Soundstage, Imaging, Detail & Presence??

Lrsky,
Nice post! your description of presence mirrors my experiences, this is what triggered my transition from solid state systems to push-pull tubes and finally to SET tube amplifiers. The sense of live 3D performers and the ability to recreate the original venue is powerful and addictive. Once experienced I could`nt go back to lesser presentations anymore.

Lrsky, Amen brother.

No need for mysticism, many wise listeners have learned to trust their precious god given ears. Much of audio and acoustics can`t adequately be explained by science amd measurements(yet). Fortunately we have are ears which have evolved and developed over millions of years to show us the way. Scientific explanations often lag far behind what people experience in many endeavours and daily living(examples are to numerous to list). As of now our ears are the best tools we have when it comes to determing sound quality.

Hi,
Nick, the simple point is our ears are great and can perceive the many nuances and subtle characteristics in music that as of yet can`t be quantified with measurements. These characteristics are what attract us to music and evoke the emotional responses that are so enjoyable. I`ll leave the creation/evolution debate to you, as it`s irrelavant to this thread.
Best Regards,

Hi,
Larry, thanks for the kind comments and for sharing such an insightful experience you had with the late Jim Thiel.I have much respect for engineers and scientists, but when it comes to audio there`s still so much that has yet to be explained or understood completely.Those who rely "exclusively" on the measurables and down play what we can clearly "hear" are in a state of denial IMO.