The biggest problems we found in our shootout were:
Some edge to the horn sound, the kind of “detail” that some audiophiles might prefer but that to our ears would eventually be a source of listener fatigue.
Stuck in the speakers low-resolution sound, by far the most typical, in which the ambience and spaciousness of the studio are noticeably compromised.
And lack of bass, which either takes the rhythmic quality out of the music, the drive so to speak, or makes the horns sound thin, which is a not a sound we tend to like, on this album or any other, although most of the audiophiles that I’ve met seem not to mind it all that much.
The Wrong Kind of Clarity
Much of what passes for clarity in some systems is just a lack of lower mids and thin bass response — woofers too small, not enough of them, the same old story. There are many commentaries on the site concerning this very issue and I recommend you check a few out when you have the time.
Music like this needs full-bodied sound to do what it’s trying to do; you need to be able to move lots of air in your listening room to bring this music to life. You can be sure this band full of horn players was moving huge amounts of air in the studio. Would have loved to be there!
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