Top two most important sound qualities


In case you didn't know, it's 2023 and this website still hasn't implemented a polling feature, so I can't define a selection of sound qualities to choose from and see results in a grouped, organized fashion. Boo hoo!

 

If you had to pick two of the typically referenced sound qualities that are most important to you to optimizing the enjoyment of your system, what are they? You know what I mean, right? Could be a certain frequency range and some particular quality that you for in it, or any quality that applies across all frequencies, etc.

(Note: "Sound qualities" mentioned here do not include anything that refers to physical attributes of your system or listening room, such as acoustical treatments, types of components, types of source material, physical tweaks, etc. It's only a reference to subjectively appreciated qualities.)

128x128gladmo

@bdp24 wrote:

As for "hi-fi effects", it is image size and scale. Most loudspeakers sound comically "small" to me, the image of a grand piano, for example, being reduced to a miniature of it’s actual size. It’s like watching a movie on your iPhone. Hearing a doll house-size musical picture immediately destroys the suspension of disbelief.

Exactly. Much has been said about how this or that speaker - oftentime the smaller, monitor-style variant - is able to seemingly "vanish" in its mere physical existence leaving only the sound hanging in free air, but it's still glaringly obvious what's heard is a reproduction. A lot of aspects in sound reproduction, incl. the recording and acoustics, can make for an exposition and revelation of what is not a live, musical event, but there are core parameters more important than others which, when achieved in some minimum measure, are at the basis of a framework of sorts that makes reproduced music appear less of a facsimile. Size and scale are vital for this to come true, as are effortlessness, dynamic linearity and overall coherency/uniformity of the radiation bubble/sphere, and in what's supposed to be an approximation to "High Fidelity" in its true sense of wording in this hobby of ours it's beyond me how mentioned "macro parameters" aren't more readily acknowledged and pursued. 

Just for fun, I reworded the question slightly differently and below is what AI said - notice the caveat at the end:

Q: What are two of the most important sound quality characteristics that a music lover looks for in their home audio system?

A: Two important sound quality characteristics that a music lover typically looks for in their home audio system are:

  1. Accuracy and Clarity: Music enthusiasts value accuracy and clarity in sound reproduction. They want their audio system to faithfully reproduce the original recording without introducing unwanted distortions or colorations. This means that the system should reproduce each instrument, vocal, and sound effect with precision and detail, allowing the listener to discern individual elements within the music.

  2. Imaging and Soundstage: Another crucial aspect is the system's ability to create a realistic soundstage and imaging. Soundstage refers to the perceived three-dimensional space where the music seems to originate, while imaging refers to the precise placement and localization of instruments and vocals within that space. A good audio system should create a wide and well-defined soundstage, allowing the listener to feel like they are in the presence of the performers, with instruments and voices properly positioned across the stereo image.

While these two characteristics are important to many music lovers, it's worth noting that individual preferences may vary. Some listeners may prioritize other aspects, such as deep bass response, dynamic range, or tonal balance, based on their personal taste in music and listening preferences.

I think acoustic timbre naturalness is first and second IMMERSIVENESS, i suppose your system is well designed enough to give you minimal clarity and the least distortion... Most well designed system are able to give us that now, with mature dac technology and amplification...

Timbre naturalness is difficult to reach but immersiveness with headphone and speakers was  harder the most  to reach and asked for many, many modifications and experiments and tuning... With headphone it was more difficult for me...It takes a rare hybrid headphone to reach it AKG K340 and exceed my past Speakers Mission Cyrus 181 in his acoustic dedicated room...

In this video this acoustician explain it all :

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4i7T1BiC-fI