Please tell me.

You really summed it up nice Sugarbrie. I am a lifelong drummer and a touring roadie so I live with live music. Little bookshelf speakers on stands in a "neutral" system don't do it for me. To me that does not come close to reproducing live instruments. No system does for that matter. When a cymbal is struck the sound reflects in all directions using the room as a speaker. It not just L/R directional information for your ears. This applies to almost all instruments. What is accuracy???? It seems to me the only REAL accuracy is standing in the room when the instrument is played. Other than that, why try to "accurately" reproduce it? I don't consider instruments coming out of ANY stereo accurate. I just try to get as close as I can and having a "neutral" system doesn't achieve this for me. Just my opinion.

I am with you Drum75...

I don't have a "reference system" to compare components with.
I compare against live music, which I am exposed at least weekly, sometimes daily. It is amazing sometimes how my conclusions differ from the audiophile crowd in general.

When they make audiophile recordings, a lot of time they put a microphone on every instrument. Conversely, when "music" is recorded, there are just a few strategically placed microphones in the hall/venue in front of the performers. Same is true in the studio.

Drum

...why try to "accurately" reproduce it? I don't consider instruments coming out of ANY stereo accurate

Yes, well... you are referring to two distinct audiophile approaches:
1) "accurately" reproduce what's on the medium /the recording; this means the result may be good or consistently horrible depending upon the information the medium contains.

2) reproduce a musical result (tonality, balance, musical coherency) that is satisfactory. This means that we depart from totally accurate reproduction of what is on the medium in favour of our own "sonic taste".

I think "audiophile-ism" starts with the second, progresses to the first, and ultimately attempts to incorporate the second.
Seriously "good sound" is an extremely complicated matter and, at the end of the day, you may be reproducing many individual instruments reasonably well -- but not when playing together...

Drum75, do yourself a favor by audition some of the switching amps . I listened to an El Cheapo Audiosources amp300 using the pre-out from the low-entry Denon at my work place and it is amazingly good for its price. Class A, A/B, Tubes...no longer the only choices . Some of the D- amps have the open mid-range and liquid HF to die for. If D-class "budget amp" is not your style, try the Halcro MC20, not accurate and high in distortion but one hell of the soundstage with liquid HF and huge vocals. I'd rather have these switching amp over the A, A/B, Tube amps, anytime...the future is here for audio and so is the 1080P in video.

everybody runds their amps before they send them to you, but after they sit dormant for a while they need some break in again. tube amps are put the sound way to far back and you loose detail. if you like that sound that is fine, but the bryston will still need break in again