Forgiving or resolving?

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PS Audio

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<!-- #thumb --> <p>It occurs to me that a system’s character could be boiled down into a few categories: two of which might be forgiving or resolving. *I’ve heard (and owned) systems that are truly forgiving as well as those that are quite resolving of details. *On the first everything sounds good, nothing sounds great. *On the latter, the extremes between bad and great are magnified.</p>
<p>Because I do this for a living I have to have a highly resolving system. *I have to have a system that shows off every last wart as well as beauty marks. *If differences exist I want to hear them as if I was listening under a microscope. *But my system in the car is far more forgiving because I have no great expectations and don’t need everything placed under a magnifying glass.</p>
<p>If you want your system to provide extraordinary performance levels you need one that’s highly resolving: capturing the best and the worst of every recording.</p>
<p>The more forgiving your system, the more you’re trading extraordinary for middle of the road.</p>
<p>It’s a trade off, like most things in life.</p>
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Can you find a balance for both ? Detail that pleases but forgiving enough that say, bad pressings still sound good...you'll still know they are not your best but still quite enjoyable..

Maybe because I spend more time in the vinyl world than digital. For me, and what I am playing, digital I am forgiving (xbox streaming) but its use is for just background listening as we do other things. I would not be that forgiving with vinyl but there is where I am actually listening...in the room, in my chair, immersed. Hmm..good topic..
 
Come on, Jerome. There is no such thing as magic, there is only sleight of hand.

You can't have both.
 
GaryProtein said:
Come on, Jerome. There is no such thing as magic, there is only sleight of hand.

You can't have both.
Click to expand...

Gary,
Let me quote Jules Coleman in his review of the DeVore SilverBack speakers :

"The audio world is in the grips of at least two false dichotomies that are the bane of both music appreciation and the discourse surrounding it. The first is that between high resolution and musicality; the second that between ruthlessly revealing components and musical ones. What people object to under the label high resolution is not high resolution but a lack of resolution: an emphasis on the leading edge and attack of notes at the expense of unraveling harmonic detail and natural decay. They are also railing against finely etched stick figures dangling in empty space. Again, this is the opposite of high resolution for such forms of imaging fail to resolve the sound of the space between the players and the notes they play.


Similarly, the term ruthlessly revealing has nothing to do with an open window to the source. Speakers that are often characterized as ruthlessly revealing are instead simply unbalanced. Often they possess tipped-up high frequencies. The contrast with musicality in both cases is misleading. The source of the problem is not high resolution or the openness of the window. Instead, it's a lack of proper balance. A speaker cannot resolve more information than is on the recording. It can resolve the leading edge at the expense of the harmonics and decay. That's not high resolution but simply inadequate or incomplete i.e. unbalanced resolution. Ruthlessly revealing speakers are simply those that shine a spotlight on certain frequencies - taking them out of their proper place in the mix. Again, the failure is one of balance, not resolution or openness."

I could not say it better.
Do I have to mention also that Jules uses Shindo electronics ? :D
What I mean by resolving and forgiving at the same time is "perfect balance".
All the details. With all the musicality, the naturalness. This lets you dive into the performance.
The essence of Shindo.
 
Thanks Jermome - he nailed it.

Shindo is wonderful tube gear. I would love to own some one day.
 
I would classify my modest system as resolving. Excellent recordings sound beautiful...poor recordings are almost not worth listening to. It is especially noticeable when streaming multiple artists/albums back to back during an extended listening session.

It still amazes me to this day, the large variation of sound quality, volume, compression, and timbre released throughout the decades and by different artists/labels. Differences in recording equipment over the years has so vastly improved, yet the loudness wars have all but eliminated the gain...pun intended. ;)

I really wish some popular artists would do a "throwback album" and record a live in studio performance with little to no compression, correct soundstaging, just enough effects to reveal their original vision, no overdubs, and honest, stripped back vocals.

A boy can wish,

C
 
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