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Sound, neutrality and the pursuit of everything

The audiophile hobby is inherently a pursuit of some ideal. That ideal might differ from person to person, but what I am curious about is how each of us define that ideal. 

I kinda like where my system is at. I cue a well recorded track and think: damn that sounds good. But compared to what? Do I have a point of comparison to the original performance, the day it was recorded? Usually not. To use an overused album, unless I was sitting at the Olympia concert hall in Paris when Diana Krall performed there in 2001 and have a perfect auditory memory, how do I know my system if reproducing it with “fidelity”?

If the pursuit of perfection is useless as perfection is an illusion, how do you all define your level of satisfaction or achievement in this audiophile pursuit?

jabar102

Showing 1 response by hm9001

hm9001
16 posts
 
I think the only true reference is comparing to purely acoustical live performances (classical music, chamber, orchestra, opera, rarely jazz in small rooms). Even for those, sound varies a considerably based on room/concert hall acoustics and listening position. I listen regularly to this kind of music (unfortunately not since this strange virus is impacting our lives :-() in different concert venues. I upgraded my system considerably last year (MBL 101 speakers, Electrocompaniet Nemo monos). Since then I really also enjoy listening to opera recordings. For me they are a really good reference as you have voices, all sound colors of instruments of an orchestra, and room acoustics with the singers on the huge stage behind the orchestra (for live recordings). Extremely hard to match are choirs. But for all of that, without really being able to describe in words, you can tell whether you get closer. It just sounds more "natural" or "realistic".

I found that the sound of live concerts with amplification is not what I am strieving for in my system. The live perception depends heavily on microphones, mixing, PA system, and can be anything from decent to terrible. It is never "natural". And even if you have a recording of the same life concert, it will be a totally different sound.

The funny thing is that even if I try to work towards coming closer to live acoustic sound, things become more "natural" and inspiring to listen for "modern" music (rock, jazz, ...) as well. But only if recording, mixing, mastering is done well. Bad recordings are unbearable now.
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