Top two most important sound qualities

Lack of grain, tonality, soundstage depth.

I used to be big on soundstage width, pinpoint accuracy, and hard hitting bass. For some reason these have become less important over the years. Not sure why.

I don't know if anyone here is following the Generative AI stuff. I thought it'd be interesting to ask the following question to one of the Gen AI LLMs. This is the answer I got ...

Q: What are Two of the most important sound quality characteristics that an audiophile looks for in their audio system?

A: Two of the most important sound quality characteristics that an audiophile looks for in their audio playback system include:

1. Accuracy - Audiophiles value systems that faithfully reproduce the original recording without distortion, coloration, or other sonic anomalies. They prioritize equipment that can deliver detailed midrange and treble frequency extension while maintaining accurate bass response.
2. dynamics - Effective rendering of dynamic contrasts within music is another crucial factor in achieving high-quality playback. An ideal audiophile setup should exhibit both smoothness and slam on transients, creating engaging musicality as well as natural realism in presentation. They look for components with wide dynamic range capabilities that effectively capture the ambiance and atmosphere of a live performance venue and transmit this to the listener at home or office. These systems must convey fine microdynamics as well so instruments, voices, etc feel lifelike rather than artificial. Maintaining low noise levels helps ensure quiet passages remain undisturbed when systems stop retrigger under momentary signal peaks to avoid saturating all channels into mush at those transient events driving peaks of brief duration but extreme amplitude excursions .
   Please note these two are not considered exhaustive by any means but are deemed essential for conveying a sense how performers intended listeners experience their artistic work