Speakers that are very accurate sounding but don't produce an emotional connection.

Mapman-

I can't speak for the OP, but since I feel I understand the gist of his post, I'll attempt it anyhow;-)

I don't think the issue is this feeling of no emotional connection with accurate presentations, but rather that some "systems" (I won't write "speakers" here) come across as so detailed with much focus on precise soundstaging that some elements can be "lesser" than with some systems that are clearly not as accurate. I take my Wilson Sophias as an example. The Sophias sound wonderful, but not accurate in the sense that they soundstage with much precision. Vocals and instruments are too forward than seems accurate to me, and depending upon the frequency range covered often too loud relative to other aspects of the recording. Not enough depth but imaging convincing enough that they get me by for now. It's not the sound I prefer since 90% of the time it's not the realistic soundstage that I need. However, and often enough, I hear something that simply sounds outstanding like a piano key strike from Lyle Lovett's "I've been to Memphis" from Joshua Judges Ruth, or the bass from Diana Kralls "My Love Is" off of the Love Scenes album. In both examples the instruments captivate me - involve me in the music more than when I've heard these played on accurate systems. Those things are louder and the strikes and plucks have more impact than I think is realistic. It's true this is only 10% of the time perhaps, but that 10% is an emotional enough encounter that it sticks and is why I haven't let the speakers go. Yet. Am still waiting for my pre-owned Raidho's to appear at the right price;-)

Sure. If one has accurate speakers and not connecting, system is one possibility. There’s all the other usual contenders you can read about all the time on sites like this as well.

Its harder to sort through than the Republican Presidential Candidates. Much more fun though.

pryso-

This kind of detail is exactly what I feel this discussion needs. I've been messing around with my SPL meter lately to try and see what range it is where my Wilson Sophias do their coloring, and though I can't be exact it's clear to me that it's in the above 160 hz and below 600hz range. It's a range that presents power to the impact of percussion, key strikes, string plucks and also provides more body to vocals that have this lower range (most vocals do - even female). It's also a range that can impart a sense of space around instruments and vocals. 

But is it accurate? Well, it would be somewhat accurate if the recording space emphasized this range during the recording and then THAT was played back on a more accurate system. It makes me wonder if a large part of this discussion is about our preferences with respect to venue rather than sound reproduction. I'm not the first one here to suggest that.

My personal assessment is I find if I do not connect with what I hear the culprit is usually noise and distortion.  Sometimes its effects are so subtle  you don't know its there until gone.   But the effect is the same ie no "connection" .     Minimizing noise and distortion  always helps.  Cleaner power, shielding,  isolating components from other components and any nearby computers, digital gear or power transformers are some of the things I find helps.   Newer digital gear designed for hifi music playback tend to be quieter and less problematic.  Older gear tends to be more of a problem.  It also just so happens that less noise and distortion usually means more accurate.  Go figure!

I certainly agree that amplifiers and recordings make significant differences. To those I would add cables, followed by footers and many 'tweaks'. And synergy can often make a lovely difference.

When I have discussed this topic of musicality with other professionals, the following have always been common themes:

Above all, speakers must first be setup properly in a room possessing at least 'OK' acoustics. If someone has mentioned this above, my apologies. When a room's acoustics are 'OK' and the room is larger than a spare bedroom, I do know that, if finding the right placement for speakers and chair remains difficult (even for a reviewer), it is wise to suspect the speakers.

You might think that the 'best systems' would make less-than-perfect recordings unbearable in at least some ways. Yet I and others have heard countless 'best systems' make most every recording wonderfully musical, completely entertaining, bodily-moving, and emotionally engaging. There was no attention paid to 'harshness' or 'distortion', nor even to the details of 'soundstage', 'airiness' and the like. It was always the performance that came to life.

Now, experienced recording engineers, producers and artists always speak of the need to capture the performance when a band is on fire!, and how this outweighs any recording quality. They go on to say we thus have every reason to expect the recordings of major artists, even when made in the 1920's, to have captured the performers in full stride. And when you don't feel that, it is the fault of playback, not recording.

Returning to speaker performance, it is important to note, in no particular order, that there are many mechanical flaws in otherwise high-tech appearing woofers and tweeters that keep us from making emotional connection to the music. These are measurable.

There can be many acoustic problems from how the air is moving right near any cone or dome, both in front and behind, and by how the air is allowed to reverberate in the chamber or cabinet behind. All of these can be measured, some indirectly.

There are many reasons that the 'order' of a speaker's crossover circuit matters, along with many brands of crossover parts that rob musicality. These are all measurable, but it's usually easier to listen for them via well-conceived experiments.

And there are mechanically-unsound speaker cabinets. To determine for oneself, just buy a $40 stethoscope and have a listen to the sides, back, top... I cannot understand why no reviewer ever bothers with this.

I hope this helps sort some things out, perhaps for future discussions as separate issues, each related to the OP's original well-put question.

Best regards,
Roy Johnson
Green Mountain Audio