How do you describe "more musical"?

kray

HE>i
I know it when I hear it, but how exactly do you describe to someone that the amp, speakers, etc make it sound more musical?

I tried to describe it to my wife tonight, it's kinda difficult. Partly for me could be that the music is not fatiguing when listening for hours. Food for thought.
 
I tried to describe it to my wife tonight, it's kinda difficult.
You can't. It's all about the "try". All that really matters is she now knows that you know. She will extrapolate your interest and enthusiasm into her own conception of "musical". :)
 
musical - 1. of or pertaining to music 2. having a pleasant sound, melodious, tuneful

One can argue that a sound is either musical, or not, that it isn't a matter of degree, but that's a poor argument due to the highly subjective assessment involved. In quite a few previous discussions of the way many enthusiasts use the term, it became apparent that a lot of folks hate the term and find it virtually, or even fully, useless. I sometimes use the term but have decided that detractors have a point. I tend to avoid it now, but old habits are hard to break so if I used it in my last (or next) post then feel free to bust me.

Someone who enjoys polytonal music with an unfamiliar scale... I might find their music quite 'unmusical' to my ear.

Using the word to make judgements about gear really just means pleasant. Pleasant, more pleasant and most pleasant? Sure, why not? But it doesn't really impart much of anything meaningful other than an opinion.

However, I do get the OP's point, and I also struggle with language when I encounter excellent sound from an outstandingly superior component. Trying such description makes me a little more willing to cut pro reviewers some slack when something they write seems silly, frivolous or snobbish.
 
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It's a great question, but sadly, it is likely to go down a hole that will end badly.

'More musical' inspires physical reactions (goosebumps), emotions of joy, sadness, etc. Those reactions are immediate, unexpected and uncontrolled. Then the logical brain comes in and all bets are off. It tries to be an oscilloscope, a distortion meter and the voice of reason.

Fights ensue and the 'joy' is lost.
 
I know it when I hear it, but how exactly do you describe to someone that the amp, speakers, etc make it sound more musical?
I think "sounds preferable to me" is the only accurate statement that doesn't involve an unresolvable spiral of interdependent definitions (What is 'more musical'? Sounds better! What is 'sounds better'? More musical... Etc.) that only ends in a fight.

Drawing an analogy to some other preference -- e.g., some folks like blue and some folks like red, but I like blue and this sounds "blue" -- might be helpful.
 
I have the very same problems trying to describe things to my husband. Terms I tend to use are "depth". "warmth", and similar. The issue is describing something subjective to someone who may not be an audio-hobbyist. Steven (my husband) has the same issues with me describing some of his sports stuff (in which I have absolutely no interest in) or aviation stuff (I have a minor interest in). Most of the time, we just listen and accept, with a smile. :music:
 
I am a very left-brained guy, so describing what is "musical" is hard for me, esp. since my left brain checks out when listening to music.

I have a small music room/ study. Yesterday I was listening to a new SACD (BIS; Rachmaninov Piano Concerti #2 & 3, Yevgeny Sudbin on the piano.). I put on the music and then turned to the computer to answer an email. After a moment or two I stopped typing, realizing that the music was so beautiful it was almost taking my breath away. My guess is that what I was hearing was "Musical!"

YMMV,
Gordon G

PS: I think there is something about the combo of my gear and the small room filled with books that tends to make things sound musical.

[gear: Cambridge Audio Azur 752BD, PrimaLuna Dialogue Premium Integrated (tube) amp, Paradigm Signature 2 bookshelf speakers]
 
My primary goal for my hi-fi systems is to deliver an accurate and enjoyable facsimile (or simulacrum) of classical music, based on what I recall hearing in the symphony hall or opera house (i.e., a live performance involving natural instruments and no electronics). My ears are “calibrated” by virtue of my full season subscription to the symphony and opera, plus other small-scale classical concerts. (Last night was Mitsuko Uchida performing Schubert piano sonatas.)

IME a full-scale symphony cannot be reproduced with 100% accuracy via recorded music. Where there are inevitable imperfections in the reproduced sound, I want those imperfections to be pleasant sounding (vs. unpleasant sounding). For my tastes, this means tube amps.

Here's another way I look at it: audio nirvana is when I forget about the equipment – and lose track of time and become completely lost in the music. Perhaps this is what SkyRanger is describing?
 
Something that sounds good right off the bat.Right in the middle of the pleasure spectrum.No extremes either great or not so great.Thats what comes to mind.
 
Yesterday I was listening to a new SACD (BIS; Rachmaninov Piano Concerti #2 & 3, Yevgeny Sudbin on the piano.).

Is this SACD multi-channel (5.0 or 5.1)? None of the sellers show a pic of the back of the SACD, so I can't tell.
 
“More musical” is to me sort of a blanket statement. It is something we say when we are in our “listening mode.” We have to transition into an analytic mode, something we are often loathe to do, to specify what it is about the sound, space, timing, timber, depth, tonal quality, etc that has improved.
 
The BIS recording (#2338) is multi-channel (5.0), but in my study I only have 2 channel capacity.

Yes, getting lost in the music and forgetting about the equipment is what I am getting at, even with my left-brained orientation.
BTW: I am doing much the same thing with a Columbia LP of Szell playing Beethoven's PC #1. (This is from a 4 record set, near mint, "Promo" version that I was lucky enough to get on the big auction site.)

GG

[gear: The same except the source is a Kyocera PL 701 with a Sumiko Blackbird cart.]
 
NSsAJWf-ferarri-wallpaper.jpg one can say that the sound that this car makes is more "musical" to the ear than any other vehicle....as an example of visualization, and then there are theseIRS10.jpg and then these....011413MBL-600.jpg these systems are definitely "more musical".......
 
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