Rock and Roll Snobbery

I'm with Sean. More than one system is the easiest and least compromised way to go. (Don't know if I can swing five systems, though.) If you are into the holographic/detail/transparency thang, your system is likely to be developed to maximize the potential of speakers that do this extremely well (i.e. Quads, CLS's, etc). I've recently reached the conclusion that building a second system around speakers that actually move air and have great LF extension is easier, ultimately less costly and infinitely less frustrating than trying to add LF to speakers that weren't designed to go there in the first place (and adding subs always subtracts from the magic that was designed into these speakers). If you think that you have a "great system" that works on all kinds of music, enjoy. There are systems that get both ends of the spectrum "mostly right" and are very enjoyable. But once you decide that you want to be more specific and get certain types of music all-the-way-there, it is always at the expense of something else. The kicker is.. to what degree? That's the fun -- and sometimes really frustrating -- aspect of this endeavor.

Kthomas, I agree that decreasing the overall resolution of the system will not correct a crappy recording, but maybe it changes us. That is, perhaps some people go into a different mode -- out of the critical listening phase. The other night I stopped by my local bar'n grill for a cheese-steak san'wich and beer(s),(forget audio, this is the most remakable phenomenon in L.A.), Crapola mass market electronics, equally non-audiophile approved CD's, speakers mounted on the wall, right against the ceiling (ancient bookshelf units with what I swear looked like balsa wood enclosures), ambient noise... you get the idea. Well, I enjoyed the music just as much as sittin in the dark watchin da tubes glow. Maybe more, since I usually don't have a cheese-steak in one hand and a Sierra Nevada in the other when listening at home. Maybe this is what happens in a lower res system... the listener, not the music, is adjusted. Dr. Leary was right about one thing, set and setting are the critical factors to one's experience... Happy New Year, all!