SQ vs. Music

@douglas_schroeder I'm sorry, but this is not your choice. You must follow the advice of people on this thread. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated. ;-)

It would be unusual for anyone to spend the bulk of their time listening to sound quality. 90% of the time I am listening to music it is on as background either in the shop or office. For some reason I can not tolerate a music-less environment. As an infant I would scream my head off at night and would not stop. My mother tried everything including not letting me nap during the day. Nothing worked. Finally in desperation she stuck a table radio in the crib with me, tubes and all. She tied a knot in the power cord around one of the dowels. It worked. Nothing like the smell of tubes in the morning.
Even when I'm in the hot seat I spend very little time actually analyzing the system. I usually do that only after I make a change or something went south. A great system does not have to be analyzed, it just sounds great, every recording being a new adventure. Which brings to mind audiophile candy recordings. I can't listen to mundane music just because it was well recorded. I remember back in the day a 45 rpm Virgil Fox organ recording all the audiophiles were slobbering over. Virgil was the Liberace of organists. His renditions of classic organ pieces was to my ear sickening as was this record. That was the last time I fell for any that that. There are so many excellent recordings of great musicians there is no need filling up your collection with records you will never listen to.

Love how millercarbon put it. And I'm still new enough to the world of high quality equipment that I'm trying to find the balance. I will put something on just because it sounds fabulous and bask in the glory. And I'll pass on a recording because it doesn't sound as good. Likewise, I'll hunt for vinyl pressings and cd labels that I know sound great. Wow, has this expanded my collection, and taste. 

At this point, it's getting closer to 50/50, I suspect. Or, at least, I'm not just thinking about SQ before I choose something than I used to a few months ago. A friend told me that I'll get to the point where I do listen to SQ more intently for the first couple tracks, and then focus more on the music itself. But I don't know that anyone can so neatly separate the two. In a year or so I'll have more experience, so I'm still learning.

Like many of the responses here, I find the two impossible to disentangle. A friend of mine hosted a dinner recently. After we spent time sharing music casting YouTube to his smart TV, playing through a sound bar. The sound was painful for me. I wanted to just enjoy the music, but the (lack of) sound quality got in my way. I found this hobby because I was making efforts to enjoy my music more. 

I believe the same parallel can be drawn in the home theater space too. I could watch a movie on a poor screen at a poor resolution. But that would probably be painful. Watching that same content in 4k HDR on a quality screen would add to my enjoyment. 

I pick the artist I want to listen to first, almost always. I then pick which album by that artist I want to listen to. Sound quality seldom enters into the decision process. The choice of music wins maybe 95% of the time.

Very good post.... Thanks...

It is the same for me.... And the reason why is simple in a rightfully controlled audio system ALL sound better even the worst files i have....

My goal was listening music i love first and last.... Some music i enjoy because of the sound quality.... But most of the music i listen to i know it for the last 50 years....I only appreciate it better now...One of my favorite is Scriabin and almost all i have is bad russians recordings....But the sound is way better now even staying the bad recordings they are i enjoy them more....


You have a good system if the sound is no more there,like an obstacle or an impediment, only the music.... This is my experience....

Music is not sound at all, but the relation between sounds,and this relation is not reducible to sound, was written by the great maestro Ernest Ansermet....I read his 1200 pages book.... 😊😎