Two Type of sound and listener preference are there more?

They were indeed time-coherent (across a limited range) but that is their only similarity to my work, to Dunlavy, Vandersteen, and Meadowlark.

And you are indeed right about finding other gear to make them sing. Great! The difficulty of said search speaks to the speaker's level of muscality.

One may eventually find 'this gear' exhibits strong colorations in many other systems. Finding universality to the sound of a product among people's comments and reviews is a good thing, before deciding to give it a go.

And when you write

If you have a recording which captures live music in its rawest form, or the recording is not a good one, some of the earliest Telarc discs for example on a system which has good high frequency extension is going to sound bright, if it is on the recording, however, if you have a system that rolls off the top end you are going to experience that recording in a totally different light.

Either way, I can easily demonstrate to anyone here that either condition comes about because of flaws in the gear and in the speakers, especially in the speakers since there is more to go wrong there and, unlike amps, can distort in the time domain.

I have found that when the speakers are truly ’right’ in the time domain (not suffering from metal-cone breakups and cabinet/surface reflections), then the tone balance of the recording becomes secondary to anyone’s experience, not primary as you wrote

Please take note that I do know you heard what you did, and that I would have heard that too, right next to you. But I have scientific explanations and not just ’wow, that amp combo worked’ to offer, backed by specialized measurements you would have to see performed here, and numerous master recordings. Come to Colorado for some vacation?

When I am describing musicality, I can use only words that convey feelings, emotions, and physical motions like toe-tapping (thanks, ctsooner!).

Well, ok, but as I said I think that’s useless. My toe taps to everything on my car radio. And to speakers and systems of all sorts of types of design. I even get whisked away, toe-tapping etc, to music just played on my iphone’s speakers.

Does this help you predict ANYTHING about the sound of such systems? No. It’s non descriptive about the system; it only describes my reactions, and since people can have different reactions to the same system, this doesn’t help describe the sound of the system.

This is one reason I hate reviews that fall back on the reviewers emotional response. It’s the laziest form of writing and tells me nothing at all about what I might expect of the sound of the component.

This is not elitism

I’d say this is elitism:

Most reviewers have not heard musical systems, or cannot hear when a system is musical, cannot feel when a system is musical.

I’m sorry but...utter nonsense.

I used to review. I know many reviewers. I have listened along to systems with many reviewers. They get in to music as much as anyone else I know. And the idea that most reviewers - who have typically heard an enormous number of hi fi systems - have "not heard" a musical system, if you mean by that one that has engaged them emotionally - is absurd. Sorry to be blunt here. It is actually the most astonishing level of elitism to even try to tell anyone that.

I think you are wearing the blinders of a manufacturer. Which is very typical, a sort of tunnel vision created by long hours of trial and error leading down your own particular path of "getting it right." I think that’s great and usually an asset for producing a product that demands such devotion. But it’s not always conducive for producing a more generalized wisdom. You get instead manufacturers who just think their approach is the right approach, despite the fact enormous numbers of people find just as much joy and satisfaction from other designs.

I’ve had plenty of phase/time coherent speakers. Right now I own 3 Thiel speakers - Jim’s last flagship 3.7, the 2.7 and some old non-time/phase coherent 02s (which sometimes I love as much as the newer models). I’ve owned Meadowlark speakers as well. And my Quad ESL 63s were time coherent. Of course you will want to caveats that those speakers "don’t get all the things right" that you think they should. But that’s exactly the manufacturer blinders one expects to see. It’s the same response the other manufacturers will give about other competing designs.

I also have owned (and still own) plenty of non time/phase coherent designs that have made me swoon to music.

This is what I would ask to try all of us to remember-- the experiences we first had back when we fell in love with music, a place in our lives that experiencing the music came first.

And most of us were spellbound by music on a variety of playback systems, often pretty crummy compared to your speakers or any other high end system. So what does "being in love with the music" tell us about any system? Not much at all. Which is again why I find mere emotional appeals useless as descriptors. It’s like someone coming from a dinner out and simply describing "I loved it! It brought back so many memories!" Doesn’t tell me whether it’s something I’d like, or if they had the best liver and onions they’ve ever eaten (which would make me barf).

I know the intentions behind your advice are very well-meaning, but I have to point out from this side it also comes off as a bit condescending, as if we here have to be reminded or taught to enjoy music. I enjoy music quite a lot - having just spent hours with some of my favorite soundtracks and electronica on my system tonight - thanks.

I think I completely agree with Prof. When some of you go off on this "musicality" and "listenability" jazz I just shake my head. I love my music. I want a system that allows me to listen as deeply into the music as my senses will allow. If something is intended to make me shrink back in my chair, that stereo better assault me. The LAST thing it should be is "listenable" and "musical". I don't even want to think those words with the sounds of doom and dread drenching me. If the music would be uncomfortable for me to endure being in the studio or before the stage, it should be uncomfortable in my room. I don't weigh my hearing into the equation.