Would you sacrifice high end audio resolution for more "naturalness" and "humanness"?

[Johnny Vinyl]

Very good explanation. But we should remember that we have detail in space, dynamics and tone. Chamber music, as there is no conductor, is my usual example - the small detail is the glue that connects the performers in the reproduction. It makes you feel the music was being performed by several humans, it is not only a tune.

Now I get it.

 

[stehno]

"Are you willing to sacrifice detail and resolution for naturalness and humanness?" Humanness? I thought Harry Pearson passed away?

No. There simply is no reason to sacrifice detail for "naturalness". At least relatively speaking. In fact, even though I think I understand the question, it would seem these two words are more synonymous than they are any type of contrast. Besides that there is no such thing as a more detailed component, only more revealing. Semantics, sure. But it helps to stay accurate to better understand what's really going on.

Set aside the occasional component or speaker that is intentionally zinged up in the higher frequencies to give the casual listener the impression that product is more detailed than others. In my experience, that type of product is fairly rare and outside the scope of this topic.

That said, can one even have a natural sounding presentation without excellent detail? Whatever that would sound like might be more pleasing on a PB system loaded with distortions but there certainly is nothing "natural" about it.

In life and in music, there is no so thing as 101% detail or too much detail. In fact it is the detail that truly makes something sound natural. When is the last time you observed a truly blurry photograph and thought it was more natural?

However, when it comes to reproduced music I would attest that our playback systems are so overloaded with distortions that when a more detailed / revealing product is inserted, by definition a truly more revealing product is indiscriminate about what it reveals, whether it's music or distortions. The initial reaction is that the more revealing product is less musical. Because even though more music info may become audible, so do the distortions, and for some the greater distortions are inducing more ear fatigue and hence the more revealing product is removed.

But what many don't seem to understand is that real and significant performance most always requires work and comes at a price. So instead of considering that the more revealing product requires that new enhanced detail be nurtured, they instead consider the enhanced detail as evil and remove the product deeming it less musical. IOW, the more revealing product that is also revealing more distortions is really nothing more than a cry for help that something further up the chain is significantly outta' whack and in need of attention.

Look at it this way, you own a 1963 VW Bug and you install a small block Chevy V8 in the bug. Surely you can't expect that Chevy V8 to performed as you dreamed it would just by installing it? First you have to shore up the frame, the transmission, the shifter, the differential, the axles, the brakes, brake lines, the u-bolts, etc, because if you don't your VW Bug is going to torque up into a twisted piece of metal the first time you put the throttle to the floor or the first time you power shift coming out of a corner. If you did not shore up all these other areas of the bug, after a few trips to the store, you'd probably want to go back to the original engine.

When it comes to real performance improvements, perhaps regardless of the industry, significant performance gains must always be nurtured before demonstrating their real potential or before uninstalling the product. To uninstall a more revealing component is to step further away from live music or the absolute sound.