what is good sound ?

Unanswerable. Heard that before? I love my rig and think it's better than good, but you may not think so...Our audiophoolish ears just don't appreciate equally....just finished Swann's Way. Much easier to write a treatise on Proust's way than answer your question. And least, one is answerable.....

i think the thread is asking a basic question which can be asked of other endeavors, namely, are there objective standards for evaluating quality or is it all subjective, in which case, it's just a matter of opinion ?

i would like to have a rational discussion, if anyone is interested.

Mrtennis, your asking for a clearly defined answer to a question that most audiophiles cannot give the definitive answer to. Any answers you get are subjective. You already know that given the variables involved in any system and the average listener coming in with his expectations & experience will differ from one person to the next. For that reason nothing is written in stone. Therefore it "is" a matter of opinion. Evaluating quality requires some experience as you know but even then may not be what the next guy considers quality sound. A similiar question would be, what came first, the chicken or the egg? This question would involve an endless debate as does this one & cannot be taken seriously. My attempt to address this question originally made me curious to the responses you might receive. Anybody else?

It is most certainly all subjective. The idea of "High-Fidelity", or being 'true' to some objective concept of what the music is "supposed" to sound like is both absurd and contrary to what the enjoyment of music, or any art form, is all about. More to the point, it just doesn't matter. It reminds me so much of a dog chasing its own tail in circles. The ultimate goal for me is when the gear gets 'out of the way' and I no longer pay any attention to it at all, and am totally absorbed in the presence of music. My idea of what that sounds like is likely going to be somewhat, or completely different to what someone elses idea of what that sounds like might be. The same way you might choose a different tennis racquet, different auto, different flavor of ice cream than someone else...whose to say one is "better" than the other in objective terms. Each may suit a different individual and become the 'best' in their experience...whether or not some collective somehow decrees one or the other widget to actually be the very "best" widget, really should not matter one wit to anyone. Find your own "best" - you are human after all and cabable of your very own set of distinctions, and certainly prone towards making meaning out of everything you experience.

Marco