2channel
Subjectivity is the label that quacks hide behind to peddle all manner of audio tom foolery. I am in complete agreement the enjoyment of music is highly subjective and since its a human perception issue I believe it will always be that way. What sounds good to me may be nails on a chalkboard to someone else.
If you are an audiophile (I mean that in the best sense of the word not the worse) you already have some idea based on experience what sounds great and what sounds less than great to you. You experience leads you to certain conclusions. And if you are really an audiophile when a new format makes itself known, rather than poo-poo'ing it, you do a little research and then give it a try and see if its all talk or is there some good stuff there.
That's what audiophiles did when CD's became available. The market voted clearly for digital. Once digital, lots of improvements have come along. Some made it in the court of public opinion, some didn't. MQA has now come along with some lofty claims and some techno jargon. Audiophiles should go and try it out rather than just blather about it. Its free for 30 days on Tidal. Just sign up and hear for yourself. If you already have Spotify: so much the better. Do a side by side A-B test for yourself.
Vinyl is its own special case. I brought back vinyl in to my library after a long absence. Did I do it because it sounds better? No. I like the experience of viinyl. I also enjoy teaching my grandchildren about audio and the lessons around the turntable are awesome.
Music is subjective ? You bet. The listening experience is subjective. Its one of the reasons charlatans love our hobby.
Good post Buck.
Subjectivity...I guess there are several ways to apply to music. As you noted, like or dislike of the entertainment value of the content, another deals with our ability to hear minor differences in music played via different formats, different speakers, etc. The latter is my angle. Person A could listen to a 16/44 recording and 24/192 recording of the same song on the same system and hear some differences in the playback...person B could do the same exercise, on the same system and may not be able to discern a difference at all...subjectivity says we'd both be right. You don't hear what you don't hear and vice versa.
Audiophile...I agree 100% there. You're always willing to see if the bar has been raised.
For me, I'm just opening the can of hi res music. SACD was my 1st venture, I'm enjoying that right now. I have a ton on music on CD that I want to get reacquainted with. At some point I can see myself exploring hi res streaming including Tidal and MQA.
Great thoughts on the grandkids.
