like coloring of the sound by overly warm 300B

You're perfect representation of what Absolute Sound review, I quoted, was talking about.  You have great future on this forum.

Hi douglas_schroeder

I read with great interest your dagogo review of the Legacy class D amp, and have added their 2-ch version to my short list under consideration. So I find it interesting that you mention here the Benchmark amp, which some reviews have called "nearly perfect" but which I wonder may be too clinical or neutral to a fault. That’s another amp I’ve been thinking of auditioning though. Then I read a review of the new Van Alstine monoblocks (by Dave McNair, a mastering engineer https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2021/07/09/audio-by-van-alstine-dva-m225-monoblock-amplifiers-review/) which made me short-list them.

I’m all about fidelity AND musicality to the greatest extent I can achieve within budget and the limits of my speakers (Vandersteen 2CE Mk III, but maybe Treo CTs soon). It hard finding synergy between components at times (I’m trying to choose a DAC and preamp too), because as the saying goes, you should only solve for one variable in an equation at a time.

There’s a question in here somewhere. Part of me wants to just pick an integrated all in one like a Mark Levinson or Aesthetix Mimas (with DAC card) and be done with it. The hunt for the Grail distracts me from just listening and enjoying, as my mind winds up to "How can I make this sound better?" Stop the merry-go-round, I want off. Or not! Thank god for the reviewers who stoke the upgrade fires! :)

This by Lemonhaze rings true:

Musicality is a rather vague and nebulous term but I think coined to differentiate between a system that is overly detailed and a system that has detail but does not slap you alongside the head. The fixation with detail has lead to systems that verge on the unlistenable when a few of these detail monsters are combined.

I have such a system that allows me to listen to maybe 20% of my files, the others are just screech. I am working to attain a system that truly entertains with the vast majority of my collection.

I read a paper by Robert Harley that in essence said that one cannot have too much good detail, iirc. Of course, his current reference system iirc includes $300k Wilsons, and is probably more than $500k overall. It's safe to assume that in his custom built listening room, he has the whole ten course meal. I'm eating tacos from the drive-thru.

"You’re perfect representation of what Absolute Sound review, I quoted, was talking about. You have great future on this forum"

The Absolute Sound (TAS) reviewer was cited because he finds the Benchmark amplifier excellent for ’his’ taste as some posters here share that conclusion. He was exceedingly pejorative and condescending to those whose taste/listening priorities differ from his own. "Cults", "starry-eyed", really? What he finds to be audio perfection is someone else’s dry and uninvolving.What makes his opinion more credible?

douglas_schroder found the Benchmark amplifier to occupy the "clean/sterile" (White sounding?) end of the sonic spectrum. But to him still a fine amplifier, understood. There are listeners who have even described it as cold/analytical/non-engaging. Benchmark advocates versus 300b advocates spans a broad chasm of preference for certain. Neither camp is wrong as it is dependent on how one hears and what they identify as sounding right.

300b "overly warm" how so? Compared to what? All 300b tubes or amplifiers sound the same? One could cite dozens of reviewers praising 300b attributes just as the TAS reviewer did for the Benchmark amplifier. Come on folks, we all like what we like. I am confident that we all can peacefully coexist😊.

Charles

So now

douglas_schroder found the Benchmark amplifier to occupy the "clean/sterile" (White sounding?) end of the sonic spectrum.

but in his review he says:

The sound is indeed neutral and exact without being sterile or clinical. Colorless? Not really. The amp will send through the sound palette of the source component and disc/file without stripping any color away.

Absolute Sound reviewer was condescending?  Perhaps, but I feel the same way when people tell me, that odd harmonics are unnatural, that amount of details should be limited and imaging shouldn't be exact - just because neither is perfect in live performance.   So, If venue has bad acoustics I should look for bad sounding dull CD to replicate it?  In addition it was stated that high resolution is only good for classical music.

Amount of detail is usually increased with pronounced high frequencies, that also reveal harshness/brightness caused by noise or distortion.  Instead of fixing the problem many audiophiles cover it with "warm" sounding gear, producing even harmonics - a distortion that alters real sound of instruments.  "Warmth" is considered a virtue by many who constantly praise it.  Hard to argue with that - after all it is a matter of taste and what sounds right is OK, but it is not what I'm looking for.  I'm looking for accurate uncolored reproduction of music and the ways to achieve it.  It appears I will not find it here and this forum is not for me.

patrickdowns, Harley is correct; one can never have too much resolution/detail. If you suspect you have too much resolution, you have made an error in system establishment elsewhere, typically in the tonal balance. 

The most challenging thing about a short list is that it tends not to stay short. But, the absolute worst is when it is down to two! Solution? Buy both! Then, find out in comparison that you really want a blend of both components' characteristics. Now, that's fun!   ;) 

charles1dad, the performance spectrum is VERY large, and some audiophiles either are only vaguely aware of superb sound at the other end of the spectrum, or simply do not care and declare. It is a sideshow around here watching people argue preference. We see declarations in regard to vinyl/digital, genres of speakers, amp classes, etc.