Probably the best answer is that hi-fi should be used to get closer to the music. Good sound serves good music, but you shouldn't need good sound to enjoy good music.
The problem with dudus audiophilus is that if "some" is good, then "more" must be better. And off you go, on the quest for that final percent. I will never forget taking a friend to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (main floor, center section, back third .... killer sound), and he said "That's not the sound I want!"
So after I finished laughing, I said "But that IS the sound!" We talked some more, and he asked me how I could be so happy with my system and never change anything, and I said "Because I have the music, and it sounds really good."
People drive themselves crazy trying to get a system that sounds like a live musical event, which is impossible. You think it's happened, then you go hear live music and say, "Uh, oh ...." There's a reason we go to concerts, right?
Reproduced sound is like looking at a photograph, in that it arouses memories of the actual event. You can get those memories whether you're listening to a song that you've downloaded to your smart phone, or via a home audio rig that costs as much as a luxury car. Who hasn't driven around the block to finish off a favorite song in the car?
For me, the music is the point, whatever form it takes. Once, I played my much-loved LP copy of Husker Du's "Land Speed Record" live set for some audiophiles, and you should have heard the howls. But a high end system helps you get closer to the claustrophobic, over-the-top mood present that night in 7th Street Entry. The tunes are the thing.
The problem with dudus audiophilus is that if "some" is good, then "more" must be better. And off you go, on the quest for that final percent. I will never forget taking a friend to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (main floor, center section, back third .... killer sound), and he said "That's not the sound I want!"
So after I finished laughing, I said "But that IS the sound!" We talked some more, and he asked me how I could be so happy with my system and never change anything, and I said "Because I have the music, and it sounds really good."
People drive themselves crazy trying to get a system that sounds like a live musical event, which is impossible. You think it's happened, then you go hear live music and say, "Uh, oh ...." There's a reason we go to concerts, right?
Reproduced sound is like looking at a photograph, in that it arouses memories of the actual event. You can get those memories whether you're listening to a song that you've downloaded to your smart phone, or via a home audio rig that costs as much as a luxury car. Who hasn't driven around the block to finish off a favorite song in the car?
For me, the music is the point, whatever form it takes. Once, I played my much-loved LP copy of Husker Du's "Land Speed Record" live set for some audiophiles, and you should have heard the howls. But a high end system helps you get closer to the claustrophobic, over-the-top mood present that night in 7th Street Entry. The tunes are the thing.