What does listening to a speaker really tell us?

Audio is quite simply, at this stage, a quagmire.

>If I understand them correctly some people are arguing that if a specific piece of equipment makes them feel good, then it must be good equipment.

But if it's "good" equipment and doesn't make you feel good, would you buy it? Seems to me it boils down to what your goal is in assembling your system. If it is to get the most neutral reproduction of music, you might make one set of choices. If it is to get the greatest pleasure from listening to music, you might make different choices. It's all about preference, as you say. Which is why I cringe whenever I see people asking what is the best such-and-such. There is no "best", or rarely so. There is only "preferred."

"If it is to get the most neutral reproduction of music, you might make one set of choices. If it is to get the greatest pleasure from listening to music, you might make different choices."

In my books these 2 options are THE same thing! IMO, the most neutral system IS the most musical system 'cuz it is distorting the least & is being as faithful as it possibly can to the recorded music.

The most neutral system is the most musical is the most transparent is the most appealing is the most engaging and is the most everything because WE are the final judge of each. Every time we choose something it isn't because we have access to some divine rule of audio that others simply missed out on. Whether we're talking politics, audio, cars, or choice of life partners, WE are the point of neutrality on that grand, subjective scale called personal opinion. We might try and substantiate our choices through scientific fact, or by quoting a respected source in the audio industry, but each new 'teammate' for our cause is no more than a simple attempt to validate our own personal choices. We choose according to your own parameters and standards, and then many of us forget that they are only opinions.

Bombywalla, for you it might be the system that distorts the least. For someone else, it might be that last bit of inner detail brought on by shifting a bookcase a couple feet to the right. Some people just want to be moved by the music, while others are jazzed by being able to say they own a particular brand of speakers. We can debate right and wrong forever, but in the end, if you turn on the power switches and ease into a chair with a smile on your face, who cares?

sometimes it is that I am listening to the performance. Sometimes it is the sound of the recording, regardless of its real merit. Even that has its variables. I love "gear". I love music too. What luck I can actually rationalize in such a way that the recording, performance, and gear can all be married together in my perceptions about how this works. It is a blessing to me, and a bit torturous too. But, overall, I am happy that my mind and heart can be given to such considerations. The advice to listen to Speakers before you buy them is solid. They have their own sound and that contributes to what you hear, and i guess you could say your speakers have the final word since they are speaking for the system as a whole. The individual contributions of the components that make up your system are accounted for here, and that is from your electronics to your room to the way you perceive sound and performance. Being largely subjective content means that what your speaker tells you could be as changeable as your perceptions, and most influenced by your preferences rather than the handful of absolutes you might come up with. This is more about love than obligation, and therefore not always reasoned with effectively. Listen and you will know- at least for the moment, if you are beyond reason.