An interesting way to describe it. I probably wouldn’t make the statement quite so boldly, but that’s not to say it’s a long way from the mark.
Similarly, adding a glass of Scotch to my listening session fairly reliably increases my enjoyment, as does the presence of my wife.
Very much!
There’s a definite reason I have multiple recordings of many pieces that vary purely by venue (same conductor and orchestra … though for most important pieces I have multiple variations there too).
All other things being equal, I would rather experience Carmen at Covent Garden or the Sydney Opera House than at McCaw Hall (which is, nonetheless, excellent as well).
My favorite instrument!
I have one from early last century (back when the keys were ivory, whether you liked that or not), there’s a picture of it in one of my reviews somewhere (it’s on storage at the moment, sadly, since there’s no space in our current place for it).
Glorious thing it is.
Very nice to have visiting virtuoso’s play on it, and hear how it really can sound (with the limits of the acoustics of the last house we had it in), at our little charity soirees.
I’d likely agree with you on that sounding awful. Other’s may like it though, especially if they have significantly attenuated hi-frequency hearing response (e.g. older people).
(Not understanding one’s own hearing profile is probably responsible for more arguments about how a given piece of gear sounds than anything else).
Nothing wrong with that approach at all, of course.
I started my “audio” journey quite resolutely in a “High Fidelity, Purist” mode. >$250,000 in gear later (flagship Meridian gear with room and speaker-correcting DSP etc.) and I was left with an accurate but musically not very enjoyable solution.
Today I’m in another camp … I want that when I want it. Which isn’t that often it seems (I put that hat on for reviews when referencing neutrality or resolution etc.).
At the same time, if I love a song, or a performance, but the mastering engineering jacked the bass up to the point that my speakers are rattling the windows at my desired listening level, or they over-did the treble for the venue and the recording is too bright (but otherwise awesome), I’ll EQ that down too.