The Sound or Music

Thank you Elizabeth - I feel a little better.

Jamiek, Hellofidelity - Imagine that you have choice of two versions of the same orchestral performance:

- exceptional performance recorded 50 years ago with
really bad sound and a lot of noise.
- recently released, not as great but recorded beautifully.

What would you choose? Said relative of mine would not hesitate selecting first one while I would always select the second. I'm perhaps audio freak but am not as bold as Elizabeth to admit it.

Onhwy61 - In example above it might be trade-off between 10% performance difference for 90% sound improvement. Is it still sound over substance?
Whole experience is important to me - substance AND sound.

"perfect stereo system, but limited to your favorite 300 recordings"...or "crummy boombox, and thousands of interesting recordings"

"you must choose one only"

Elizabeth you are a very cruel person!

Relative was mine (I don't share him). There might be more than one reason for him to enjoy orchestral music on poor system. One reason I mentioned is love of music that made him blind to a sound but the other is modesty. I see people like that all around sitting whole days at work on horrible wooden chars even if change is easy. They take whatever live brings - just the type of personality.

We're not talking about not listening to Duke Ellington at all but rather opting for better soundwise recording of the same composition.

Listening to Ipod on the trip to Mexico is fine but try to imagine that this is your only system forever. My relative wouldn't mind.

Orpheus10 - It is never ending quest for me too (to a point) but I don't have GAS (Gear Acquire Syndrom).

Shadorne - Not everyone likes clarity/transparency and resolution (I do). Reading user reviews of my Benchmark DAC1 I found opinion that it is too resolving/analytical making possible to hear each instrument instead of preferred "sound blob" that people got used to.

Yeah.. Cindy on the drums and Tal Winkenfeld on the bass.
Any more ladies?

Synthfreek - 7000 CDs is incredible. How long are you collecting?

If you chose Boombox you are a music lover. Sadly, because people pay more attention to music producers pay less attention to quality. As long as people buy poorly recorded CDs nothing will change. Audiophiles don't represent buying power anyway but it has to start somewhere.

Mapman - Thank you.

Orpheus10 - You are right but it doesn't have to be LP. I listen more to violin solo CDs that I was avoiding before because sound was flat and screechy - not interesting (even annoying). I cannot separate sound from the music - it is one whole experience to me.

"Does that make me not an audiophile?"

Yes it does - since you care about sound.

Public library is great. For a while selection was limited and physical quality (scratches) really bad. Now they have a lot of CDs plus judging by radial marks (when I take CD against light) they use CD shaver/polisher.

"just that there is so much to hear and enjoy in music that goes beyond sound quality."

Kefir - Yes, but good sound doesn't take anything away. It enhances overall experience - at least for me.

Yeah, It was so nice that I cannot stop doing it.