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What is Musicality?

Hello fellow music lovers,

I am upgrading my system like a lot of us who follow Audiogon. I read a lot about musicality on Audiogon as though the search for musicality can ultimately end by acquiring the perfect music system -- or the best system that one can afford. I really appreciate the sonic improvements that new components, cables, plugs and tweaks are bringing to my own system. But ultimately a lot of musicality comes from within and not from without. I probably appreciated my Rocket Radio and my first transistor radio in the 1950s as much I do my high-end system in 2010. Appreciating good music is not only a matter of how good your equipment is. It is a measure of how musical a person you are. Most people appreciate good music but some people are born more musical than others and appreciate singing in the shower as much as they do listening to a high-end system or playing a musical instrument or attending a concert. Music begins in the soul. It is not only a function of how good a system you have.

Sabai
sabai
cyclonicman
693 posts
 
Does this really need to be defined??
tonywinsc
583 posts
 
I used the word bored for lack of a better term. I do not mean it in a negative sense. I would venture to say that most of us in this hobby are highly motivated, driven to excel. This hobby, a mixture of electronics and music is a way to express ourselves. We are driven to reproduce music the best ways that we can. It is not all about buying either. Some parts of this hobby require great effort, time and patience. How many of us have spent weekends under the house running dedicated powerlines, or hours cleaning every connection? This is not my only hobby but it is my favorite way to forget about the stresses of the day and unwind. Distortions, lack of bass or other such issues causes me distraction that drives me to make changes.
sabai OP
2,027 posts
 
Tonywinsc, I agree. I am the same way -- running lines and looking for small ways to improve the sound -- a silk pillow under the CDP helped a lot. I made a couple of plug changes a few days ago and the enjoyment factor went into the stratosphere. This morning my wife surprised me. I put on some of her favorite music -- Neil Sedaka remastered -- when she brought my favorite brew up to the listening room. She was so taken with the beauty of the music that she couldn't leave. She kept saying "I can't leave the room the music is so beautiful now. What you did makes such a big difference." We are now appreciating the music in the very same way. That's what I call really special. I can't wait till the new components arrive.
chazro's avatar
chazro
635 posts
 
Musicality is SO subjective. Sabai, you've made some interesting points and the beauty of all this is....when your new components arrive, yr wife MIGHT not think them to be as involving as yr current gear. But this doesn't change one iota of HER inate musicality!
sabai OP
2,027 posts
 
Chazro, I will take a line from Steely Dan. "I'm learning how to meditate. So far so good." I'm learning how to improve my system. So far so good. Once I add the Merlin speakers and the EMM I think my new system will be far more "involving" than my current system. We'll have to wait till September when everything is in place to hear how it all fits together.
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