paradiziac said:
Without getting too bogged down in the definitions, I'd equate character/musical/fun.
I think some folks are taking "character" to mean "system-added colouration", but I don't believe this was PP's meaning.
For example, some systems just let you enjoy the music and make you want to keep listening, and some systems are boring.
Specifically, if a system has poor timing (e.g. musicians sound drunk when they weren't!) or poor dynamics (lack of contrast between loud and soft parts), it's going to be a boring listen, EVEN IF the level of detail offered is forensic. The only case where a person would "enjoy" such as system is if they enjoy listening to hi fi and not to music.
So my vote: character first, with as much added detail as I can afford!
Perhaps we should rephrase the question:
Visceral or cerebral?
Right, let's get to the bottom of this before any additional confusion.
Given I have the DacMagic, listen to freeview commercial radio stations, heard one or two amps that don't quite measure up, reviews that ram the "detail" down ones collar when components are rated etc etc... I've absolutely nothing against detail, transparency but found IMHO that the freeview stuff increases detail and openness but loses out in terms of emotion, soul. Likewise, the DacMagic exhibits the same traits: This detail, clarity, openness translates, on my system, into a cold, mechanical sound.
Whether one relates to warmth as the aforementioned flipside, that's down to the individual but the more I hear the newer modtech - albeit I'm still cutting my teeth with the streaming option - the more I'm disappointed.
For some reason, this is a personal psychological block, the more the detail the higher the risk of losing that precious commodity - Fun!