Am I right for this forum?

This is another common-place fact which is often misleading in audio and which is used in dac marketing ...😊

Another sad fact: "Garbage in/garbage out." Garbage in an accoustically treated environment is still garbage.

What is the source?

It is not the dac nor the turntable as this "garbage in garbage out" sentence may suggest ...😊

Why ?

This sentence dont come from acoustics... It comes from the computer industry...

In audio then in acoustics, the source is the set of acoustics trade-off choices makes by the recording engineer, which your gear will convey in analog digital reproduction, these choices must be TRANSLATED through your system in the room for your ears... There is not a mere  digital  transport and reproduction here but a translation of acoustics information  from an acoustic environment through another one using all gear pieces as a conveyor toward the speakers/room/ears ...

Then " garbage in garbage out" is not a so useful expression for describing the right or not so right acoustics translation from the live recording Hall into you room ...😁

Dac and turntable matter yes, for sure, but way less than the room/ears parameters controlled or not controlled ...

Anyway as demonstrated by Edgar Choueiri all stereo system are defective and must be corrected to give a TOP experience... This is an acoustics fact too ...

Acoustics science rule audio not software engineering ...

Abracadabra: I mapman the magnificent golden eared musical enchanter, hereby decree: you are now an official audiophile!🪄🪄🪄🪄

Sim sala bim: Magjc happens here….Yee ha!

The simple response is that yes, you should be part of this forum, and are critical to it’s viability since you are a music lover not afflicted with obsessions of an audiophiles persistent pursuit of achieving “absolute sound”.  A music lover can listen to music on any system and be immersed in emotion the brings a tear as the soul it touched.  This is the cornerstone to the foundation of being an audiophile   To borrow from the writer Gibran from the prose poem The Prophet Section On Music to help better define this cornerstone:

Music is the quivering of a string, charged with waves from the upper air, it penetrates your hearing, its echo emerges from your eyes in a burning tear, and from your lips as they sigh for a beloved being far away, or it utters a moan caused by the string of history and the fangs of destiny.

Making music sound more real and involving should not be seen as a character defect. I can lead to an addictive chase without end, or at least ending with the ole empty pockets. My experience has often been an increasing respect for the artist's efforts and the emotional involvement brought by more closely reproducing their intentions. I certainly wouldn't be an audiophile without being a music lover. What would be the point?

I am always reminded  of the time in the early mornings waiting for the bus inside the hallway where we waited. The sound of Ben E King singing Stand by Me. And tuning that dial on my own little hand held radio so the station would come through better. Same thing.

As to the OP, you belong if you want to.

@immatthewj

The 'Art' is reproducing recorded music.  The best it can be done with electronic boxes, today,  is very low on the price pole.  The Marantz Yamaha thingy.  The only thing we can DO, is to strive to perfectly get the info from source to the speaker.  Compare output of source and input to speaker, it don't cost much.

Much more important is the room, speakers, and speaker position. Whenever I hear a system, the main thing I hear is the size of the room.  In person or online.  Its so obvious.

Cheers