In the 1970s I shared a flat with the chorus master of the Tasmanian Opera Company and he possessed a record player. The loudspeaker cabinets were made of unbraced Masonite (4 mm hardboard) and the walls bore a distinct resemblance to Rolf Harris’s wobble-board that he used when performing _My Boomerang Won’t Come Back_ Bruce was completely oblivious to the player’s manifest shortcomings. He did however possess a more than decent Steinway grand piano though my girlfriend at the time beat that with her Bosendorfer. I also note that my hi-fi at the time that included a very good pair of electrostatic headphones was completely incapable of creating anything resembling having Lauris Elms singing various parts of Carmen in our living room. Bruce and I had translated Carmen from the French into English, but so had Elms and her translation was ever so much better so that was the one used in Michael Lanchberry’s production. A visitor from the USA and very much older than we were told me that the chorus was the best he’d heard in his life. Indeed, the national opera company had put on Carmen shortly before this and when listening to it on ABC-FM radio thought it mediocre when compared with our local production. It was a year of enlightening experiences for me. People rave about Joan Sutherland, but I found I very much preferred Elm’s voice and she was about as unpretentious as anybody I’ve ever met. I already had a keen appetite for classical music, but Bruce introduced me to many obscure small works that I’d hitherto not heard. And Wagner-he possessed a copy of Von Karajan’s _Ring Cycle_ In turn I introduced Bruce to prog rock. 1975 was one of the best years of my life! And to answer your question, despite putting a lot of effort into making/modifying my hi-fi gear for many years, the most important thing to me is _actively listening_ to music. It goes well beyond merely hearing the sounds and I’m transported into a place where I feel I’m a part of the instrument/musician. It’s not an aesthetic experience alone; it’s an important part of my chronic pain control, far more important than the opiate drugs prescribed for that purpose. I deduce from Steve Guttenberg’s interviews with Nelson Pass that I’d likely be happy to own any amplifier designed by him. He seems to embody many of the values I hold dear, as do you Harley.

Enjoy everyone of your videos, extremely cleaver, Thanks from Montreal 🇨🇦

You hit the nail on the head Harley. We need to have a good talk about this on my channel.

I find listening to my system in the dark is the best way to concentrate the mind on the music side rather than the equipment side...it also heightens the detail of sound without having any visual distractions

This videos was so unbelievably timely for me. I love my audio gear. But I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about the next piece of equipment I can acquire to improve the sound even more. When I should be concentrating and listening to music. Thank you. What a sensible and thoughtful video.

It seems to me, Harley, the ideal dial you describe here wouldn’t be on an amplifier, but on your head… 😆! Thanks for a thought provoking video.

In the middle. Excellent Video once again. I always enjoy your commentary.

I loved you daft punk review and I really really recommend the album March 16-20, 1999 by Uncle Tupelo, one of the best Americana records to ever be recorded, it is an all acoustic album with some of the most immersive and ethereal mixing and production I’ve ever heard not to mention some of the best songwriting in the American canon, truly a worthwhile album that is ridiculously underrated , I also recommend the album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco which there is nothing I can say that hasn’t been said about it already, love the channel !

First comes the joy of the activity (whether or be listening to music, driving a car, sailing a boat, playing a guitar), but ultimately the person wants to improve that experience so they buy a better system (or car or boat or guitar etc) and at some point the line gets blurred between appreciating the experience and appreciating the equipment. A sign of going too far is when the equipment is causing worry (don't scratch the car! Don't touch the guitar! Don't turn the preamp off first!). Finding the sweet spot; achieving good sound without worrying about whether you bought the right cables, or whether your DAC needs a better power cord, is the best goal for most people I think.

Here’s hoping you have Tarun review some of your speakers! I loved your final point about ways of listening. Of course Brian Eno would have something to say about the privileging of concentration but that is a topic for another video I’m sure.

