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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
jrareform's avatar
jrareform
197 posts
 

Haven't had time to read all the responses but wanted to weigh in as an audio engineer/recording engineer/mix engineer:

There are some fantastic comments in here that combined make up most of my viewpoint which is based around real world testing and listening.

I agree there is no way to hear "the original sound" of the engineer who mixed it unless you have the same room dimensions and materials, same absorption and same system.  When I started investigating the massive difference even cabling can make in an acoustically treated space, I realized there's no way to really hear what was originally heard in the studio.  BUT, who cares ??  As a matter of fact, many systems nowadays that are well synergized will sound BETTER than the studio in which they were recorded.  As someone who has toured the big boy studios and heard their systems, carefully matching components to your room/speakers and for your preferences, can yield results better than many studios if done right.

I agree with those saying why do you have to sacrifice one or the other?  A good system should be highly resolute while providing a lot of "musicality" at the same time.  Yes there is a bit of a tradeoff with gear but super solid gear should be able to convey both the details and the musicality of the signal.

As a side note, a good engineer should have 20-20 khz dialed in fairly flat (with respect to treble and bass curve preferences, my mid and sub bass are elevated for instance as I make mostly electronic music which requires careful analysis with bass frequencies) on their main rig, and it's recommended to have two other playback systems or devices to test mixes on.  I use tiny speakers and headphones for my 2nd and 3rd source for a forest for the trees perspective with the little speakers and the headphones for ultra detail and for those who listen primarily with headphones.

Just a little insight into how engineers actually come about the final sound you hear.  Most of the time it has been mixed and tested on multiple systems with massively varying responses in order to test the content on average joe playback systems

jrareform's avatar
jrareform
197 posts
 

Oh and as an additional comment around preferences:  I try to find the most "transparent" sounding system that doesn't have added sibilance especially in the presence or upper midrange regions.  Most audiophiles I think want that transparency where it feels like we are in the room on live recordings, and on studio recordings we want it to sound crisp, clear with no frequency anomalies and no harshness

carlos269's avatar
carlos269 OP
483 posts
 

@jrareform all great points. Thanks for sharing your valuable insight. I hope that you know that what we perceive as “transparency” can also be dialed in to the degree that we want it to be with both outboard processing equipment and ITB solutions.

jrareform's avatar
jrareform
197 posts
 

@carlos269 100% - I would love to try a Trinnov solution in my studio but $$$$$

Right now I run a top of the line RME interface that has separate processing for each output.  My subs and system are EQ'd separately with my subs having both the internal amp low pass filter along with an additional digital low pass through the interface.  I highly recommend this for people who run subs bc otherwise you will hear 200+ hz content coming out of your sub and that's not good lol.  12/db octave is not good enough for filtering mids from your subs people!!

From mid bass to about 16 khz I'm about +/- 2 db from the listening position... That's a good response in an anechoic chamber 😂 let alone from a listening position

 

foggyus91's avatar
foggyus91
612 posts
 

I found the perfect blend with my current system using a Canor Audio AI 2.10 . Combined with my analog and digital front ends I have found the perfect system for my tastes. 

Canor AI 2.10 is a hybrid integrated amplifier that combines a tube preamplifier with a Class D power amplifier to deliver 150W per channel into 4 ohms. It features a hybrid linear and switching power supply, a tube preamplifier with a relay attenuator, XLR inputs for a symmetrical signal path, and is built with the company’s premium CMT™ technology. 

  • Hybrid design: It combines a tube preamplifier with a Class D power amplifier for a sound that is both warm and efficient.
  • Power output: Delivers
     
    150 watts at 4 ohms.
  • Power supply: Uses a hybrid power supply that includes both a filtered linear power supply for the Class D stage and a switching power supply.
  • Preamplifier: Features a tube preamplifier with a precise relay attenuator and is fitted with two selected 6922 tubes.
  • Symmetrical signal path: Includes XLR inputs that allow for a strictly symmetrical signal path up to the power amplifier.
  • Construction: Uses premium CMT™ technology on its printed circuit boards.
  • Transformer: Equipped with an oversized toroid input transformer to help minimize noise. 

 

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