how would you describe a system that is musical in nature

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Thanks for sharing…..

I think i'm beginning to understand. Years ago i had a pair of those huge Polk SDA SRS 1.2tl speakers. I do remember listening to live concerts and being so absorbed by the music that nothing else was happening around me. 

As i attempted to improve speakers, amps, etc... i never achieved that sense of wonder. I'm at the point that i get aggrevated when i listen to my system 

I think a lot of audiophiles reach this point in their journey, at which point some of them bail, some make a major course direction, some scrap everything and start over, and some continue listening because current audiophile orthodoxy tells them that what they're hearing is what they ought to like (or be pursuing).

It's all in component selection and component synergy.  Perhaps a start might be made by replacing some part of your system with something different that is widely described as "forgiving" (or musical, or very natural) and see if it begins to lead you in the right direction.

If it sounds good to you, it could be both.

I agree with Jim204. Musical is code for colored around here. Not a bad thing if done tastefully. Sonus Faber and McIntosh are good examples of a tasteful coloration to my ear where Magico and Solution are more of a just the facts kind of sound. Some other brands that are popular on here are straight up colored IMO in the highs, mids, or bass. Nothing wrong with that as the recording is not real anyway but that is for a different discussion. 


For me I think some of these highend amps /preamps that reach for the last bit of detail and neutrality can get a bit of upper frequency glare when driven hard that detracts from the music. Where a lesser detailed amp above 5khz (high powered McIntosh) will let you play stupid loud and not get the glare. That has been my experience anyway. Lately I have been sticking to neutral speakers with softer sounding electronics. 


Don’t over look room treatments before chasing gear either. Bad slap eco or strong bass nodes can really screw things up fast. Always good to start with room measurements. Measurements will speed up audio nirvana and save a lot of guess work.