System bias

Accuracy can only reveal the realty of what the recording is. If the recording is great, most likely the system will shine. If it sucks, it will probably sound pretty bad too.

+1 @geof3 

op -- this topic has been well covered - op - pls use search bar...

The better the system, the more it can accommodate different music genres. 

I’m not so sure. If your a devotee of rock, is the system you put together going to excel in classical as well, or jazz, or folk or country etc.

Nice question. I’ve kind of wondered about this at times. I think the better question is , "Does the owner know how to get the results he wants? I think your question may have been a no in the past with very high end. I have seen the swing from speakers in the 60, 70’s They tried to cater to the mid range and treble and turn down the bass because a bass which is turned down tends to have a better clarity. So with the came speakers which didn’t extend well into the low bass. Then 40/ 50hz Hz is a low enough for bass But it makes the speaker sound good in the mids. So they came up with a subwoofer. So now, instead of tone controls on the preamp you have subs which gives the music something to ride on and grow on, I think I can tune the subs for all the genres. But only to my liking. I think it comes down to matching the subs to the very good mains that have great mids & highs. Then learn how to work the sub to reinforce the mains.

I may have some advantage due to my band membership and being a musician who has also done board work. BTW, I’m not up and down on every song or even album to make adjustments. But sometimes I have an older (mostly)album which I may have to reel in the bass

I have seen the swing from speakers in the 60, 70’s They tried to cater to the mid range and treble and turn down the bass because a bass which is turned down tends to have a better clarity. So with the came speakers which didn’t extend well into the low bass.

The quote above has been edited for clarity. It should read

I have seen the swing from speakers in the 60, 70’s  Full range  speakers were plentiful. Then in the 80's They tried to cater to the mid range and treble to make a cleaner sound. So, they cut back the bass in the full freq speakers because  bass which is turned back/ down tends to have a better clarity. So with that  came speakers which didn’t extend well into the low bass

Most of us construct our systems over decades as we cannot afford to just go out and spend $100K or more on a system when we are 20. So, as we buy the best we can afford we learn about how to audition, how to evaluate… the terminology, detail, slam, tonal balance… we do so, listening to the kind of music we like at the time. I constantly explored new music over time…. Added a new genera each decade. So, my current interests influenced my choice of test records… which influenced my system choices. So, while the reproduction of electronic music got better on my system in the 90’s all others suffered.

To shorten, a little over ten years ago I started going to the symphony every week… Acoustical… and the direction of my system upgrades completely changed. I dropped planar speakers, switched to Sonus Faber and started upgrading to Audio Research tube gear… each step made all music sound better… not just one kind. I now own the best system I have ever heard… it is far more musical (see my ID)… I listen to it three times more than I used to… and all musical genre sound incredible.