I think many so-called "objectivists" oversimplify the processes involved in reproducing recorded music electrically (although many audio designers are perhaps guilty of over-complicating their designs at times). They ignore the fact that music signals themselves can be quite complex, certainly in conjunction with human perception of them. Psychoacoustics is an area those with inquisitive (i.e. open) scientific minds should like to explore.

I note also that most objectivists believe that speakers make the most difference. This is probably true if you just listen to the noise in the room which I think most of them probably do. When you begin to listen to the recorded music actively and intently it is at this point that you realise, certainly over time, that subtle sonic differences are actually rather significant in terms of how we actually interpret the musical message.

One of the keys to the success and failure of a system to convey this message is in addressing issues of timing and phase - very difficult to measure.

The purpose of the Art of Sound is to explore ways of ensuring the musical message embedded in recordings reaches your brain via your audio system.