Audio Asylum Thread Printer

Get a view of an entire thread on one page

FAQ / News / Events

Speaker Asylum

Re: Which is more important to you -- AUDIO TRUTH or MUSICALITY?

24.38.94.45

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ Thread: Display Email ] [ Speaker Asylum ] [ FAQ ]

In Reply to: Which is more important to you -- AUDIO TRUTH or MUSICALITY? posted by Arnel on September 20, 2001 at 21:30:07:

I strive to accurately reproduce fine recordings which have captured all the glory of a live performance. Faults of lesser recordings are unavoidably revealed when this is acheived, but I've found I can still reasonably enjoy those recordings for the most part.

I don't know what you really mean by musicality though. That word is thrown around a great deal around here, but everyone is not using it the same way.
Here are some uses of "musicality" that I've seen on this site:
1. Used arrogantly to indicate that one listens to "real" music while others listen to equipment. (My system is musical. Others listen to hifi.) Enjoyment is not part of the equation.
2. Used arrogantly to indicate that one enjoys "real" music while others don't know what "real" music is. (My system is truly musical. Others think their system is great but they don't know what "real" music is.) Again, enjoyment is not part of the equation.
3. Used broadly to indicate that a piece of music is enjoyable. The enjoyment could be due to an incredible illusion of a live performance or the fact that the music just "sounds good". (That work sounds so musical.) Enjoyment is a major component and is directed towards the music itself.
4. Used to indicate that a piece of equipment is more enjoyable than another. (That speaker is more musical.) The root of the enjoyment runs the gamut like #3. Enjoyment is a major component, but is focused more on the ability of a piece of equipment to bring joy more than another.

I'm sure there are more, but I'm not trying to write a thesis. So, what do you mean by "musicality"?

Follow Ups:

Re: Which is more important to you -- AUDIO TRUTH or MUSICALITY? - Arnel 22:59:41 09/20/01 (1)
Sorry for the ambiguous word. What I meant by MUSICAL was: a character of a system that delivers a sound that is capable of involving the listener (most of the time to the extent of an illusion of being in a live performace), regardless of whether the reproduced sound is exactly what is encoded in the source, and regardless of the means by which such a "delicious" sound is achieved (euphonic colorations, shaped tonal balance, etc.)
This implies that, to me, a system that makes all my music sound really good, regardless of the quality of the recording itself, is musical. As in your definition #4, enjoyment of the music (and its sound, btw) is what really counts.
And to make it all clear, what I meant by "audio truth" was: hearing what is exactly in the recording, including all its faults that in many cases will distract the listener from the sound's merits... plain accuracy in a studio-monitoring sort of way.
Of course, I'm not saying that these two attributes are mutually exclusive. My question is only out of curiosity how other people PRIORITIZE between these two.
- Re: Which is more important to you -- AUDIO TRUTH or MUSICALITY? - Corbett 23:44:42 09/20/01 (0)
  Thanks for the clarifications!
  It's ironic how people primed on "audio truth" rarely know how close they are to their goal, however, or how far. With every significant upgrade I've made, I'm simply astonished at all the subtleties that emerge. There is just so much information in good recordings that I never knew was there. I've discovered that it's possible to get a very, very compelling illusion of a live performance from a measly CD. In fact, CD playback is more compelling than SACD on my system.
  "Musicality" through "Audio truth" on good recordings of great live performances, that's what I'd strive for. I prefer not to have good recordings of great live performances blemished just so overall lesser recordings can sound "better". The downside is I may be aggravated by the faults of the overall lesser recordings. The upside is the overall good recordings are simply amazing!
Re: Which is more important to you -- AUDIO TRUTH or MUSICALITY? - JohnR 22:52:41 09/20/01 (0)
4a. Wherein the "musicality" of the piece of equipment stems from its ability to assist in reproducing the glory of a live performance, in as far as it can be achieved.
4b. Wherein the "musicality" of the piece of equipment stems from its propensity to add things that are (to some) pleasant but could never have been there in the live performance.
I am suspicious of the word "musical" applied to audio equipment because of 4b.
JohnR

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Herbie's Audio Lab

You can not post to an archived thread.