This morning it's Vivaldi, The Four Seasons, Nigel Kennedy, English Chamber Orchestra. Simply wonderful.

Probably missed the point but now listening to Mark Turner, "Ballad Session." So sweet through the Lyngdorf pure CD, Woo Audio 5 and Sibelius speakers. Thank you, sir, for your wonderful speakers and cables!

I was about to hit like, but the number of likes is sitting comfortably at the answer to everything x 10, which also is the solution for getting into concentrated music listening mode. Peace, brother!

Great video, Harley. The only thing better than a great volume knob is a great illuminated meter, especially if that meter is overlooked by the soft glow of an array of vacuum tubes. If TV is the opiate of the masses, a glowing tube amp with dials is the opiate of those of us of a certain age. This hobby (or obsession as my wife would argue) has always to me been as much about the gear as it is about the music. Both, I thought, were complementary and vital to peak enjoyment. But in recent years the gear and reading, watching and talking about the gear has come dangerously close to crowding out the music and other interests. So as an experiment, having recently retired and, contemplating my mortality as recently retired people do, I have embarked on an experiment to optimise my system for good. Once done, once all the new gear has been bought, from now on there will be no more reviews, no more videos, no more discussion fora, no more expense, no more upgrades. I will just sit back and listen to music, sometimes with a book in hand, sometimes with a small whisky and sometimes with good company. New hobbies and vistas can take over from the gear. Only the music will remain. Will it work ? We'll see. Carlos my audio buddy below can report back on my success or ignominious failure. Wish me luck !

I got stuck with your nice video months ago or last year. Your homage to Jacqueline du Pré. She is my music everytime I sip coffee. Thank you for sharing that. About this video, I listen with my heart and soul, not that they have ears but that is just me. My family members and I got the Omicron virus during day 1 of 2022 but we are all good now. When I get my booster shot, the last, I will try to look for a du Pré records. Greetings 🌹 from the Philippines Harold!!!

After moving last year from the Pacific coast of The States, to the Florida Atlantic coast, with Only what could fit in my small car (meaning NO stereo), I recreated a modest setup. With a nearly unanimous nod towards the $2,000 KLH Model 5's from various channels, I opted for them last December. To power them, I ended up choosing the smallish XTZ Edge A2-300 with its single pinprick of an LED light (No meters, NO dials, Nothing). The odd piece to this setup is an iFi Zen DAC V2 headphone amp with its volume control. Odd in that I use the DAC output into the XTZ, in essence it's my pre-Amp/volume control. I have nothing to look at, therefore I can just relax and enjoy my music. While I once considered myself a low level audiophile, now in my early 60's, I just want to relax into the quiet ambient music that I enjoy. It's really about "setting the mood". With condo living, I enjoy lower-volume mid-field listening.

I get an unmatched and unparalleled excitement when I know I'm about to hear live music in any form. Whether at an intimate little bar on old Main St. or a festival on the local arena grounds. Knowing that the actual artist will be plying their trade for my benefit can never be duplicated with any system. However their is still a valid and tangible feeling when I think of an old song I want to hear and my mind starts immediately seeing the liner notes from the lp or the faded ink on the cassette tape from popping it in the player dozens upon dozens of times. The music may in fact sound better when there is uninterrupted access to a great system with no other particular place to be. There is never the same electricity in the air as when strings are vibrating and skins are thumping and vocal chords are flexing. No matter the cone material or the wattage or the crossover network. My Dial would be a portal into a realm where every person loves and respects their fellow man and there is harmony with nature and no sickness or disease or poverty exists.

Very rare to hear experts in the audio and sound recording industry talk about this topic. You describe the challenges associated with listening to the “sound” as opposed to listening and enjoying a piece of music very well. I deal with this challenge all the time: both on a personal level and also when discussing the matter with others (including audiophiles and musicians and those that claim to be both). Short but enlightening video. Cheers 😊

Great video. So right!

