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Speakers that are very accurate sounding but don't produce an emotional connection.

I have listened to a few speakers over the years that impressed me with their accuracy and presentation of the music, but just did not create an emotional response or connection. I have often wondered what that quality is in some speakers that produce an emotional connection with the listener. This quality has been identified by audiophiles, as "magical", "engaging"  "just right"  "euphonic"  "natural"  "true to life". " "satisfying"  "musical"....  I am sure there are at least 50  other  adjectives that could describe this "quality" of  sound . 

Considering the various aspects  of achieving  good and accurate sound by component synergy, is there a way to explain this so-called magical element that often eludes so many of us??.  I don't think such a feeling is temporal, conditioned by personal moods, or the phases of the moon or sun.  

Like to hear from members who have given some thought to the same issue.    Thanks,  Jim   

BTW, I know the thread is a bit out there, but  I don't think the topic is pointlessly pursuing the genie in the bottle. 


sunnyjim

Showing 1 response by socfan12

socfan12
28 posts
 

I don't post much here on Agon, but being the owner of one of those speakers that have the reputation for being technically excellent but emotionally uninvolving (Magico S5s), the topic is of particular interest to me. :-)

I think Ivan's post comes closest to how I think about this.  I think there are about 5 different dimensions that affect one's emotional involvement in a 'speaker', and I use speaker in quotes because unless you listen to different speakers in the same exact room with the same exact setup, it's difficult to isolate the speaker's contribution to what you are hearing.  Anyway, I think the 5 different dimensions are (and I think many of the previous posts mention these, too):

  1. The speaker itself.  It's design choices, it's components, it's build quality.
  2. The upstream components.  All of them, not just the amps but the sources themselves as well as the cables.
  3. The room.  Its size (volume), its dimensions, its acoustic treatments, etc.
  4. The setup, listening position and speaker position, within the room and relative to one another.
  5. And finally but definitely not least, the listener themselves.  How are ears are calibrated (listen to live un-amplified music alot?  rock concerts?  are you a musician?  intimate with your favorite dealer's demo room or a friend's listening room?) and I think to some extent, what we read in reviews and on forums formulates what we think is musical truth.  And when we hear that musical truth in some speaker or system, we respond emotionally to it.  

So like everything else in this crazy hobby of ours, it all depends...:-)


Great topic, Jim!

allen





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