The use of the word "musical" as an adjective

I hear it as something that has pleasing harmonious qualities, sufficient enough to have me suspend belief in that I'm hearing a mechanical representation of the event. 👍

Next.

+1 @nonoise 

For me, "musical" as an adjective = nothing between me and the music.  A lot of the buzzwords that have been tossed around are far less clear to me.  For example, "warm" or "clinical."  While I do understand the impression that people are trying to convey, those words mean less to me when describing music reproduction than "musical."

Of course, the audiophile media has a vested interest in obtuse approaches as it sustains their livelihood.  Nothing inherently wrong with that unless terms like "impactful" start getting tossed around, but I don't want to get started on how the (mis)use of English has been degraded.  I miss Frank Zappa!

Musical means... "something real sounding and a joy to listen too".

Matt M

 Emotions preserved in the music and toes are tapping.... that's "musical" to me, vs a mechanical reproduction.

Well given the responses posted here I'd say that people have a pretty clear understanding of the term "musical". When I use this term it is meant as a compliment.  It implies music reproduction that breathes life and emotion and allows engagement and a joyful spontaneous interaction. Toe tapping as 1markr wrote. I believe people know it when they hear it. 😊

Non musical presentation would on the other hand be sterile, mechanical,  dry and lacking emotional involvement.  Some would say that the music sounds "canned" or a processed. This is not a compliment. 
Charles 

Right. Natural sounding, unintimidating, involving, having substance.

I was going to try to wordsmith a response but why bother when nonoise got it pretty much right to begin with!

Perhaps PS wants something specific.

Listen to Barber's Adagio for Strings, twice, without wincing, once.

I would apply it as an adjective to speakers and components that don't exhibit distortions that distract me while I'm listening to music. 

@roxy54
"I would apply it as an adjective to speakers and components that don’t exhibit distortions that distract me while I’m listening to music."

I like it. 

Full-disclosure:
I'm reading this book written by Andrew Durkin. It's an "ear opener".for me

Here's a quote from a description on the Penguin Random house website:

"Decomposition is a bracing, revisionary, and provocative inquiry into music-from Beethoven to Duke Ellington, from Conlon Nancarrow to Evelyn Glennie-as a personal and cultural experience: how it is composed, how it is idiosyncratically perceived by critics and reviewers, and why we listen to it the way we do....

...Durkin makes clear that our appreciation of any piece of music is always informed by neuroscientific, psychological, technological, and cultural factors. How we listen to music, he maintains, might have as much power to change it as music might have to change how we listen."

I have no affiliation. As a former musician, lover of many genres of music, and some sort of "audiophile" I find the book fascinating.