I love the red light theory. Classical and choral are my go to relaxation hobby that, along with country walks, refreshes my brain and connects with my soul. All the daily stresses and hassle melt away…..

🧐THANKS HARLEY …FOR A THOUGHT 💭 PROVOKING VIDEO AND…WE LOOK 👀 FORWARD TO THOMAS’ REVIEW OF THE SIBELIUS SPEAKERS🤩🤩😍😍😍

I listen to the music. I want my dial to show what I’m listening to, cover art, track and artist.

Each time I look forward to following the intelligent, entertaining explanations on the respective topic, in concentrated, joyful anticipation of the next video.

I've become a car-audio enthusiast because I drive so much. Car audio tweaking is just as involved as home audio, but at least while driving it's easier to forget the gear and just enjoy the music, since any major adjustments can't be made while driving anyways.

It's a good point and a fun thing to think about. Ultimately I use my system to listen to music, so I think in my case the needle would be on the "Music" side most of the time. However, sometimes I hit the "Hifi" side. This is especially the case when I've been at someones house and they have a different (be it high-end or not) audio setup. I think an encounter with a different audio setup automatically puts you on the "Hifi" side since you're inclined to compare the quality of your own system to the quality of someone else's.

This video made me so happy! Dont know exactly why...😊

My meter has Music on the left side and Honey Do List on the right side. Strangely, the needle points to the right side most of the time. I think someone has been messing with the bias. Some cars have a system that monitors the drivers attention and will suggest a break. Others have seats that will adjust slightly to help keep the driver alert. Now just have to get that into the audio system. HiFi or Music is like what came first; the chicken or the egg. I have feet planted squarely in both camps. Though I do appreciate the accuracy and tonality when I just sit and listen. I am not a critical listener, because that sounds like one is looking for fault. What is the fun in that? There is music always going on in my house. Mostly background music. I even use my system as background music while working on my PC. I do have a Pass Labs INT-250 and there is a certain satisfaction of clicking the unit out of stand-by and watching the dial light up. Akin to a big smile and lets play look! Also a certain amount of satisfaction when I shut the unit down, and the blue light slowly fades away, like it was sad. But hey, that is just me. Cheers!

I think I understand what this movie is about. I have listened to Rachmaninoff's 3rd concert (Lang Lang, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Yuri Temirkanov, TELARC) in mp3, 24 kbs quality (Internet streaming) via Apple Air Play protocol to my decent High End setup - And I could NOT stop listening! This Music moves me and engages my emotions. And even in this poor quality I can feel the maestry of performers and the mastery of sound engineers. The SQ certainly doesn't bother - but it is not a sessential prerequisite to enjoy Music..

Sooo true, well said!😎

Hi, I just discoverd you channel. I really like your approach. And your presentation. Just bought a new house and therefor I am in the market to build a HiFi -System. As Dieter Burmester already said 30 years ago, that audiophile sadly listen to their system instead to the music. This I always keep in mind in the coming process. Although the technic is so fascinating. Luckily with the new house I have a blank canvas…

It sounds like the “hi fi / music” gauge you described would be fastened to your own mind and emotions. When you’ve got a system that can reproduce a music event with purity, you don’t need to see an indicator to know it. You feel it!

Just discovered Steely Dan's Lost Gaucho on KZfaq - listening for the music, low fidelity, raw and gritty, but still awesome. Just discovered Max Bruch's violin concertos on Amazon HD music streaming - Wow, the music is fresh to my ears, but the sound, the sound alive and dynamic and vibrant as it surrounds me through my headphones as I am typing. Listening to Jascha Heifetz on an RCA Living Stereo recording from the 50's. As we say down South - it don't get no better.

