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

carlos26911-02-2025 6:57pm

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jrareform Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 199 posts 11-16-2025 at 12:48am Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete @deep_333 I don't want to distract from the intent of this thread so shoot me a DM if you want to hear some things that I've mixed/mastered etc. Until very recently I mainly served in a consultant role and have worked to help other people's productions come to life while working on my own productions. But I'd be happy to share some of my work, both creative works or productions As far as some of those mentioning distortion, yes there will always be distortion. Both from the microphone and from the equipment. That is without a question. The question is whether you can achieve a level of transparency to deceive your mind enough to where it seems exactly or almost exactly like the real thing after these processes. Ultimately that will be up to you if you think your system reproduces that. That being said, that isn't the ultimate goal for everyone. Some just want something warm and juicy to bump at the end of a hard day. Each system's use case, priorities and personal preferences should be established by the user before people start buying gear. Also in home trials are invaluable and well worth the hassle of returns imho. If you care enough you'll put in the work to achieve the sound you desire. And hopefully you can find some solid deals on gently used gear that fits your needs!
mahgister Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 15,058 posts 11-16-2025 at 01:02am Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete Just now i cannot stop listening music... My system value is 1000 bucks ,but well optimized... In my own way... I dont feel envious for any system i listened to here or on youtube , save very rare one well optimized and in a marvellous acoustically controlled room so well done even me i could hear their exceptional soundfield and timbre experience through youtube to some small but very audible extent... But i cannot be envious of someone with a budget of 250,000 bucks and probably more for a room/system out of this world, and i spoke of the sound here not of the gear price... Especially not envious because my system is among the best sound possible for a 1000 bucks one...Speakers or headphone... It could be improved but when i listen music i forget the necessary analysis about its shortcoming... I am probably deluded by too much ravishing music listenings sessions and not enough analysis (subjectivist criticism) or worst "placebo" (objectivist criticism) ... Anyway i called this threshold once reached , "the minimal acoustical satisfaction threshold" when all acoustics factors are relatively well balanced between one another, Here an image of these acoustics concepts for which exist many acoustics articles . It is described by an image above posted by lanx003, thanks to him again ... And no Carlos, sorry i will not post my recording of my system... You can think i am deluded or in placebo state......i only feel the urge to post this magnificent image containing all the acoustics concepts any audiophile must investigate to understand which parameters he must act upon and what he dont understand about their interaction together ... I can post a link to any of these concepts and the way to act on them to inspire some experiments...( except sound isolation which i never need to understand well anyway ) It is nowadays easy not like 12 years ago when i was tuning my first room , we have A.I. which will spell out all the necessary articles... This diagram though lack an essential concept : hearing theory... We must understand how human perceive sound in a way a Fourier machine cannot do...
mahgister Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 15,058 posts 11-16-2025 at 03:09am Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete I forget to say the evidence: What matter is not recording our own system to boast about it as unique or the best in the world as some dared to claim... What matter is the balance we can reach between all the acoustics factors related to one another enumerated in the lanxxx image i re-posted above ... This balance is something we need to judge in the room of the person owning the system/room ... I call my own system/nearfield corner " minimal acoustical satisfaction threshold" because it is the best i can reach at this design cost... But trust me we can be happy with it and smile reading people boasting about many times costlier system often in non controlled room ...The sound can be good as in the case of Carlos ( if i can judge from youtube through my own system) different than mine which is not too far anayway and answer to my needs and budget... I regret i could not post here one of the few system that impress me really but i never see it again, it was many years ago....It was way over most systems which i had listened to and probably at the "maximal acoustical satisfaction threshold" already passed ...
rauliruegas Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 13,386 posts 11-16-2025 at 03:56am Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete Dear @jrareform " " Each system's use case, priorities and personal preferences should be established by the user before people start buying gear. Also in home trials are invaluable and well worth the hassle of returns imho. If you care enough you'll put in the work to achieve the sound you desire. And hopefully you can find some solid deals on gently used gear that fits your needs! "" Absolutely rigth and this is all about wha we have to care: nothing more nothing less. Come on Friends this is no rocket science as some of you could tkink. R.
jrareform Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 199 posts 11-17-2025 at 12:00am Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete @mahgister I love the passion for your system. I think until curiosity bites you and you have the funds to be able to create a world class room, you should keep just enjoying your probably fantastic sounding system. The key is does the music reach out through your system and make you feel it. And do you not have any desire to upgrade. If you've accomplished those two things, you've done more than many have on this forum so kudos to you on that @rauliruegas seriously. Enjoy your system and don't quibble over things. Life's too short. Also that only takes away from time spent listening or creating :)