How competitive are you with your system?

I after numerous Years of expressing a Keen Interest in Audio related matters and not really feeling exposed to an inherent competitiveness from those met, unless in the Corridors of a Industry Trade Show running the gauntlet of Hawkers loitering for their next to be ensnared.

Plenty of Competitive attitudes revealing their presence within those environments.

I have been looking at a Thread that has a undertone that strongly suggests Competitiveness is at large, make ones own mind up, The Jury is Out.

 https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/whatsbestforum-what-s-going-on?page=3

@lanx0003  

I’m sure your system sounds magnificent on Mahler’s 2nd Symphony.  
But  the true test of an audio system is how it decodes the bits on all digital recordings.  If all the bits of the decoding are not properly in place there will be distortions.  Not that all recordings are created equally well. Certainly some sound much  better than others.  For many reasons. But distortions are usually caused by deficiencies in the system.

@rvpiano Now you're diverting from the issues I was referring to and talking about something else. I can discuss 'distortions' all night long, but that's not the point. I'm talking about the cello's timbre and the center hollowness in the MLP recording you prefer. Just take my advice and move your speakers farther apart and listen again. Your current setup, in terms of speaker spacing, is masking the issue and limiting the soundstage. It’s not ideal. It’s not competitive.

So, you’re asking me to change my system around because you want it to sound worse!  Better re-examine your priorities.

high fi·del·i·ty

/ˌhī fəˈdelədē/

noun

noun: high fidelity; modifier noun: high-fidelity

1. the reproduction of sound with little distortion, giving a result very similar to the original.

High fidelity is my goal and it requires reproduction to produce an end result that is very similar to the original.  The original is best demonstrated on a direct transfer and not a recording at someone’s venue.

One can say, "It is the room" or "I am only using 5-1/2" woofers so what do you expect?" but then they cannot consider this as high fidelity because it is unlike the original and therefore a distortion.

If you want true "high fidelity" you need the equipment and the room to back it up.