What I listen for, most of all, with every recording I listen to, is an engagenment between me, and the performers. Following the individual rhythms and musical lines, by the artists, is the number one factor I strive to hear. My system allows for this. My question is : how many of you actually listen for this, or even know what I am speaking of. My personal experience listening to so many high priced systems, has been very disappointing in using this criteria.
That’s for sure! Your auto-tune example is a good one. Human hearing is exceedingly fine-tuned. There is a character to real live sounds that is impossible to reproduce.
That said, there are better and worse ways of doing it. The better ways are all analog, tube, and minimalist. Don’t believe me, listen to a gramophone some time. Nowhere near modern audiophile standards of frequency response, signal to noise, dynamic range or volume, nevertheless uncannily engaging and real.
This is why things like auto-tune, tone controls and especially DSP are such an abomination. They mess with the relationships. A singer’s voice for example, the sound you hear is extraordinarily complex. It starts in the vocal cords but the whole respiratory system and chest resonates, the shape of mouth and position of tongue, every last detail has an influence on the total sound we hear.
This is what I strive for. One time recently a listener said, "She was smiling. You could tell she was smiling. You could hear it in her voice." I never was so happy or heard a better compliment.