Importance of Soundstage/Imaging

"Does your system accurately reflect your stated preferences?"

I would say yes.

I have no problem listing timbre as # 1. I tend to prefer "neutral" whatever that means but I am also able to enjoy certain variations from that. I like having multiple speakers running in multiple rooms to enable some variation in timbre mainly. It helps keep my ears trained and tuned to hear differences, even tose that matter less to me.

My large OHM 5s come closest to doing all very well. Others trail somewhat in various areas as I described above.

The article is nice theory but of marginal value in helping to establish fine audio systems.

The author of the article put together an arbitrary list of properties he values. An obvious omission is any mention of rhythmic quality. Ultimately all of these properties are important and there's no real right prioritization of them. What I found interesting is how imaging/transparency/detail where at the top and timber and dynamics where at the bottom. This is a complete reversal of what high fidelity playback originally meant. In the 1950s through 60s the big Altec/AR/Tannoy/Klipsch/EV loudspeakers were all about timber and dynamics. I guess it can be argued that imaging/transparency/detail school is an accurate depiction of what audiophile, as opposed to high fidelity, playback has evolved into. I don't see that as a bad thing, but only if the loudspeaker doesn't noticeably sacrifice timber/dynamics.

" In the 1950s through 60s the big Altec/AR/Tannoy/Klipsch/EV loudspeakers were all about timber and dynamics. I guess it can be argued that imaging/transparency/detail school is an accurate depiction of what audiophile, as opposed to high fidelity, playback has evolved into."

imaging/transparency/detail are all advanced things that have become more achievable over time as technology has improved.

Yes, early on, timbre and dynamics were the key attributes that most gear was judged on solely almost perhaps.

Coherency started to be realized more somewhere in the middle, I believe, perhaps in the late 60s, early seventies with the advent of the OHM A and F, one if not the first very wide range, highly dynamic, single driver, cross-overless designs, based on Lincoln Walsh's work up to that time.

I would agree with what Onhwy61 says about the old horn speakers he mentions in particular. Timbre and dynamics are of extreme importance to musicians when they evaluate what a speaker sounds like, with our reference being what live acoustically produced music sounds like, or what HP like to term "the absolute sound." This is why a great many of us still prefer those horns to this day. And by the way, dynamics does NOT merely mean the ability to play music loudly!! The opposite end of the spectrum is equally important - and horns also excel at the extreme soft end of the dynamic spectrum, as well as having all the other essential qualities on these lists. Many of the more modern speaker types do indeed greatly sacrifice timbre in particular for what they call more "detail." IMO, and the opinions of many fellow musicians, this is losing the forest for the trees, and the wrong trees at that! As one of my teachers said in a master class once - "if you don't have a good sound, nobody cares how well you play otherwise." Likewise, I don't care how "detailed" a speaker is if it doesn't get my timbre (and that of every other instrument in the orchestra or opera or what have you) very well in the first place.