Mine will be always on the right side, I started listen to music when I was 4, yes four years old and it wasn´t on Lynn 12 or EMT 950, it was on a portable two valves mono record player, and what always atract me was music. If I can listen in the best audio setup possible I will be more than happy, because I will listen with more detail what I really love. I have a good mid price equipment that from time to time make me smile and say "you son of a (beeeep), how good you sound", but that moment last 10 seconds. One more thing, the red light concerning to concentration missed will be bleeping much more frecuently that I will desire, I suffered from short concentration time. That's why I'm a big fan of Stravinsky, because his music is constantly changing even in long structure like the Symphonies, they are constructed basically by episodes.

Hi Harley, really enjoy your channel. You're a good storyteller with lots of experience to feed from! This video connected with me on a few points, so I felt compelled to share some perspective. Firstly, I believe there is good reason to have the Class A/Class AB meter: I think the reason is most listeners (myself included) can't differentiate between Class A and AB topology, as much as might like to believe we can. A meter like this makes it easy to point and say, "there, hear the change?!!". Still, the hi-fi nerd that I am likes the idea of knowing exactly when an amp changes its operation, even if I can't hear it. I only wish they had labeled "A" and "AB" on the meter face, as this is such an obscure metric - no one would ever guess its function! Your idea of an amplifier that could sense a listener's intent, and gauge levels of concentration is intriguing to me. What if: based on a listener's intent, as perceived by said amplifier, the sonic character (EQ) changed to a prescribed or customized setting? You may be surprised to know that it's not unrealistic to do this from a technological standpoint. I work in the industrial design field. A few years ago we helped a client develop a new product for children with ADHD, to assist them at concentration. The product used sensors worn on the head (like headphones) to measure neurofeedback from the brain. This feedback was used to measure levels of concentration when playing a video game. The way the player interacted wasn't with a manual control, but rather by focusing harder on the game. We were skeptical, but when we played the game, it was able to measure our concentration levels and translate this into progress. The harder we focused, the better our performance. It absolutely worked. Hoping Nelson and others hear your request and research the science of neurofeedback. It could result in a completely new hifi product that senses a listener's mood to make the experience more engaging and fun. A potential game changer! Best, Aaron

Great point and very nicely told. If it is about the music we get used to what we have at home and it has to get really bad or even distorted before your listening is interrupted by the “system”. If you are an equipment person i suspect that for some folks music is a necessary evil… I have been amazed at how very ordinary cheap systems are enough for the homes of professional musician friends, seems to be the performance that does the business.

Brilliant video, the audiophile rabbit hole in search of the holy grail or just enjoy the music. Insightful channel with good content, most other youtubers are paid salesman....

Wonderful conversation from a person who is uniquely qualified to bridge the domains of recording engineer, reigning over his system of systems to faithfully record music played by musicians and how they critique the recorded result of their musicianship. Guess it all comes down to what floats your boat. Thanks!

I recently bought a new amplifier and am acutely aware of listening to the hi fi…. It will be a little time before My needle is all the way to the right 😊

Interesting discussion

Great discussion, Harley. I see it like this: my desert island music would be Glenn Gould’s piano recordings of Bach’s toccatas BWV 910-916. I can listen to them through my iphone and get 100% of the music, which is all of the exquisite melodic and polyphonic invention, and along with that a fair bit of the pianist’s interpretation: the nuances of touch and volume, variations in tempo and momentum, the fine control he had over the start and end of each note and the way he meshed their leading and trailing edges together like a jigsaw puzzle. But when I hear the same music through my hi-fi system (Sonus Faber Concerto Grand Piano speakers, Electrocompaniet AW220 power amp and Little Dot Mk III pre-amp) I hear lots of things absent from iphone listening: things like instrumental textures, the deep sonorities of a grand piano, the creaking of the beloved chair that Gould’s father made for him, his humming, all things that can be appreciated completely separately from the music and that add to the atmosphere of the event of Gould performing that music right there and then.

I have built and perfected my system over many years. I enjoy listening to and marveling at its ability to create an engaging sound stage. I am becoming increasingly interested in focusing on the music. I like really great recordings per Harley's definition. With time I hope to better appreciate the music.

