How do you know when a stereo sounds good?

Some measurements are critical. How wide is it? How tall and how deep is it? Will it fit on my shelf? How loud will it play?

All the rest of the measurements are just marketing. I can’t hear numbers or even verify what the heck they’re actually measuring it certainly isn't sound quality.

If numbers are really that important you should be buying a calculator instead of a stereo. When I rent a moving van do I really care what its 0 to 60 time is. I’m sure it’s measured somewhere but would you rent one because of that or how many boxes it holds?

After you determine where you’re going to put it the only thing that matters is HOW DOES IT SOUND TO ME?

If you can’t answer that question without relying on someone else's numbers, maybe you’re in the wrong hobby.

Read Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy and discover that the physics/abstraction  dichotomy is first dramatized as early as the fifth century BC. Collateral reading: The Bacchae by Euripides. The conclusion I draw is that BOTH the Apollonian electricians and the Dionysian aesthetes are necessary contributors to our chosen hobby (indeed, lifestyle) as evidenced in this discussion.

We would have no hobby without the electricians. What we would have might  sound like a can of nails without the influence of the aesthetes. As an admitted and accepted (in my orbit) aesthete, I honor those whose talents allow them to plumb the depths of physics in order to improve the audiophile's lot. Their work is essential and many of their tools are used by all of us in our everyday life.

Problem is the electricians continually fail to produce the perfect system. Someday they will do it and we'll gladly give it a listen and critique.

Meanwhile, is there anything to be done but enjoy what we have as we slip into the abyss?

Great post

denverfred....

My deepest respect....

How do you know when it sounds "bad" ? And if it sounds "good" do you worry about whether it could sound better?  And then what?

If your stereo sounds bad, it may have permanent damage should you have been playing anything by Adele.

You won’t need to worry about it ever being able to sound better on account of the criminal negligence you have inflicted upon it and possibly yourself.  Seek professional help.

How do you know when it sounds "bad" ? And if it sounds "good" do you worry about whether it could sound better? And then what?