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Striking a balance between musicality and resolution

As my years and experience in this hobby continue to grow I notice a divergence between those seeking extreme resolution and detail from their music reproduction systems and those in search of maximum musicality.

In theory, high-end audio systems should provide more than garden variety stereo systems. In my view that means more detail and information should be heard from a high-end music reproduction system than one hears from ordinary HiFi stereo systems set ups. BUT is there such thing as too much resolution and detail in a stereo system’s sound presentation?

Some people feel that a less detailed presentation that is easier for your brain to process has better flow and provides more enjoyable listening.

So there is the dichotomy. Should one pay more to hear less? Can a frequency response performance that is curtailed at both frequency extremes be desired and praised?

Those that seek a “more musical” presentation usually point to their belief that that is how they hear live un-amplified acoustic music in the real world. In nature, high frequencies attenuate and decay with distance from the source and sound waves get absorbed, diffracted, reflected, and diffused by the environmental factors and landscapes; so they are not wrong in stating that in the real world the sound of music is less detailed and extended. The issue is that when we listen to our music reproduction systems at home we are not listening to live un-amplified music in a concert venue, but rather professionally produced audio recordings typically recorded with close-microphones techniques.

So the question is, do we want our systems to reproduce the sound on the commercial audio recordings accurately or does one want hear the sound the way one thinks that it should sound?

Lucky for me, I have enough systems at home that I have been able to design, set up, and tune them for different targeted resultant sound, sound presentation, and sound qualities. For instance, my OKTAN6 ultimate horn system is a dissecting microscope, my Pinnacle horn system aims at extreme musicality, and my WAAR reference system is a chameleon, which can be adjusted to sound exactly how you want it to sound in real-time.

My “test-bed” system takes on the sound character and sound qualities of the components in use and it is excellent for evaluating what new components have to offer or bring to the table in terms of sound qualities. But with the Acapella TW-1S ION plasma super-tweeters extending the high frequencies, the TBI Emperor subwoofers extending the low frequencies, and the highly detailed & nuanced Digital Audio Denmark AX24 DSD dac streaming HQPLAYER as the source, the “Test Bed” system is a highly resolving system.

As with everything else in life, is there a happy medium or compromise that gives you the best of those worlds? I believe that there is and that great music reproduction systems can be tuned to strike a balance between musicality and resolution. If one listens to the evolution of my OKTAN6 ultimate horn system for instance you can hear that the fine tuning is driving the sound in that direction.

So during last night’s listening session I adjusted the sound of my “Test Bed” system to a more musical sound presentation. The “Test Bed” system is always in flux so it allows me to experiment, explore, tweak, tune, and have fun with it.

Here is an audio recording from last night’s listening session that captures the revised sound presentation and conveys the sound qualities that exemplify a more organic sound versus a more delineated & resolved sound presentation:
 

The Way It Goes

 

carlos269
rauliruegas
13,376 posts
 

Dear @atmasphere   " the best systems are both relaxed and detailed. Detail must not come at the cost of brightness and harshness.  ".

 

Live MUSIC listen at near field position normally is not " relaxed " and and sometimes could be brigthness and even harshness, example:listening a horn/trumpet or sax alto .

What I try tomean is that ot all depends wwhat is in the recording where additional

comes with " errors " in the whole recording proccess and matering but in live MUSIC that brigthness and harshness sometimes is part of the natural color of the score.

Several times the live MUSIC dynamics, transients response, power and the like preclude/avoid that " relaxed " characteristic you are talking about and in a home system exist to many additional variables for your statement can be true. Sometimes could be but not as a rule.

 

My syetm is relaxed when the recording is it and always has high resolution with an almost zeronoise floor. Distortion levels  arelow too, example: I take out all electronics input fuses and almost all electronics/speakers/elctrical power line are connected with out any kind of input/output connectors but wire soldered directly to the boards and the like. Yes, I enjoy it.

 

R.

 

 

toddalin's avatar
toddalin
661 posts
 

If you play back YouTube videos, or anything for that matter, over a poor system, everything does tend to sound the same.  It sounds like the particulars/limitations/peculiarities of the system all of which have their influence on everything.

This is why I say you need a good playback system, but it need not be the system in the video.

mrdecibel
3,306 posts
 

Musicianship.....Composition. A good system should present both convincingly. However, the sound of a violin (tone), the placement of the instrument on a stage (imaging) and the acoustic space (spatiality) seem to be more important to most listeners, which is without a question an audiophile thing. I am not suggesting these characteristics are un-important...they are. But to me, musicality is all about "the performance". I have heard many high priced systems constrict dynamics, have horrible timing (ex. coherence of the bass line in sync with everything else), bass bloat (sluggish, ill-defined and non-exciting). Many of them imaged well, were quite spatial, and had decent tone (compared to what...live unamplified music?). But many systems left me wanting more, of the musicianship, weakening the composition. Musicianship and composition are IN THE RECORDINGS, which is the basis of why I want to listen. We are all individuals, making for much diversity in our recorded music playback, and the systems that cater to our wants, needs and desires (at least for me)......I am so repetitive with my words here on these pages and I apologize. I am a very happy listener, at home. My best, MrD.

richardbrand's avatar
richardbrand
1,394 posts
 

@atmasphere 

such as Sir Adrian Boult’s recordings of Ralph Vaughan Williams on EMI

I’ve recently come to the realisation, given the enormous variety of his music, that many audiophiles could be classified by the Vaughan Williams works they listen to the most!

The smooth, laid back Sonus faber types might favour the musicality of his Variations on a Theme of Thomas Tallis, or his variations on Greensleeves, or The Lark Ascending.

Those looking for sonic spectaculars might go for The Wasps. Coincidentally I just picked up the Boult/EMI record, secondhand.

Even within the symphonies there is a huge range. The hit-me-between-the-eyes brutality of war-time Symphonies 4 and 6 versus the more pastoral fifth, for example.  Even then, the last movement of number 6 seems to depict a nuclear wasteland, never rising much above a murmur.  The recent SACD by Antonio Pappano equals Sir Adrian’s performance in my opinion, and is one of my most played disks.  It needs the full impact of a system that can unscramble the details within a symphony orchestra in full flight!

As an aside, The Lark Ascending was used as the theme music for the film The Year My Voice Broke, while the brutal first movement of Symphony number 4 was the theme music for the British Broadcasting Corporation’s TV series A Family at War.  2L.no has recorded the Tallis variations in full immersive sound, and it is a knockout

kerrybh
682 posts
 

@carlos269 I won't take offense at your reaction, hopefully you won't take offense that I think your youtube videos sound like youtube videos. I'm sure if I was in the same room as your system it would sound great. Again, compliments on the Guy Clark. He was a treasure. 

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