Most of the responses in this thread have put " music first", but I must admit that I am skeptical. In the real world, 90% percent of music that is reproduced by a/v systems is of the "popular" genre. That is, the performers have (let's be kind) modest vocal or instrumental abilities, and whatever they manage to produce goes instantly into miles of circuitry and is processed to death with computers. Even in a live performance, the relation between the voice/instrument and the ear is convoluted and artificial. So - who is to say what this music is SUPPOSED to sound like? In this case,the very concept of high fidelity has no meaning, because there is no original sound to compare with. What do Madonna or 50 Cent "really" sound like? No one knows, or can possibly know. Thus, any statement about the quality of a hi-fi system is purely subjective, reflecting the tastes of the listener. Classical music, of course, is different, because anyone who cares about it is familiar with the naked sound of the human voice, or of a piano. But classical fans (like myself) are doomed because even the finest hi-fi systems do not remotely approach the quality of live sound. So what can be done? In my case, it involves trying to actually build the best possible equipment, using the finest components. But that is a separate universe, far removed from music itself.
moshulu -- moshulu ------------------------------------------------------------------------ moshulu's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=6811 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=32378 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
