If Warmth Is a Distortion, Why Do So Many Audiophiles Still Defend It?

Warmth is fuzziness around the core sound.  Electronically, this can be from tube or SS, also from anything that rolls off HF, loose bass such as cables, power distortion.  I don't find such warmth in audio systems pleasing because it muddies the musical content and detail.  Live music has detail, but audio warmth subtracts detail.  Take a break from audio, go outside and listen carefully to the crisp sound of nature and objects making sounds such as golf clubs and baseball bats.  Some natural sounds may be warm like voices, but this is to be distinguished from those sounds muffled by blankets or fur coats, which is what audio system warmth is.  Very few audiophiles are interested in high fidelity, but they just go for preferences.  Carry that to the extreme, and you have teenagers booming their bass and blasting out deliberately distorted noise.  The preference crowd is on thin ice as the teenager's preference is thought just as valid as the music lover trying to hear as much of the nuance as possible from his audio system.  "Analytic" has acquired a negative connotation.  Unfortunate. Outside of audio, people want clarity of thought, expression, communication, logical approach to issues, etc.  Analytic thinkers better solve all of life's problems than wishy washy subjectivists without standards.  High fidelity is a proper standard in audio.

Not all distortion is bad. When properly applied, even-order harmonics can add smoothness and warmth to the music without masking detail.

Another aspect of accuracy/high fidelity is proper volume level.  Live umamplified classical music has average SPL of 60-70 dB, peaks of 90, rare 100.  Much of baroque music has average SPL of 40-50 dB, peaks of 80.  An audio system trying to get high fidelity should have these SPL's.  At these levels, accuracy is not fatiguing.  Most a-philes play their systems way too loud.  Why? Mainly because detail is lacking at natural levels, so they crank it up.  This is wrong.  If they are interested in natural sound reproduction, they should get more accurate equipment, then play the system at natural levels--lower SPL's.

Some live sounds are unpleasantly loud, such as truck horns, police cars, etc. This is deliberate in order to draw attention and get out of the way.  Orchestra players who sit in front of trumpets and cymbals are abused by too loud sounds.  As a violinist playing in orchestra, I sit far enough away so these instruments are not too loud, but their detail is thrilling that no concertgoer can appreciate.

@viber6 

Well, yes. But it is somewhat depended on where you sit in a concert... and also a bit on the concert hall. I had had season tickets to the symphony for ten years, 7th row center (under the recording microphones... they would lower them when recording). These seats are known as the audiophile seats. Obviously symphonic music it very highly variable. coming out of the silent (40ish)  background to crescendos at well over 100db. But for the full orchestra playing... maybe a waltz would be in the 80’s often in seventies for slightly quieter passages. From my seats I would estimate an average more like 70 to 80 peaking often in the 90’s for "louder passages" 

Yes.  Take a SPL meter with you to the concert.  I haven't tried an SPL app (can you recommend one?), but my old Radio Shack meter gave false readings when the battery was dying.  As for symphonic music, Mozart used a small orchestra. From the 7th row, average mezzoforte levels are about 60-70 dB, forte peaks are probably below 80 dB.  Delicate woodwind solos are 40-50 dB.  

Brahms symphonies and piano concertos have higher SPL's in fortissimo.  Do you know the 1st (maybe the 2nd, I forgot) piano concerto 3rd movement which starts with a beautiful cello solo?  That would be 30-40 dB at the 7th row.  I want to hear the delicious tonality of the cello at home at 40-50 dB.  In the 1st row, levels are much higher than in the 7th row, especially high freq which are more absorbed by distance.

String quartets are usually performed in small halls, but sometimes in large halls if the group is famous.  From the 7th row, 30 feet away, SPL's are 40-50 dB.

Only big stuff like Mahler, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Dvorak have occasional peaks at 100 dB.  Regardless of music, if 40 dB doesn't give great detail and interest, I don't care about louder levels required with inaccurate audio systems.  That's why I have Audiostatic 240 electrostatics, the original Mytek Brooklyn class D amp which give me the detail I need at modest SPL's.  I will hear the line of Final Audio electrostatics at Ravi's home in Phoenix soon.  Every other electrostatic and ribbon design has been inferior to my Audiostatic for detail, but the Final has SOTA membrane and driver tech that may better my Audiostatic.  Conventional dynamic speakers are hopelessly colored and veiled.