Does it have to sound good for you to like it?

This is the difference between an Audiophile and a music lover. Music first for me. Now I can't take most bootlegs shows that used to be at so many record shows. Anyone who refuses to listen to a concert because it's subpar quality is more in love with his rig then the music it's supposed to reproduce.

If it’s not Karajan, forget about it. This from a jazz guy!

Years ago I performed a series of music/spoken-word concerts with a local symphony orchestra. The conductor walked me through the music on a boom box. At the time I thought it odd that a musician wouldn’t have a nice stereo, but then I realized that 1) his peripatetic lifestyle probably wouldn’t have room for such a thing and 2) why would you bother with an expensive stereo when you stood in front of 60-plus live musicians every day? ;-)

Exactly! We “audiophiles” (frankly, I hate the term) need to stop getting so defensive at the suggestion that very expensive audio equipment and the obsession with all its trappings are necessary for the appreciation of the music. It is not. It sure as hell is a lot of fun to have a great sounding system and play with its setup, but whether we want to admit it or not the obsessive pursuit of highest end sound can also be a major distraction from focusing on the music and all of its nuances and riches. I believe that is all that Parsons meant with his comment. No need to get bent out of shape over it.

Parsons has videos on youtube on his home gear and speaker setup. He owns pretty expensive stuff. All his recordings sound great - at home. Perhaps because he knows home music reproduction well.

But hey - people discuss Ethernet cable performance. Surely they know networks more than any network stack engineers. Who is Alan? Just a recorder of some Pink Floyd…