I'm still new to all of this audio stuff. I've been putting together a system for the past few years - but I lack real experience. I haven't heard many other systems. I have to guess what people mean when they start using various audiophile-approved adjectives. So I don't even know how to describe what I'm looking to achieve. But what I find, more and more, is that while I listen to my music, things stick in my mind - portions of the music, or aspects of the music, that either (1) leave me feeling disappointed, as though somehow I can tell that this could sound so much better, if only I could find a way to make it happen; or (2) leave me breathless, convinced that in some particular dimension the system is giving me exactly what I want.
I want my system to be quiet, and to reveal a certain level of detail. I want to hear Cassandra Wilson's lips part, and her tongue move from the roof of her mouth when she sings "You Don't Know What Love Is."
I want what I imagine people call "coherency" (but i could be wrong): when Cassandra Wilson sings "Easy Rider", and her voice gets deeper and deeper until she hits that incredibly low note, I want it to sound like it's the same Cassandra Wilson all the way through, and not a bunch of different Cassandra Wilsons singing different parts.
I want my system to convey not just accurate pitch, but textures of the music. I want to be able to feel the difference in the way things are played. When Mark Knopfler plays the solo in "Single-Handed Sailor", I want to be thrilled with how his tone changes from clear and bell-like to that gently distorted, slightly fuzzy tone that makes my eyes roll back in my head.
I want my system to make me feel the music right through my body. That means it has to produce bass. Not deep bass, necessarily. But the frequencies that give a lot of music its drive. I want to feel "Give me Shelter", irrepressible and urgent, with rhythms into which I can practically sink my teeth.
I want my system to to produce lots of noise effortlessly. I think this is related to the previous point, but I'm not sure, as this is something that I'm still to find. It's not volume I want. But it's something that is clearly related to volume. When it's missing, I think "I'll just turn up the volume and that will help." But the volume never quite helps. It almost makes it worse, as it demonstrates that I'm not really going to be able to satisfy myself. When the Tallis Scholars reach a dramatic crescendo, I want to feel their voices engulfing me in sound. I want to drown in the sound, rather than sit in my living room listening to the music coming out of my system. It's almost a sheer quantity of sound that I want, rather than just a level.
Imaging and stuff like that has never seemed a very big deal. But maybe that's because I've never really heard great imaging. ( I heard one system at a store once, that should have had great imaging. And I remember noticing the instruments spread out across the stage, but this was while I was being bored by a pretty lifeless presentation of pretty lifeless music).
Chad
