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

@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.

The opposite of smooth is harsh...

Then your choice of word reflect a past audiophile post traumatic stress disorder : wounded by harshness...

But there is way more to upgrading and optimizing than just reaching smoothness...

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.

Smoothness is a word that I use for systems with a very characteristic sound. One of the smoothest sounds I’ve ever heard came from an old VW van that some guy had restored and put a big sound system in. I was just walking by and he had the doors open and the music turned up. Somehow that system took the edge off everything without seeming to lose any detail. Not what I typically hear from real live acoustic instruments indoors, but very pleasant on account of sounding so, so, smooth! It may have had something to do with being outside. I’ve heard that same sweet smoothness from the US Marine band playing on the deck of the USS Nimitz with hundreds of us sailors standing around them. The trumpets were bright and clear, but there wasn’t a significant surface nearby for the sound to reflect off of, not even a reflection off the deck because our bodies were absorbing it all.

Certain music should have a bite on edges, if it is too smooth it won't sound right. The flow of any music should be coherently and continuously smooth but that's different meaning of smooth.

As for the concept of "good enough", it's an interesting one. No system is good enough for me because it is still far from real. Problem is not only the system but the recordings, most of them. So I just do one or two significant upgrades every few years and don't think much about it.

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