Real or Surreal. Do you throw accuracy out the window for "better" sound?

I would say that audio hobby is a journey beginning with the wished basic gear synergy ending at an acoustic specific destination... it has ended for me... Lessons learned and applied... Music is my hobby as decades ago it was but this time with no frustration at all about sound because i learn minimal basic acoustics and few other things ...

it is called the minimal acoustic threshold of satisfaction or M.A.T.S. when each acoustic factors defining timbre, spatial qualities and immersiveness are there in a MINIMAL synergy state, this M.A.T. S. make us able to create the irresistible desire to never end any album we listen to....M.A.T.S. is the end of a journey...Not perfection which is anyway a result of acoustic knowledge more than the result of an illimited wallet... ...

If it is not for such experience,we became like a dog calling for a solution to some problem and mistaking another problem for the next solution, which upgrading is very often ; or worst, not recognizing the problem at all then staying frustrated and calling that the normal state of THE journey...

My two cents... 😊

Music is the wave and the sound and the gear  are only the navigating  surfer plank... Learn how to Control your body on the plank and dont mistake the plank for the journey...

"This person is not an audiophile. He enjoys music like the rest of us, but that is a different subject."

Normally I would be offended by such an ambiguous statement, but this is a friendly thread and all opinions are welcome.

You are a gentleman indeed..

But no need to be offended it seems i am not as yourself an audiophile either.. I thought i was one but it seems no...my research for the optimal ratio soundfield quality/price is a renunciation to be a member of this selected club for the OP it seems ... The most important members must had the biggest wallet it seems.. Perfection had a cost in gear price... 😊

Anyway i listen music without being bother by sound gross defects with my low cost well embedded system ..

And i smile reading some "audiophiles" lost in their "perfection" quest...😁

This hobby for me is about optimization methods and tools in the embedding working dimensions, electrical, mechanical and acoustical for the goal of reaching a minimal acoustic satisfaction threshold at the best price ; not about price tag race and "perfection" dead end in most case ...

Anyway anybody owning a demi million bucks system in a living room is fooling himself if he think he has reach "perfection"... It is not even optimal yet for the system quality he own here ... The costlier component in a really "perfect" system is the acoustic dedicated room for a specific system by far...Then i am afraid that most self title awarded "audiophiles" are simply in delusion when upgrading to very higher cost some of their component... 😁 But there is a price to pay to play in a very selected club indeed.. 😊

If i was knowleadgeable enough  i will prefer to be member of the acousticians or musicians club....Alas! i am not even an "audiophile" now it seems...

This person is not an audiophile. He enjoys music like the rest of us, but that is a different subject. Being an audiophile is all about building a high performance audio system. The question is what do we mean by high performance. Is it the accurate reproduction of timbre and space or just a system that sounds good to the owner.

@yesiam_a_pirate

The inherent problem with the HiFi journey is that it’s build on dissatisfaction.

Dissatisfaction/satisfaction is a choice -- you needn’t be dragged along on an unending path of unquenchable craving. It’s up to you to decide when your system is "good enough" . This is not only true in audio, BTW.

@mahgister refers to a "MINIMAL acoustic satisfaction threshold".  Perhaps think in terms of achieving that, rather than getting caught up in the belief you must  constantly upgrade in search of some holy grail that you may or may not ever reach. A system can simply be an enjoyable way to enhance listening for those who, first and foremost, love music -- it doesn’t have to be all-consuming.

I throw out everything for 'smoother'. Every major upgrade has made my system smoother.

Better electronics for my ESL's - smoother.

Better electronic components, battery power, continuous power - smoother.

Air tonearm, turntable - smoother.

Koetsu - smoother. Grado Epoch - smoother yet.

Smooth is my lodestone - it gets me ever nearer to the grand piano upstairs.