chebby:
SteveR750:If hi fi is defined as the realism by which is presents the recorded source, then volume is pretty critical! A drum kit is b****y loud even when played gently. Its arguably unimportant how it sounds at quiet levels, as it simply isn't realistic anyway and is already a huge compromise.
So when you take a photograph of a Skyscaper you expect the print to be over 1000 ft high?
When you watch a BluRay you not only expect 3D but you want all the people to be lifesize and the cars to be lifesize and the explosions and bullets to actually be lethal?
A simply recorded acoustic guitar is near impossible for even the most powerful hifi to reproduce exactly to live scale and volume. (I have heard a £20,000 Krell system - in 1980s money - fail dismally at this task.) Good luck with a full orchestra + organ + choir.
Agree with you chebby on this one, it,s even worse with a nylon strung guitar. I don,t think low volume takes anything away from the music ( well it shouldn,t, depends on how good your equipment is ), at higher volumes, as chebby says, you might feel a better sense of scale and authority, but if your system is good enough then at low levels you should hear everything. I was always told that when you audition a piece of hi-fi kit, you should start off listening at low volume, because if you start with high volume then turn down, your ears are accustomed to the higher level and at lower volume you don,t hear the detail as much. My pre-amp is also a dedicated headphone amp and is designed to give you everything at intimate listening levels, at lower volume i can still hear everything.