The Sound of High Quality Reel to Reel?

[sdolezalek]

As far as "warming up" a "cold" digital recording goes, I view this as the euphony (in the good sense) inherent in vinyl and tape reproduction. In my mind, it's similar to the preference for tube over solid state. Courses for horses, as they say.

 

Is it really euphony or is it "what I'm used to and therefore prefer"? I wonder how much our hearing over time adjusts (and compensates) to prefer that which we are used to, such that something technically "better" doesn't sound that way to us. It is why I try as often as possible to listen to individual live instruments in order to set a reference point.

 

But, who says that it isn't ok to prefer a sound that may actually be different than the reference? It may make it harder for us to agree amongst each other in defining better vs worse, but otherwise enjoyment would seem to be very much a thing of personal tastes. Sort of like arguing Jazz is "better" than classical...