"more forgiving speakers"

This is my constant battle, to try to balance detail with musicality. I don't think I'm alone here, that pretty much is the holy grail of audio. A 'more forgiving speaker' might also be described as more musical. The above threads are all on target. A more forgiving speaker will make a weaker recording sound better. The trade off? Damn, there always seems to be a trade off. The trade off is, on a very good recording, you will not 'reveal' more information, like a unforgiving speaker. So it comes down to: warm, musical, relaxing sound versus: Woooah! I never knew they used two drummers on this track! Sometimes it can be a very tough call for me. I WANT IT ALL! But you can't have it. So I try to balance. For me that looks like a revealing preamp combined with a musical amp. It's all a matter of taste, and what is important to you. I hope this helped.

Very well said Jmcgrogan: the detail vs. musicality balancing issue is one that I've struggled with for a very long time. Certainly it would be great to have both, but I guess the compromise is to have two great rigs, one each tuned appropriately. However since I have only one system, I agree with your great preamp + musical amp approach. My speakers are pretty doggone revealing, which normally combines well with the aforementioned lineup, that is until you get involed in some less-than-stellar source-material. Fortunately my preamp has defeatable tone controls for those nastier sounding recordings; seldom used but still indispensable IMO.

It seems there is a growing awareness that live (the absolute sound?) and high-end home hi-fi...is very different. There is crowd noise, seating location...the building your in...and many other variables that make the live performance sometimes less than you can re-produce in the quiet of your own home. But from the best live Jazz and Classical I have heard in great halls..and famous clubs...I would agree that either the live performance is softened on the top end..or that home hi-fi gives us a false top end...but, actually, I think it is another choice. If you attend an audition in a great hall..or a rehersal..most of the top end will be there. Crowd noise..and the ability of many humans and thier clothing to absorb directional sound(ie: the highs)has always given the live event a softer than real impact.

Nice thread. Informative and understandable answers all around, and all leading to a shared conclusion from different perspectives. I don't play the ratings game, but you all get high marks from me on this one (including Wc80 for asking the question). Don

Regarding live vs. home reproduction of high frequencies, there is an issue regarding microphone placement. In a music hall the listener is sitting anywhere from 25 to more than 100 feet from the musicians, whereas in recordings, typically the microphone can be as little as inches away from the performer. Obviously, the frequency spectrum of the music will differ for each perspective. If you have a system that accurately reproduces the input signal, then close miked performances, all other variables held constant, will sound somewhat bright. Ultimately, I have resorted to using an equalizer as tone controls to modify certain records to what I consider acceptable sonics. Typically I'm cutting or boosting less than 2dB in the 8-12KHz area.