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Top two most important sound qualities

In case you didn't know, it's 2023 and this website still hasn't implemented a polling feature, so I can't define a selection of sound qualities to choose from and see results in a grouped, organized fashion. Boo hoo!

 

If you had to pick two of the typically referenced sound qualities that are most important to you to optimizing the enjoyment of your system, what are they? You know what I mean, right? Could be a certain frequency range and some particular quality that you for in it, or any quality that applies across all frequencies, etc.

(Note: "Sound qualities" mentioned here do not include anything that refers to physical attributes of your system or listening room, such as acoustical treatments, types of components, types of source material, physical tweaks, etc. It's only a reference to subjectively appreciated qualities.)

128x128gladmo

Showing 2 responses by bdp24

bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,465 posts
 

Amen @noodlyarm. J. Gordon Holt used a term I like a lot, one I think you are getting at: "immediacy". I hear it in the sound of direct-to-disk LP’s, Decca/London pickups, and electrostatic loudspeakers. Horns as well, but they are too colored for my delicate sensibilities ;-) .

bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,465 posts
 

The lifelike reproduction of vocals is by far my first priority. If a loudspeaker fails that test it is immediately eliminated, and most are (vowel coloration---though significantly improved since the early days of hi-fi---remains a problem). Closely following is the reproduction of instrumental timbres, especially acoustic string instruments: guitar, dobro, mandolin, fiddle, upright bass, piano (yes, it is a string instrument ;-), and harpsichord.

As for "hi-fi effects", it is image size and scale. Most loudspeakers sound comically "small" to me, the image of a grand piano, for example, being reduced to a miniature of it’s actual size. It’s like watching a movie on your iPhone. Hearing a doll house-size musical picture immediately destroys the suspension of disbelief.

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