“Faithful to the recording”

Oh, and one should keep in mind that the artist(s) first hear their finished product in a studio environ potentially stuffed with such that 'compression' is just one effect that may be in play....

Ever since I saw "Phantom of The Paradise" with Paul Williams as the henchman of the devil in his studio with our tortured hero.....I doubted.

It's just gotten worse in the passage of my time. ;)

...and so much for that Gordian's Knot.

@twoleftears ...but there seems to be a shortage of them, much less those who know how to wield one.... 😏  Personally, I apply it badly on the obvious irrational 'logic loops' with full knowledge that the unravel will generally snare and suck one in deeper into morass... ;)

Ah, Friend @mahgister ..."Say Something Meaningful..."  There's a lot of the inverse of that about...:(  Like many or most, I look to music to escape our fretting reality, knowing there's none on a rational plane.  Consequently, it leaks into my discourse, fouling it like hair in the drain sieve.

But, one does what one might or may....*s*
Perfection, in audio or life, is a wisp in the fog, taunting and promising.  We strive towards it, knowing that the likelihood of tripping will occur suddenly, without warning.  I guess chasing the fox overrules the rational, if only because of the thrill of the activity. *S*

I've my own odd pursuit in our shared distraction, but harmless in nature and I learn things.  Even if it distills down to a variant of the Completion Backwards Principal.

"Topological field studies"....(acoustic effects department)....*L*  Yup. 

I chanced upon a Infinity Loop (a.k.a., Mobius loop) in a Target store awhile back.  Of course, I had to have it....parked like MCs' lava lamp atop my 'audiophile pile', providing a great parking place for headphones....*G*

In an upcoming fit of pique, I'll grind it's flaws (pitting, and a slightly clumsy weld) and have it either black chromed or painted with Black 3.0...either will be apropos.  

Lacking broader powers, one opts to define and décor ones' personal reality concept...;)  Since the daily horrors play out without respite, and 2025 is now the tip of the potential plow into dissolution....

One can see the shrug fest already...:(

'Debbie Downer Time'....

I'm going to bed, see what nightmares lurk within....ciao'

...always a fan of Harpo, when he sat at his harp.....*S*

@whart +10.  I suspect that if you just posed that synopsis of the original from memory, I'd not be shocked in the brevity of it. 👍😎

@stuartk , I've always appreciated the Les McCann lyric, since it fits the audio realm way too well...

There's an upper limit to how many comparisons one can personally experience vs. that of the reviewer who is paid to make such.  One's driven to wonder "Well, is the reference based on the last 'Item X' of a similar component drawn from memory, your personal 'reference system', or an indulgence of contrast to an 'A~B (C through Z)' that makes the rabbit hole turn black hole?"

...and, with the potential of actually seeing pics of the reviewers' 'listening environment' which can range from cluttered to packrat...!

It doesn't surprise that we can be disappointed with our occasional *meh* opinions when the component hits our spaces.  Which range even more broadly...with component selections that reflect the items available in ones' choices of personal computers, cells, dinner, clothing, etc.

I gave up 'chasing' SOTA long ago, due to prices primarily.  That, and the stasis of measured specs.

The latter edges into the realization that ones' personal listening space made as much (if not more) difference(s) in what I heard.

Not to mention my 'onboard equipment' to listen with, the obvious and the muck between them.

'Jaded, faded', I opted to just please myself with what struck my fancy....and made and makes me smile.  Much like what I like to listen to, with it.

Your results Will vary. ;)  Have fun with it.

Enjoy your simulations, J ;)