My needle swings both ways depending on my mood and fancy! Guess Nelson Pass designed this much like some tube amps which can go from Triode to Ultralinear

This is why I love listening to music in cars. One of my favorite audio systems ever was a pair of CDT coaxial drivers (6.5") in the doors of a Mazda Miata. This was running off some cheap Sony aftermarket deck. It was weirdly satisfying. I never needed it to sound 'better' or have more bass or anything. Now I am sad. I miss that little car. There's wind noise, tire noise, engine noise...some people would say this is a terrible listening environment...but is it really?

Nice post! I’ve always had a great love of music… my father was a musician, so a wide variety of equipment that I was exposed to(studio/concert/recording thru to hifi) was a great tool in learning this.. even tho I didn’t realize it in those young years.. now, being somewhat “new” to the hifi audiophile world… and a Pass Labs owner… I still gauge my equipment purchases on the music.. it seems that so many are more focused on the geek of hifi… and that’s great…, but they seem to care very little for the music… anyhow.. blah blah blah.. MUSIC… ITS ALL ABOUT THE MUSIC! Good post.. thank u sir!

So true. In our current times with so many distractions and social media platforms biding for our attention it's not easy to just sit back concentrate and listen for the entire length of an album. It doesn't help if you don't have a dedicated listening room. I think I'll need to take up meditation to help in this regard!

Really enjoy your productions. You bring the ideas of audio that I have always thought were critically important to a listener to truly enjoy. My Pioneer SPEC-1 and SPEC-4 bring out the best musical experience I have ever enjoyed. Talking Heads - Fela's Riff has got to be mentioned here for it's audio ingenuity.

It’s a real pleasure watching your videos, I enjoy the fact that you’re putting a lot of emphasis on the music itself 👏 I haven’t had the chance to audition your speakers yet but will do so on first occasion, I like their classical and elegant look, and I’m certain they sound very good :) About your question I believe that with experience the needle settles in the middle. Some days when you’re swapping a new piece of equipment in your rig the needle will be on hi-fi, some others you might be focusing on the musical performance of an artist you’ve just discovered. But with experience most days you will be cruising with that needle on the sweet middle spot. I hope I am :) Btw I own a Pass Lab XA30.8, it’s a great little amp!

Interesting about the meter. I actually did something a bit like that with the SIT-1 amplifier, where the left side of the meter tended to represent "subjective musicality" and the right side "accuracy" and there was a knob that let you adjust that. I set the middle where most listeners liked it...

I would have to say that its the music and performance for me. one of my absolute favourites is a Ken Burns jazz cd that features Fletcher Henderson's Band. Some of Henderson's early recordings sound like they were recorded over an old telephone... but what a performance . Those guys were really laying it down.

Thanks for the information. Well i never looked back ever since i made and perfected my class d amplifier. You could even hear the violinist missed a note 🤷‍♂️ Or the squeaks noise made from the chairs. Class d

The point of having a decent system is to be able to ignore it. Music is just there, it neither comes from the speakers, nor is it colored by the components. So no dials/lights is the ideal component for me (and my PL XA-25 has no dial 🙂). As a (not so) borderline Asperger spectrum scientist, I have learned to focus intensively and also am able to switch focus in an instant. I frequently listen to music and switch from analytical music mode (listening to individual instruments, timing, intonation, interplay of lines) to impression music mode (just take it all in) between beats. The hifi mode hardly ever comes on, only if I switch components and that is pretty rare. Thereafter, I forget about adjustments. I need a hifi/music indicator as little I need a sitting/standing light. If I wanted a light/dial, it would be an "optimum indicator". Is my hifi system set-up that it gets the most out of it? Needless to say, "optimum" is a loaded term in itself. Anyway, fun thought exercise.

If There was a such thing as hi-fi/music indicator, I'm pretty sure 80% of the audiophiles indicators would stick to the left (hi-fi), and won't even budge, unfortunate but true, great video, thank you.

