The worst sentence in audio writing

It's probably the No1 cliche in audio journalism.

I've seen it written far too many times.

Sometimes the writer will actually acknowledge it's a cliche beforehand but still go ahead.

And yet very few of them will actually provide any meaningful details of what they're hearing for this very first time.

It's also telling that the reverse statement is hardly ever used.

How often do we read someone say that the product being reviewed is hiding/obscuring familiar details?

Like Erik, I usually suspect frequency response anomalies when I start hearing unfamiliar details in familiar songs.

IT'S ABOUT TIME!!!

Time, phase, & transient response..... NOT frequency response.  Everybody seems to go gaga over frequency response and how FLAT it has to be.  But what really obscures details in music is transient anomalies and little resonances that maybe don't contribute much to the frequency response, but DO obscure details.  Imagine for a minute that you have two speakers that measure absolutely flat, but one has better phase and time alignment between the drivers... don't you think you'll hear MORE detail from the better aligned one, even though no special frequencies are being "enhanced" or boosted.  IMO, frequency response is only half the story.  Maybe it's even less than half the story. There's so many other aspects of audio to worry about!

Pinthrift nails it so well and I would like to add.

Ouer brain has a tremendous way to help us understanding and enjoy even pretty bad sound. If I look back at relativ the poor system i had during my youth, i still could enjoy the music and had a lot of lisining pleasure. The lisining sessions were not so long besause of becoming lisining tired. The soundstage was small and had poor deept.

Today we can, if all aspekts in the chain are superb, expirience the rea thing. Or at least ouer brain can convince us its a real concert we are attending. Often it can even be as If as you cost the best seat ar the concert venue.

on the journey to this level, i have so many times to solve problems, i didnt know was there before i heard the diffrence and i am sure this will continue.

Its is so exciting to find these weak links and expirience a even closer and better understanding of the artistic intention. Maybee this emotionel awakening is a huge part of being a music/audiophile lover.

As I mentioned on another thread here, our systems are only as good as our recordings. Tony Minasian of Tonian Labs, who is a genius at his craft, has instilled in me, again, that his " Drums And Bells ", might be the best " recording " that I own, in realism " of the real thing " ( Sheffield Lab did a nice job ). If anyone knows of a superior recording, please let me know.