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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
mahgister's avatar
mahgister
15,052 posts
 

You are completely right for sure!

But once this is said what you describe is only the starting point system necessary synergy not the end result which cannot be reach without mechanical acoustic room controls and DSP and "tweaks" of mechanical,electrical and acousticals kind ...

It is why musicality/resolution are not basic  acoustics concepts but inherited from gear marketing ( the old debate analog/digital and S.S. versus tubes etc )...The basic acoustics concepts are "timbre" perception in recording and playback and spatial sound cues and "listener envelopment/apparent sound width" or ASW/LV ratio or immersiveness ...

All our work begin after the purchase, according to our budget limits, of  "resolving and musical" system for a specific  controlled or uncontrolled room and  for a specific or anonymus ears/brain...And the difference between "specific" and "anonymus" Ears/brain, and  controlled or uncontrolled system/room acoustics coupling made all the differences in the world...

Small room acoustics  by the way differ completely from Great hall acoustics....

Also if we can guess  if a system may be more or less  good with a recording youtube video, a real effective judgment imply  we are in the owner room.It is so true i dont feel left behind myself  with my peanuts cost system when i listen most costlier system/room, save some with astounding acoustics  which are very evident and really costlier than most often...

My  speakers system is satisfying for me for his price at the very minimally acoustical satisfaction threshold ... My top headphone AKG K340 hybrid could not beat my first and lost acoustic system/room but now beat my second smaller one (nearfield listening in an acoustic basement corner) because i sold my house then my dedicated normal room...

To me, musicality is like art, in the ear of the beholder. While resolution is tangible and directly related to accuracy. For a home audio system to accurately reproduce music it must be highly resolving. From a technical perspective, we do not listen to pure sinusoidal frequency tones, but rather to complex composite sound waves. To reproduce these complex electrical and acoustical music signals the system must posses extended bandwidth at both frequency extremes because these complex signals are made up of both correlated and uncorrelated frequencies, both in and out of the audible frequency spectrum.

rauliruegas
13,377 posts
 

Dear @carlos269 ​@theophile   : Accuracy means high resolution and truer to the recording. If the recording is " relaxed " then that's what we must listen and if not then that's what we must listen.

Richard  has to have some trouble if only can be aware of any audio " thing " through classical MUSIC.

R.

mahgister's avatar
mahgister
15,052 posts
 

I had this "problem" too...

Natural non amplified instruments and voices are my standard for system/room not pop or rock...

I dont want to be "cured" ...Or "educated" about that ...smiley

 

Accuracy has one meaning more subjective  in audio but another one meaning more objective  in acoustics... It is why i spoke of "translation" between a recording and a System/room/ears playback experience instead of the traditional "reproduction"... There is no perfect reproducttion...

 

 

Richard  has to have some trouble if only can be aware of any audio " thing " through classical MUSIC.

secretguy
1,989 posts
 

"Musicality" is an utterly meaningless phrase in this context.

atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
12,414 posts
 

Pat highlights the importance of coherence to musicality and how one can sacrifice and live without stellar resolution to achieve higher musicality.

@carlos269 In his first post he seems to not be saying that at all. I agree with most of what he said there.

@antigrunge2 has it right. 

How do you gauge and measure sound reproduction systems’ truthfulness to the source? What is the standard for analyzing, assessing, and scoring the fidelity to the source of home audio systems?

The best way is to make a recording yourself. That way you know how its supposed to sound. Its not as hard as you might think; to have a good recording system you can take into the field isn't expensive compared to what home high end audio systems cost these days. The main expense is the microphones. 

BTW I don't take YT videos seriously. There are too many unknowns (the microphones, what sort of recorder use and the compression algorithms of the site itself). Many people simply use iPhones or the like, which have built in compression and limiting, and really don't sound right. I've used mine to record my band many times so we can woodshed material, but those recordings don't sound at all like the actual band. 

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 .

@rauliruegas Certainly! We're on the same page. I'm just pointing out that a good system doesn't sound bright and harsh all the time to also be detailed. It is simply what the music is. So if the music demands brashness, its right there and if the music is relaxed the system is too. 

 

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