I judge the stereo hifi system as enjoyable to listen to as follows;
1. Produces big room-filling sound at realistic scale that extends well out of the speakers to me the listener, with no sense of strain at either high volume or low volume levels. If i get up and walk well away from the sweet spot it still sounds great. If I listen from the balcony outside (having a drinky-poo and a guilty-pleasure smoke once in a blue moon) to what’s playing inside it still sounds reasonably good. When I go to another room it sounds convincing even from there.
2. Listening at lower levels is as satisfying as listening at loud levels
3.Dynamic impact, which ties closely with pace, rhythm and timing is spot on and very satisfying
4. Sound is not homogenized, adding to perceived reality.
5. Lots of ‘air’ giving the sound freshness, vibrancy and beauty
6. Density of sound especially in the lower-mid, mid-bass frequency range helps me really feel emotionally involved with the music. I like Indian music, Afghan, Turkish, Arab, R&B, Rock, New wave and even some Punk, so given a lot of richness comes from bass and propulsive percussive foundation comes from the drum beat, I know my system is singing when all that is right. I love Western Classical too and that benefits from very good lower register performance.
7. Clear and present high frequencies giving the music clarity and resolution
8. A broad open fully fleshed out midrange
9. Playing music that can give me goose bumps.
10. Sharing the experience with friends. Singing along with the music
When the hifi system gets all this right, usually later into the evening, then the audio gods have looked kindly on me. I find it so enjoyable its hard to pull away.
that’s my answer Ted