January / February / March 2023

Fluidity
The quality of music reproduction is a rather subjective category.
Editorial By Andrija Curkovic

  Choosing the elements and designing a magazine cover page can sometimes take days if I don't have the inspiration for a satisfactory solution, and that can frustrate me a lot. On the other hand, this process can take a fraction of a second if I "hit" the right idea. Like for the one in this issue.

I already had the editorial written, and a roughly established design concept for the cover of the magazine, with some of the equipment tested in this issue. Then I received an email inviting me to the exhibition of the internationally awarded Croatian photographer and professor at the Faculty of Graphics at the University of Zagreb - Maja Strgar Kurečić, and that changed everything. In addition to the invitation, the email also contained a poster for the exhibition showing her photograph, the same photograph that is now on the cover of this edition of the magazine. The inspiration for writing the new editorial was instant.

In various situations over the past years, I have had the opportunity to participate in conversations about the quality of music reproduction on Hi-Fi systems, what is important and what is not, and what actually constitutes good sound. I will try to make things simple.

Cover photo by Maja Strgar Kurecic - Escape Landscape No.3
(From the Escape Landscapes series / Escape Landscapes)

Most will agree that the quality of music reproduction is a rather subjective category. If we compare it with fine art, the pictures that attract us show different motives, different colors and express our different judgments as to what we like about them, more or less. In both cases, the only relevant factor, regardless of whether it is a picture on the wall or playing music using a hi-fi system, is the level of emotional excitement of the person exposed to the audio / visual stimulation. That emotional connection makes us buy new Hi-Fi equipment or build extra walls to display our new artwork. Many of us have experienced these situations.

However, in addition to tonal color and timbral richness, in my opinion, there is another higher, ultimate level of quality in reproducing music, and that is - fluidity. It is the key to good sound, sound that is flowing, coherent and full of energy regardless of all the differences in the choice of color palettes.

I saw exactly this fluidity in Maja's photography, a photo that impressed me so much that it has recently been adorning the wall of my apartment in a large format, combining the best of both arts.

I wish you a pleasant reading.

-- Andrija Curkovic
Editor-in-Chief

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