Thirty years ago the needle would have swung to HiFi and now its to music. My equipment now definitely swings to more distortion and warm than it does perfect measurements and super detailed as for my tastes I find that way more relaxing to enjoy the music. I’m lucky enough to live close to Vienna so (not in covid times) I’m lucky enough to spend time in some wonderful classical music venues my two favourites being the Musikverein and a small intimate venue that stages private concerts in a medieval arched stone floored room lit only by candlelight and playing only ancient music. Both though offer a warm and intimate feeling to the performance that magically draws one in and time disappears. My little tube amped headphone system with an Onkyo portable hi-rez player and Austrian Audio Hi-X65 headphones for me strikes a balance to give me a similar portrayal of the performance. It’s nowhere near of course the live but it’s close enough to make me feel similar sitting in the comfort of my favourite chair at home! And on the move and don’t shoot me, my Onkyo and Bose noise cancelling in ears has a similar warm rich feeling and I get lost in the music even though it’s not HiFi perfect!

I have a music addiction problem where I have to have music playing basically all my waking hours. I don't care if it's live bands or the best hifi or a clock radio, as long as I have music streaming all day every day. So if someone is like that, they may as well be an audiophile and/or a speaker builder. I also play guitar, keyboard, percussion and sax (when I had one). They cost more than speakers, though. I build speakers and I bought an Audiolab 6000A amp and I highly recommend it. See reviews on that baby for a mind blow. At less than half the price of a sax.

Great video!(Pass Labs owner)

Definitely right

The Pass Labs needle gauge may have a novelty like appearance, but its very useful in setting the Bias/Quiescent current of the output transistors. Perhaps we may in fact see amps that can change their voicing at the turn of a dial, I almost want to say it may have been done with a past product, though not sure.

Great video! There is also a parameter of the development of ability to listen in terms of both hifi side and music side. When listening to a recording again after a long period, I often find how I cut off important elements from my impressions last time…😣

Has to be one of your best video's So true on all counts I try to stay in the middle but I think if it sounds really good you move to the left and if the music is great you move to the right. By the way a side note I have a VAC sigma preamp with a similar dial it looks good but sits there in the middle or so I thought till a tube went bad and it went to the left turns out it is for voltage but no word of it in the manual go figure. If you have high voltage coming in it will go right if something is not right it will go left or something like that.

Yep. Far too many audiophiles only listen to their systems and have a very shallow knowledge of music, genre's and artists. Sad but true....nice job!

Nice video. I agree with you in the joy to listen to music and no only have music sounding in background while you are doing a different thing. I like also do that, but focus in music is a pleasure an the hifi system is the tool to do it as enjoyable as possible. This real an important question doesn't mean that sometimes could be also enjoyable to listen the system 😉 Even could be necessary to get a quality improvement in the system itself. But, yes. The main pleasure die me is to enjoy the music. It's a pity don't know as English as Spanish that is my mother language, because I could find the correct words to explain it in a better way. Regards

When something new comes into being or something old returns to prominence, it tends to be sought out, valued, hyped. In the 1960's, people loved to brag about their music player being "hifi." In the '80's, we saw the label "CD-Quality Sound" used by the electronics, broadcast, and record industries. Now we see reviewers & manufacturers use the phrase, "It sounds so analog!" Most of us want "it" to sound "like music."

Following on from your concentration light, I would instead like a meter that measures how captivating I have found a particular piece of music to be. So for example, using facial recognition, what percentage of the time did I have my eyes closed, or did I move to the music, versus perhaps not being fully engaged, multi-tasking, etc. Sometimes we WANT to like a piece of music, but it would be interesting to see what our body language reveals as well.

A good system adds no coloration. so some recordings will sound bright, dark, wooly , enclitical and everything in between. when you system does that then you got it dialed in. if that's not your taste and you want it to have coloration than that's also good. i have it in a way when everting is neutral on good recordings then click on my EQ. when I want to rock out or listen to not so good recordings.

