Pulling back the covers

The James Webb Telescope is set to replace the Hubble deep space telescope in 2020. This five billion dollar marvel is three times the scope of Hubble and has a chance at looking back in time to the Big Bang, the beginnings of our universe. As a science nerd, I am thrilled. The new telescope will pull back the covers cloaking the truth. It won't change what's there, but its discoveries may fundamentally change our views on life and its origins—a potentially frightening thought since sometimes the truth doesn't fit our belief system. To bring this thought back down to Earth, pun intended, the better a stereo system gets the closer we get to musical truth. A proper system doesn't change the music. Like the deep space telescope, it pulls back the covers obscuring what's on our recordings. What I am describing is very different than optimizing system synergy; fattening thin sound; taming top ends. These actions get the music more enjoyable at the expense of ultimate truth. I think it's important to consider the difference between adjusting sound to your expectations as opposed to revealing musical truth. The first is the easier path. The second where only brave ears go.