Enjoyment

John, I've never sought 'accuracy' as a priority. My priorities are musicality and scale of presentation, the later has the sub category of dimensionality.

Musicality for me happens mostly in the midrange. I crave the full bodied presentation of tubes, which many would argue are inherently inaccurate. What happens at the frequency extremes is not as important to me per se, though one might argue that without high and low frequency extension, realistic scale and dimensionality may not be possible.
Many audiophiles talk about the importance of dynamics in their systems. My experience is that some people tend to combine components that create an overly dynamic sound. Perhaps they are trying to impress others with a 20 minute blast through their CD collection....almost like a showroom system.
For me, an overly dynamic presentation leads to listening fatigue; I prefer a system that is somewhat more laid back, one that I can listen to quite loud for long periods without constantly adjusting the volume.
Give me a warm and lush midrange, a large coherent soundstage with good depth and image size, and good 3-dimensionality of performers within the stage, and I’m a happy camper.
I haven’t reached those goals entirely with my system, though having made many changes over the past year or so; I’m finally getting pretty close.

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

I 2nd Rooze,back to my coma....Bob

What is 'accurate'?...what is your benchmark for measuring accuracy?....how do you know if your system is more or less accurate than another system?
Judging by your question, it sounds to me that you are at a crossroads in your life and you may be about to make a big mistake.
Sell your stuff now, buy a Parrott and a new birdcage. Train the bird to say 'hifi sucks..I'm so happy'
Invest what's left wisely in drugs and alcohol.

No it doesn't. Too much personal preference keeps people from even looking for overall accuracy. Everyone has likes and (less often) dislikes that tend to cause them to look for certain details in the music over other aspects of the sound.

People that really like deep, fast, accurate bass will often be willing to give up accuracy in other aspects of the sound to get that overall preference. Most people will say they want their system to be both neutral and accurate, but their preferences override that desire. The same description can be used for every conceivable aspect of the sound.

This is similar to two people attending a concert. While one person might think it was great because an instrument that they really enjoy to the exclusion of others was featured while the person in the seat next to them might did not enjoy it because of the extended French Horn solo. The music was still accurate, it couldn't be any less, but that did nothing for the second attendee.

It's all personal preference!

The whole accuracy issue, I believe, comes down to musical preference. If you want to be convinced that you are sitting in front of a performacne of Mahler #8, with close to 1000 musicians on stage, then accuracy is important. If you want to hear one of the greats play Beethoven's piano sonatas, then you would want to hear every detail that makes that music great.

With my system, music that is electronic, amplified, filtered, over-miked, and poorly engineered sounds horrific. There is simply no need for that detail, and it is actually to the detriment of the performance. Someone should outlaw those stupid rhythm machines! Plus, alot of popular artists really don't have very nice voices. I won't name names, but I could understand the desire to smooth things over a bit. Who wants to hear all that.

Rob

It can lead to more musical satisfaction, especially the first time you slot a new (presumably very expensive) unit in your system. Just a shame that feeling doesn't last very long, you get annoyed with your 'old' equipment, that holds the true abilities of your new toy down. And no Marco, it doesn't lead to all kind of drugs, because we don't have the money for that kind of stuff. And for live concerts: all these people are making noise, the musicians playh a false note every now and then and te technicians screw up. So.... eeehhhh.... what is the point I'm trying to make? Gotta have a dose of hi-fi, before my brain crumbles.

Don't even go there; that road leads to obsession, isolation, and financial ruin. 9/10 eventually turn to I.V. drug use and live concerts. Just say "no" to accurate reproduction. Start a neighborhood watch in your own community and learn to read the signs.

Marco