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Accuracy vs. musicality

I imagine if you have an unlimited budget you can have both ultimate accuracy and musicality.
For those of us whose budget is somewhat limited, we usually have to make a choice.
I very recently obtained  speakers (which I prefer not to name so as to avoid debate.  Some of you do know them.) These speakers were criticized by an Agoner for not being accurate.
Now, I heard the speakers he liked better and they we’re fine, and maybe more “etched,” but they did not convey the musical message as well to me.  Indeed I compared many such speakers recommended by members (there was little love for mine) and I found them not to have the sound I hear in a concert hall. They did not communicate to me as well.
So, what’s more important: precise accuracy or musicality?
128x128rvpiano
moto_man
323 posts
 
And there you have it in a nutshell.  No matter what the "reviews" say, or other people that have heard a system, ultimately we all hear things differently.  Some of it is biological -- hearing is not uniform among all people, some is environmental -- such as the synergy between components and the room, and some of it is just preference.  That is why it is so difficult to buy components, and especially speakers, without hearing them in your own system.  One person's "musical" system might be another person's "bloated" inaccurate one.  If I purchase another pair of speakers, I am going to go to NYC, where I can actually listen to the speakers that I am interested in rather than rely on comments and reviews!  That being said, my equipment is for listening to music, not to see how close to the source signal it is.  Musicality beats accuracy to my old(er) too-many-Led-Zeppelin-concerts ears!
papafrgog
101 posts
 
One of the best posts/responses I’ve read on this forum!!  Great answers and examples - it’s a joy to read and appreciate thoughts of others without the usual argumentative posts.  I don’t believe accurate and musical are mutually exclusive, and both are influenced by so many things- equipment, source, room acoustics, and most importantly the ears. I’ll only spend money if I love the improvement in SQ I hear whether it’s accuracy musicality or hopefully both. Well done OP
niodari's avatar
niodari
297 posts
 

Who knows the definitions of "accuracy" and "musicality"?

Do you wish to be imposed by someone's ideas on what the accuracy means? And musicality is your personal matter, what you consider or not musical. Depends also on the music you listen. If you listen to badly recorded heavy metal, for instance, I think there is no issue of musicality, roughly, it should be just loud enough. If you listen to acoustic jazz, then you may compare the sound of your system with that at a live jazz concert. Then I think the musicality and the accuracy should somehow coincide, as you cannot call an inaccurate sound of some instrument musical.  Tube amplifies, for instance, normally have much higher harmonic distortion than solid state ones, but I think they are musical and mostly accurate for my ear. I think good speakers must be firstly accurate, and if they reproduce the sound as it was recorded  (given that it was recorded well) then you automatically get musicality. Listen to a well recorded human voice / vocal and you will have some idea on how musical and accurate your system sounds.


mirolab
206 posts
 
It takes time to evaluate!  I've tried many times to replace my 25yr old B&W 801-S2's, only to get rid of the newer "better" speakers (at a loss) and go back to using my old 801's.  No, they're NOT perfect... and there are certain things that the newer speakers did better.  But in the end, no other speaker overall keeps a smile on my face and makes me want to listen to music more than my 801's.  I cannot say if they are particularly accurate or musical.  They are just what I like.   
buellrider97
368 posts
 
Per another member -  “ Picked up a pair of the reissue JBL L100’s a few weeks ago. 12” woofer, retro design, complete wall of sound - sounds like a straight up recording studio or concert in my room. I was seriously sick of messing around with tweaking for accurate sound. “.      -                            So gentlemen , please School Me . I have a pair of JBL 4312A’s on Sound Anchor stands .  They  are a “ Near Field Studio Moniter “. JBL states how “ Flat the curve is , and how Accurate “ they are . I’ve run them with tubes and SS . They aren’t”  MUSICAL” to me . At this point they live in the closet . I’ve run the noise CD and played with a friends $5k hand held frequency reading devise. According to his equipment at about 5khz they flipping annoy me . And again up high when the Ti tweeters shriek . So is this an “ Accurate Sound “? Is a” Musical Sound” one that’s more pleasant to listen to ? Please don’t go into cables and room treatments, I have it covered . Just school me on “ Musical “ . I currently have a broad soundstage with distinct instrument location and pleasant vocals ( not the JBL’s ). Maybe I’m interpreting Mr. Spectre’s Wall Of Sound incorrectly . BTW, this is one of the most pleasant threads I’ve read on AGON in a while , please keep up the Good Vibes . Happy Listening and Happy Halloween, Mike B.
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