I just looked at the systems of the persons who responded to this thread and to the fidelity thread. In most cases, there appears to be some thought and money going into the equipment selection. I would assume that the purpose of each person's system is to facilitate enjoyment of music. If a boom box lead to a higher level of enjoyment, there wouldn't even be this discussion. (Not to say that boom boxes don't have their place. I very much enjoy boom box reproduced music in the setting of my garage workshop.) To me, however, the emotional and physical experience of listening to music (e.g, Yo Yo Mah, Jennifer Warnes, Cowboy Junkies, Sarah Mclachlan, & Pat Methany to name a few) is the whole point of sitting back and listening.
My interest in hi fi was rekindled early this year when my 20 year old Infinity speakers died. I started to audition speakers, and gradually my "budget" escalated. After listening to Paradigm, Proac, B&W and other speakers over the course of four months, I finally found that I most enjoyed Totem Forests and bought a pair. (The Proacs were sensational, but my wife didn't like them.) Since I bought the Forests this summer, I've repeatedly listened to every cd I own (a few hundred) and I look forward to listening to more. Good speakers have increased my enjoyment many fold, and much of that improvement came from increased sound quality (whatever that is). Of course, I want to continue the process of improving my listening experience. Reading threads form this web site and stereo magazines have tweaked an interest in what is "quality" in music reproduction. It is apparent that many people become obsessed with reaching perfection in hi fi, but perfection is probably unattainable. I clearly enjoy some systems over others. This leads me to the question, "what is it about certain components/systems that increase enjoyment?" Is it clarity? Precision/Accuracy? Transparency? Warmth? Expectations? Novelty? (The easy answer is that it depends on individual difference amongst people, but there seems to be something that transcends individual differences.)
Anyway, this is the reason for my question about accuracy and enjoyment.
John