"Breathing" of the air

The Audio Glossary (http://www.audioxpress.com/bksprods/products/bkaa7-s.htm) Defines "air/airy" as, "Pertaining to treble that sounds light, delicate, open and seemingly unrestricted in upper extension. A quality of reproducing systems having very smooth and very extended HF response." The Complete Guide to High-End Audio (http://www.audioxpress.com/bksprods/products/bkap1.htm) defines "air" as, "Sonic description of treble openness, or of space between intruments in the soundstage. Contrast with dull, thick." I've always thought of it in terms of the sense of open space that I get when listening to music in a live venue, or the space that I sense of the recording venue, when listening at home(if the ambience info is on the disc). That is, of course, "ambience recovery" and is directly related to whatever "air" your system possesses/is capable of. There's a lot of ambience info in the bass ranges, but it seems the "life" or "breath"(of the live experience) is in the highs.

There was an audiophile of Peru,
Who said play me something quite blue;
From his listening chair,
He screamed give me air?
But his Wife did not have a clue.

the musicians of a symphony orchestra are positioned very close to each other. there is very little space between them.

perhaps there is an implied disagreement regarding semantics.

in any case, i think it is more important to minimize timbral errors and then the other audiophile concerns may follow.

does anyone have a recipe for achieving timbral realism ?

We can't forget liquid !

"Liquid" applies to midrange, as "air" applies to treble(general semantics anyway).