This is the second thread today that I feel the need to throw some comment into.
There are multiple things going on in this thread that need clarification.
I have read the postings prior to @kerrybh comments multiple times. I don’t see that @mahgister called anyone stupid. He did point out that certain actions and conclusions can be stupid. That is true, but does not mean that the person is stupid. If we want to keep things civil, let's try to see the intent of the posting and the meaning, and not word groups that we find offensive. I will admit that @mahgister can be difficult to digest and his style of comment may be not always be as polite as it could be. I do think he has valuable things to say that are worth trying to understand.
I am an old guy >75 and have tinnitus and plenty of other health issues. I have enough trouble going from day to day and trying to decide if what I hear is different than what I heard yesterday with the same song playing in the same environment with the same equipment. I value what @mahgister has to say whenever he comments in any thread. I think he has found a way to make his system in his environment sound good to him for daily listening for whatever music he wants to listen to. As he has said many times; he cannot really solve anyone else’s system problems without a long time in their environment with their equipment and their hearing.
I appreciate comments from many participating members regarding gear and what they find pleasing, but reserve judgement about what that exactly means. I do not think there is any ultimate component, or ultimate system that makes music sound right to everyone regardless of cost. Each piece interacts with every other piece and the room to present a particular presentation. That may be what works for your sense of what the music should sound like, and good for you. I may not like that presentation at all. Is one of these the correct presentation that the original artist intended? I don’t know how to judge that. I also don’t know that the original artist could tell me what they think it should sound like in a way that I could understand and duplicate. What level of perception should each instrument or tone have at each particular time during the piece relative to the other sounds being presented. I wasn’t there during that performance, and do not know all the interactions and discussions between the equipment managers, sound engineers, and mixing engineers to know what compromises were made and what each thought they were trying to achieve. I can only try to get the best presentation that I am comfortable with and try to feel the emotional content and impact that the piece contains.
As I make changes in my present modest system, I am trying to find a presentation that I am comfortable with, taking into consideration the constraints of my environment and hearing. All of the ”audiophile” terms of sound stage depth and width and instrument placement all play a role, but exactly what I am hearing and what I want from the sound is the ultimate goal. In my playing with components and connections I can affect different aspects of the overall presentation, but I can’t say that I have found any magic formula that hits my audio nirvana. I am jealous of @mahgister that he has found his.
