Poll: the three listeners, which are you?

[Peter Breuninger]

JV began this idea several years ago and I think it may apply.

 

[ack]

same as you

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

Not sure if I understand the question correctly.

 

[Groucho]

I voted A, but I have sympathy with B. For example, even if our equipment is zero distortion and has flat frequency response, unless we play back a recording at the correct volume, we do not hear "what's on the recording" (Fletcher Munson). In which case some loudness compensating EQ would allow us to hear the recording more accurately, despite causing us to deviate from absolute accuracy per se.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

got to be 'A'.

I respect that there is more than one path to take......but for me any other approach is chasing your tail to a degree. you are either trying to determine which recordings to fix and which not to fix, or you accept a 'sameness' signature over all recordings. neither approach of which i'm personally interested in.

I prefer where every recording stands on it's own and I accept it on it's terms, for better or worse. it's up to me to find the art in it or not. so far in the music I listen to, there are very few recordings where I feel i'd like it to sound 'differently' (tonality and presentation) than how it sounds.

 

[Steve Williams]

"A" for me as well

 

[zztop7]

my system will produce the Detailed Flaws

I voted for the first one >>>Not because I claim my system is great in the grand scheme of the world. I claimed it because my system will produce the Detailed Flaws that cause me to give away recordings that I thought I would like.

"Accurately reproduce what's on the recording, no matter what" >>> The Flaws

zz.

 

[Robh3606]

What's there nothing more nothing less

Rob

 

[NorthStar]

I voted for the first one >>>Not because I claim my system is great in the grand scheme of the world. I claimed it because my system will produce the Detailed Flaws that cause me to give away recordings that I thought I would like.

"Accurately reproduce what's on the recording, no matter what" >>> The Flaws

zz.

That's a good thing to strive for, I think.

Me I simply look for pleasantness of the music itself first (to my ears and soul), and then its real-life reproduction in a way that is faithful enough to a good quality recording; be it from an album (LP), a CD, an SACD, an HDCD, a DVD-Audio, a DAD, a SAD, a hi-res audio file, a Blu-ray Audio, a R-2-R tape, or any other music medium you might think of.

I'm only anal emotionally and sensually. ...And I wish sometimes that I was at a higher level spiritually so that I can hear the music from the angels in my head and heart without speakers and gear and all that celestial jazz.

 

[mep]

I see #1 and #3 as being joined at the hip. In fact, they are just restatements of each other.

 

[andromedaaudio]

I dont dare to vote

I voted B , if i like the sound great , if reality/accuray meet even better ,if not i still prefer reality deviaton and great sound
LS designwise i strive a bit more for A and C

 

[JackD201]

I'm not adverse to taking some liberties with regards to the final presentation so I voted C. If I were listening for work not pleasure it would be A.

 

[cjfrbw]

One and Three are impossible to determine, and with Two, you cannot tell what deviates from what, so the poll is a mite absurd. It's one of those "you would need to have been present at the original performance, known what the engineers did to the sound, and have perfect auditory recall" type questions. You'd have had to be there for B too.

 

[JackD201]

A is measurable at least for the calibration stage and C depends on the collected experience of the given listener. I respectfully disagree.

 

[NorthStar]

I see #1 and #3 as being joined at the hip. In fact, they are just restatements of each other.

And that is only one of the reasons why I voted for #2; for its uniqueness, its truthfulness, and its 'equilibriumness'. :b

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

I would suspect/think that everyone wants to have a recording accurately reproduced no matter what.

"Hold on...no I don't....lets adjust the EQ from flat and gave me less of this, more of that".....That was a crap recording, but I made it sound better.

Don't think this thread needs a poll to be honest.

 

[microstrip]

I can not understand what means C - if the record is flawed it will never sound realistic. Also IMHO a forgiving system does not sound realistic. As stated this poll will surely show a large victory of A - the most reasonable approach for an audiophile.

Anyway, we should remember that the original article of JValin appeared in the review of the Magico Q5 and can be read at the TAS site. i remember we debated it in past at WBF. http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/magico-q5-loudspeaker-tas-214/

 

[NorthStar]

I can not understand what means C - if the record is flawed it will never sound realistic. Also IMHO a forgiving system does not sound realistic. As stated this poll will surely show a large victory of A - the most reasonable approach for an audiophile.

Sometimes in some audio mags (Stereophile just for example) some audio reviewers mentioned that this particular CD player or this DAC & transport makes less than stellar music recording CDs (inferior quality recordings) sound good, or even great.

Anyway, we should remember that the original article of JValin appeared in the review of the Magico Q5 and can be read at the TAS site. i remember we debated it in past at WBF. http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/magico-q5-loudspeaker-tas-214/

Thanks!

 

[Terry E.]

A - When I believe it is a good recording.

B - When it sounds good just because - hits a nerve, makes me feel good, I want to hear it again simply because I like it.

C- Not discerning enough, I believe, to answer this with any confidence. For example, how do I hear a flute that I think sounds realistic and conclude that the recording is flawed. Flawed in what way?

 

[NorthStar]

A - When I believe it is a good recording.

B - When it sounds good just because - hits a nerve, makes me feel good, I want to hear it again simply because I like it.

C- Not discerning enough, I believe, to answer this with any confidence. For example, how do I hear a flute that I think sounds realistic and conclude that the recording is flawed. Flawed in what way?

--- :b ...Good points; when in doubt (too many questions wondering in your head) vote for simplicity, for what sounds "good" to you.
Because after all, what sounds good (or even bad) is the true reality.