Wow! Where do I start? First of all, you make an interesting point, about the "natural sound of music". Would you rather see a black & white, grayed, muddy mess of Vincent van Goghs Starry Night? You would see the "Natural look of a painting; it would capture a mood but it would be missing artist intent. Or .... If you had two recording of Wagner's Tannhauser, one was recorded so the French horns were muddy and not there, and the other recording was alive and you could hear everything including all the extra brass that Wagner uses. I know what I would rather listen to.
The biggest mistake you made was to assume because that I liked Willie Nelson's "Stardust" I did not like Classical Music, or I had a limited view of music. Sorry I didnt give reference to a classical album. The truth is, I dont know of one that has as much presence as do jazz or others such as Stardust. Isnt too difficult to get the presence with classical orchestral music because of the large number of instruments and the large size of the hall, room, or theater?
I really don't like Willie Nelson and I do like classical music, and I have a low threshold for Rock. Because of the quality of the stardust album, I can tolerate Willie. What I enjoy on the album, is the song he sings. I like the song "Georgia" sung by him or any one else and I enjoy it more if it's recorded well.
What bothers me most about high-end stereo, is all anyone can talk about is their gear and you hear very little about the music. For me its simple, I love quality (thats why I like high end equipment). Quality is the only thing the artist has in his or her control. So whats wrong with me wanting it to hear it thru a good recording?
