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Beauty = Truth
Reader "dr.d" asks: "Is it better to have a decent system that allows all recordings to sound good, or to have a system that might make some not-so-hot recordings no fun to listen to?" What's your preference, a system that always creates beauty or one that can reveal the ugly truth?
What is constant beauty? Is that warmth or coloration? I would not want a sytem that is colored, but I could accept one with a little warmth. However, I would have to go for the unvarnished truth so that properly-recorded music will sound true to the way I have always heard it to be. I want my system to have high resolution so that properly recorded-music will be revealed and not veiled to make it sound pretty. If it is properly recorded, the unvarnished truth will be a thing of constant beauty. You have to accept that poorly-recorded music is just poorly recorded music, why hide it?
I want a system that is as transparent as possible that does not add or take away from the recording even though that means bad recordings sound bad. That also means a good-engineered recording will sound like what the artist intended with no coloration.
Constant beauty? If you spend all the time listening to Debussy, well maybe? But electric guitars are not always supposed to be beautiful, and if it sounds ugly I think I ought to be able to hear that for myself. The truth matters.
I used to go for constant beauty, then I realized what artifacts were being added by my colored LP12. I do try to strike a balancefor instance, buy a suspended turntable add an SME arm and then a really transparent Lyra cartridge. Works. Follow the mantra that mutts are healthiermix and match to strike a nice balance, and you know you are on the right track. That is add a Krell in your system, just don't tilt to one particular brand.
I would recommend to friends who are only average listeners to go with the first onethe constant beautyin the hopes that they would listen more and enjoy the music. Then, when they come to my home, they can hear the true representation of those recordings and make their own decision. Once they love music, then they can become audiophiles.
I have owned both beauty-by-default and naked-truth audio systems, and my present system is somewhere between. I strongly prefer the naked truth type, because recordings that become much more enjoyable when revealed transparently outnumber lopsidedly those which become less enjoyable. Also, one of the worst remastered and manufactured CDs I have is a hodgepodge of romantic guitar works performed by Andres Segovia, and when I listen to it, I am nevertheless always thoroughly hypnotized by his artistry.
It seems like there are way too many marginal recordings to go with a purely analytical system unless you can go with the Eighth Wonder of the World, the Ayre Mono blocks, A C5-XE, and SME 20-12, and Some Wilsons. Then, all bets are off. Sadly, I will not get to go there anytime soon. Even I have a dream.....
But with the ability to smooth off the edges when desired. Unlike the purists, I like well-designed tone controls that can be easily set flat or switched out for critical listening with good material. Sorry. Sometimes you just can't get the good stuff.