Most pleasing sound vs most hifi sound

my tivoli bedroom radio/sub system attenuates treble freqencies in a smooth roll-off which seems to benefit the music coming over most stations.
i can even listen to classical music as long as it's not a large scale piece of music with everyone joining in at once.
jazz piano trios, acoustic bass, and especially vibraphones are very well reproduced. how a three inch speaker (with an admittedly huge magnet) and a 5 inch subwoofer can sound so realistic and textured is a total mystery. i still wonder what would happen if i knew how to modify this system with better interconnects and upgrade some of the internal parts. the power supply comes as a plug-in module, so it is isolated from the main chassis. i really think it has some potential, but for now it already sounds so smooth and unfatiguing i can listen to it for hours.

Hi Shadorne, I know why I like the car stereo. Not because it is extremely good (though it is not bad either), but because it gives more emotional bond between the music and you. It has to do with concentration: the more you concentrate on the music the more you hear things (that are synthesized by the brains) I guess. At home it is more of an experience because you simply hear more information, like the ambience information, soundstage and reproduction of the leading and trailing edge of notes. Because of this "overload" of information, the brains have to work harder to get this picture right and to let you believe that it is in fact a facsimile of the live experience. Whatever...

Chris

Chris,

Ok. So you are basically saying you percieve things differently due to a difference in concentration when in the car. You are more relaxed in the car and able to enjoy it whilst the home system is more stressful as it is more resolving and requires more concentration to get the right picture.

FWIW: I would examine this angle a bit further - have you got the ideal match at home for your own tastes? People in the professional audio industry working 8 hours a day with studio systems discuss this issue all the time (just wander over to Gearlutz forums and you will see discussion on this). These pros recognize that they find some equipment fatiguing and stressful for mixing/monitoring whilst other types of equipment can be simply effortless and non-fatiguing. Not everyone agrees on what they like best in terms of equipment....perhaps each brain is wired differently - but all more or less agree that they want gear that makes their job easier, more enjoyable and such that it requires less concentration to quickly achieve a result.

Note that it is not about resolution => they all want powerful resolving gear to pick up issues with microphone placement etc - i.e. they certainly don't want a "dumbed-down" system excpet to check how something might sound to an ordinary consumer, however, among highly resolving systems there are some that are regarded as non-fatiguing whilst others make life stressful. For example "ambience"...are you getting too much reflections at home is it causing overload and stress?

I think you may be on the edge of realizing that the mental attitude you bring to a listening session can easily outweigh the quality of the system. You are the most important, and most variable, component in any system.

Could not having high expectations or any desire to improve your car system be why it is more enjoyable. Perhaps home listening is always critical, always looking to improve or change something. I found music is much more enjoyable when I decided just to listen to the music and not question what could be better.