I say: Good show, Harley! Since adding a bluesound vault2 and node2i to my systems, I am more focused on discovering New Music. It's a fun journey and I don't obsess about changing the sound with gear changes nearly as much. After all each performance might be the only time I'll ever hear it, just like in "Real Life" ! As for a distraction light on the equipment.... You might as well call it a cell phone: You're absolutely right! 🎶🤫🎶

Great food for thought, Harley. I guess I swing from one extreme to the other. There are times when I'm bursting to hear a particular piece of music and I don't care how realistic, or otherwise, the sound is. Then I have to admit there are other occasions when I'm concerned about the sound; maybe the violins sound a little shrill or tuttis lack the clarity one hears at a concert.

Harley you will be eternally grateful if you listen to Van Morrison😎

I love listening to my HiFi and judging how well it performs. I do think about how the iFi iDSD or the mojo 2 would perform and I would love to judge if the sound really changes when the amp switches from A to AB (I have a Threshold S550e which does that but doesn’t have an indicator.) Sometimes I sing along, but that music mode is typically at the gym and in the car. Great content, thank you Harley👌🏽👊🏼

Fantastic! And I'll confess my attention did wander pondering how such things might be achieved! Ironically I think the concentration lamp is possible given the use of smartwatches and so on. There are cars (since you mentioned it) that purport to be able to sense if the driver is getting drowsy. I reckon some combination of those technologies could be conscripted to create a measurement for concentration. Ah, but are you listening to music or hifi? That question seems much trickier. I've personally only felt completely transported by music performed live (albeit still amplified) and I think, as I try to look back critically, it may have had as much to do with the ambiance and energy from the rest of the audience as much as from the musicians themselves. I've certainly never recreated the same feeling at home even though I've enjoyed other things about the music and had a perfectly good time.

On an old Denon mr37 dab receiver, project t1 sb to my home made floorstand speakers.... Cleo Sol, Gold: Bob Marley, exodus: Ryo Fukui, scenery

I think I’d like to have a switch. Sometimes my system is too revealing and some of my favorite music doesn’t sound good at all and it’s a distraction. So I’d switch it to lofi . Then for modern recordings I could switch it back to hifi.

I have great hi end system but my needle is on music ❤

My meter is definitely pointing to the right (music). I’m guessing most of the other people running valves share a similar bias.

I think you will really enjoy tame impalas album “Currents” it’s definitely not your typical type of music but is a masterpiece

A dial that tells you when your amp is running at peak performance with relation to the speakers it's connected to would be nice :). I have an Audiolab 8000Q with an input gain function, 8000M power amps, and two totally dissimilar speaker systems in two totally different rooms. TDL Studio 1's @ 86db etc, and Tannoy DC3000's @ 92db etc. It would be nice to know where to set it to have the amps working at their optimum :).

I don't think I would need the needle... as it would probably be fixed in the middle position (between hifi and music) most of the time! As music often draws us in to the whole composition, performance and specific details all at the same time...so everything is either an enjoyable or sometimes disappointing experience...due to all the variables involved... including us and our hearing and mood swings. 😆

I use my HiFi to listen to Music. I'd like to think that the dial in my head is mostly over to the right. I think I have equipment I like enough for me to just enjoy most of my music.

😂 how fun !

