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Is a highly discerning system enjoyable?

I argue that in terms of musical enjoyment, connection, feeling the musicians and composers maybe a highly discerning system is going too far? Maybe I want the warts airbrushed out.  Maybe I like a system that lets me listen to a broader range of recordings  without whincing?

Then there’s systems which are discerning of performances vs. discerning of upstream gear. I personally feel they are not the same thing at all.

Lastly, if your room is an acoustic mess, how can you tell?

If you feel strongly either way I'd appreciate examples of the gear that made you go one way or another.

erik_squires
cdc
1,874 posts
 

@erik_squires

Interesting observations

Often when I bring this up I think of U2 War.  Great album, mixed for boom boxes. 

What does this mean?

Can't we argue though that the high resolution system in some cases IS what makes a recording sound a lot worse?

Maybe true. So why would you want to spend a lot of money to enjoy something LESS?

jetter
3,086 posts
 

OCD Mikey addresses this question further in the video. Take a few minutes and decide what you think.

 

robert53
498 posts
 

I enjoy some music more in my car because of this.

erik_squires OP
16,614 posts
 

What does this mean?

Not sure where the disconnect is, @cdc 

The producer was famous for saying his target listener used a stereo cassette player (i.e. boom box) as his reference.

audphile1's avatar
audphile1
5,443 posts
 

My personal preference is realism, natural tone, presence and for the system to be able to convey emotion to the listener. I’m also trying to strike a good balance between being able to enjoy music and get the most out of a recording without overstepping the boundaries and crossing into a discerning or analytical. It’s tough to do and you end up walking on the edge where a smallest possible change like vibration control pucks, etc. can tip the scale.

But…I don’t want to be sitting there listening to a system that is a lab instrument, subjected to an aural microscope type presentation. 
So I guess a high resolution revealing (transparent to change) system rather than discerning (picky eater from a recording quality standpoint) is my preference. I’m close to the goal with my current set up but as we all know, never done. 

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