Musicality. The holy grail?

Jules - I'd agree with you using the term "hifi" as used here but IMO any system that doesn't have an ounce of musicality is definitely not hifi!

Michael.

 

Call me old fashioned but to me "Hi-fi" means "High Fidelity" which means truth. Music reproduced truthfully is "musical".

Flat earth/round earth - let's not get too fixated here. There's only one world. Whether it's flat or round depends on where you're viewing it fom.

Gaia rules ok!

 

Absolutely 100% agree with all that.

'Musicality' is used as a get-out clause by the Naimies, among others.

When I mentioned the fact that my ATCs are miles and miles better than any equivalently-priced Naim poweramp/speaker combination on the Naim forum, the only response Paul Stevenson could come up with was to bleat "Yes, but where's the music?".

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind.

 

Right, now that's a much much better and meaningful description to me than just "Hi-Fi".

7V, you're not being old fashioned and I agree with what you say. My point was that the word "hi-fi" has been hi-jacked on this forum as a colloquilism (that's probably very badly spelt) to mean something derissary or derogatory by those who use it.

 

Now I'm worried.

 

I also totally agree. It's sort of what I was trying to say, but you put it much more succinctly

Me, Steve and Henry all agreeing with James :yikes:

Michael.

 

Very well put. Apart from the Gaia bit...!

-- Ian

 

Great stuff,

What I guess I was trying to unearth, was just what we consider to be hifi. Seems to have been an abused word over here recently, and a many have said, if hifi is indeed High Fidelity, then it is by it's nature faithful to the source and therefore by default it is musical.

So I think it's time WM admitted to being a member of the HiFi club Having spent the past 12 months in persuit of such niceties as soundstage and air, and having to all intents and purposes found those periferal quality gains, he really does now belong amongst us

But I do feel that a lot of the goals associated with this hobby are simply decorations, and far from essential to music enjoyment (a point that James/Devil has made on a number of occasions it must be said). So can we now use the term HiFi in a less derogatory manner

 

Yes, do let's.

How about we choose another expression to cover the more negative aspects of what often goes under the banner "hi-fi".

How about something like "boom-and-tizzy-fi" (bat-fi)?

Ok, ok, someone else come up with something better then (I'm too busy turning my head/eyes left and right whilst trying to maintain the voice in the centre of the sound stage).

 

Thing is, at the end of the day as long as the owner of the equipment they bought likes it then thats what matters. But I have heard with my own ears systems that sounded very "hifi" in as much as the sounds that were coming out of the speakers was "lifelike" in that sense of the word, but unfortunately on the long term, I notice a lack of bass slam, excitement and general drive in the sound. If you got both then thats good for you, but it must be said that boring sounding systems do exist, but at the end of the day, these things are subjective. What sounds boring to me might be another mans exciting, and those persons will probably think mine is boom and tizz or whatever.

You dudes take this far too seriously sometimes.

 

Paul, I agree with both your points - and not just because, from your photo, you're a very good looking chap.

Incidentally, what about "pants-fi"? Haven't worked out what it stands for yet.

 

is it some form of personal stereo that fits in the little gap in 'Y' fronts?
I always wondered what that gap was for

 

ISTM systems can generally be placed in one of three categories:

(a) Systems that are precise but clinical, detached, and quite dull. Generally these systems are both very expensive and have CD as the main or only source, IME. These systems must be coloured, and therefore not high fidelity, as live music doesn't sound like this (unless the band are having an off night).

(b) Systems that are exciting, punchy, dynamic, etc, but a bit tiring or monochromatic after a while. These systems are also coloured, as, like system (a), they make every recording sound a certain way. Young people and the deaf tend to like these sorts of setups.

(c) Systems that just sound "right", i.e., like music. Quite rare (I have one ) but you know very quickly when you're hearing one, generally within the first few minutes. I have no great objections to describing these kinds of system as "musical", as that's exactly what they are, notwithstanding that the word has been devalued by overuse by lazy reviewers. You could also describe them as "hi-fi" in the original, non-perjorative sense.

-- Ian

 

How about, Pretty Average. Not True Stereo

 

Wow, it's like you can read my mind man. Have you been sneaking around to my place and listening to my system while I'm out?

 

Who can blame me for fancying myself

 

Hifi is bollox, period
So you got a clean sounding open and detailed and big staged system that is tonaly accurate & mega netrual, good for you. I'll pass. My fault for playing in a band
Life is for living not worring about vilola's being half a nat's tadger to the left of an 10 foot double bass, thats crap, never happens in real life sound :bub: You can call this music if you wish, I perfer a little more life, yes maybe not totaly netural & very proberbly coloured too, but it is enticing to listen too, and deeply involving.
HIFI is MUSIC only is a boring tonaly accurate way MUSIC is HIFI is a fun coloured way (except naim, thats just odd).
You stick with what you like, I'll stick with mine thanks
Oh BTW for a good trade off try Audience AU24 speaker cable really does almost do the best of both

 

Tone,

Last time I heard your system, it had more "hi-fi" than my "hi-fi", at least for the hi-fi-ness bits that I like. All in the most positive way you understand. So I think Merl has a point.

If you were after a domestically acceptable PA rig, why not stick with the Monitor Audio's?

 

Henry, that was my point

I believe WM is a tad embarrassed to admit that he now has a bona fide HiFi system, meaning of course that it reproduces accurately what it is playing.

A year ago, that could not be said. But all the changes over the past 12 months have really taken HiFi to Cheltenham. This is a compliment surely

 

Trouble is we have 'recordings' not 'music' to reproduce. Otherwise I agree.

And, FWIW, this is the epitome of 'Flat'.

While there are 'musical' small systems, 'musical' big systems are very much better musically and not mere lifestyle accessories. See the Devil for the details.

Paul