What are you listening to? Whether you know it or not you are listening to sound fields that reach your ears. Therefore if you want to duplicate a sound field of a live musical performance from a recording you have to duplicate the sound field that reaches your ears as closely as possible taking the entire process from the sound that lands on a microphone to the sound field that reaches your ears. Accuracy is a bad term. Based on my analysis the precise duplication of a sound field using my method can only happen in a laboratory built for that purpose starting with anechoic recordings and reconstructing the sound field based on a complex set of measurements and, a dome filled with loudspeakers, amplifiers for each one and a very complex computer that reconstructs the field. Two mathematical models work. Mine which remains unpublished (after nearly 50 years) I all Acoustic Energy Field Transfer Function and another developed at Delft University called Wave Field Synthesis. They start at different points, go through different paths to wind up at the same conclusion, that is either mathematical solution can be convolved into the other with some manipulation. What is the essence of a sound field. It is a time varying pressure gradient. What is a pressure gradient? It is a difference in value of air pressure from one point in space to another. Is this just playing with words? No, not at all. Pressure is a scalar, it has no direction. A pressure gradient is a vector, it has direction. The gradient is the reason sound propagates in space. The source of sound creates a pressure gradient with the surrounding air which cascades as it propagates. The sound you hear are the result of time varying pressure gradients between the outside of your ear drum and the inside of it. Every sound has a direction of arrival. So here's some bad news. When the vector sound field falls on a microphone it is converted into an electrical signal that is a scalar, only voltage amplitude versus time. It has lost all directional aspects. It isn't converted back into a vector field until your loudspeakers produce it as sound. From there it is altered by your room until it reaches your ears. Here's more bad news. Given where the microphones are placed the sound they record is nothing like the sound you'd hear in an audience. So it is hardly surprising that the sound field that reaches your ears from loudspeakers is very different from what you'd hear live. So different that a person with normal hearing can easily identify a recording from live music. Here's more bad news. Of all the people I've met in this high end hi fi industry not a single one of them had the knowledge to understand what the problem is about, let alone understand the problem itself. And of course none of them has a clue about how to solve it. Can it be solved? Yes, in a fashion. The major differences that are qualitative and missing can be reconstructed convincingly. Accuracy in the scientific sense is not in the cards for home audio. Is it difficult? Yes, very and the solution is as complicated as the problem is.. Is it expensive? By audiophile standards it isn't. What's expensive in both money and effort is getting the education that is sufficient enough to provide the analytical tools that make it possible. For me it was four of the most grueling years of mental work in my life and worth every second of it. Do I work in this industry? Hell NO! Why not? The problem is not nearly worthy of making it my life's work. I had a far more ambitious career path I pursued, one that gave me great satisfaction and often challenged the limits of what I could do, even expanding my knowledge by doing it. So this was relegated to being nothing more than a hobby, one of many I have and a challenge to my analytical skills and engineering prowess.

My needle can be anywhere from the middle to the left. If the system is not good enough I get distracted/annoyed and loose the focus on the music 🤷‍♂️

I'm a purist. My Setup contains out of only studiobased gear - performance orientated. I listen in Nearfield with an CraneSong DAC and active Monitors. I dont care about fancy glowing Amplifiers with Chrome or Gold finish. So, i concentrate full on the music - only fun & acouracy and not electronic ,,furniture,, :-) but i'm also ,,young,, so maybe that changed in 15 years :-D

One person uses equipment to listen to music. Another uses music to listen to equipment.

That big blue meter is completely useless. It attracts attention. So in a small way it detracts you from the music. I'm planning to buy a Pass. Given the choice i would buy a version without meter. At least Nelson could have designed a switch to turn it (or the light) off.

Needle in the middle for me.

Here's an idea, how about a dial that shows how much BS the listener is saying about the system when demonstrating it or showing it off to friends or streaming youtube videos. It would immediately distort the sound if, for example, the individual claimed that wearing red socks improved the sound quality...

SO funny - you created a new problem: You HAVE to focus :-) Why don`t you just enjoy EVERY moment? :-)

Close your eyes.....problem solved lol Audiophiles think too much sometimes. I call it visual bias.

I’m about to sell my Pass x350.8 for a Conrad Johnson tube amp. I’m finding it sterile sounding.

why' u dont make podcast？

The biggest problem with hifi is the human listening to it and what mood they're in.

If everyone knew how to record music the way BIS Records do, it would be much easier to listen to music and not components...