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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
pechichi
5 posts
 
To me musicality means that I get transported by the music to another place, I can forget where I am or what I was doing and just engulf myself in the beautiful sound that fills my ears and give me goosebumps on certain passages. I have been building my system for 4 or 5 years now and it at this point I am simply loving it, still have a couple more things to change burt almost there.

When I am listening I completely forget all of the technical details of the electronics and sources and just enjoy, enjoy, enjoy.

People always seem to ask me what is the best amp or preamp or speakers, I think there is a simple response... whatever sounds best to them, whatever allows them to engulf themselves in the music and gives them those goosebumps on certain passages.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,341 posts
 
Musicality has little to do with high end systems.

Typically, high end systems are about providing the frequency response, detail, dynamics, low levels of distortion and noise levels, and perhaps imaging and soundstage that can reproduce what is in the recording accurately.

Most recordings consist of music, but not all. How about sound effects? We know what many of those really sound like from everyday experience. A high end system should reproduce those as accurately as possible as well. Has nothing to do with music, but if it can, its a good omen for when the music is playing.

SO a high end or high quality or call it whatever you want system provides a platform capable of reproducing sound and music as needed, but has no musicality itself. THat is a function mostly of how we react emotionally to what we hear.
tubegroover
2,320 posts
 
I don't think I've come across a better description than your's Mapman, well stated!
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,341 posts
 
Tube, thx for the kind words! :^)
czarivey
5,946 posts
 
Zavato:
01-24-14: Zavato
If it involves me it's musical.
Which musical if it's not a secret?
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