Coloured or Neutral Sound Whats your preference

Do you color the sound with your kit or do you strive for neutrality to the source.


rollo

 

Neutrality.

 

Coloured (a bit)

 

Ditto, depending on the colouration.

 

neutral..

just not at the expense of realistic dynamics, full frequency range and other IMO essentials.

 

I like the difference that cables and interconnects make to the sound. the more I spend, the better the sound seems to get.

 

only kidding! sorry, couldnt resist.
I prefer a neutral sound, but like the warmth of silky smooth vocals on a winters night.

 

You're right tho' - perception is (almost!) everything.

 

There’s no such thing as ‘neutral’ – how would you define it? Perhaps ‘accurate’ might be a better word?

 

I like what sounds musical to my ears. Who cares if it's neutral or colored or whatever? The biggest mistake I ever made was to buy into the whole audiophile "neutrality is the true path" mantra.

 

How do I know if my system is coloured or neutral, I wasn't there when my music collection was recorded?!

That said, I have a feeling that it might be somewhat coloured , and I like the way it sounds.

 

A bit of bass colouration does it for me. Nice and warm. Non of this fancy "fast" stuff.

 

Exactly. If I like it who cares how "neutral" is it. Assuming there is an agreement on what is neutral.

 

I agree on the bass Andy/Dev.

I like a big 'fat' bass sound that I associate with Dub. Fill out the bottom end like a fat ladies butt

'Fast' bass always sounds like 'no bass' to me.. but then it's a term often associated with a small mid-bass unit, which isn't what I'd ideally like to listen to, given the full choice of listening room and speaker.

 

its impossible to establish neutral with any kind of certainty.. this isnt like photography where you can use a test card with differing colour temperatures to establish a neutral grey. Its completely subjective.

I like a system that sounds to my ears like its clean, open and detailed, with no harshness or excess warmth. That may mean neutral to a degree, but i think thats rarely the case. As im sure my system has a very slight midband warmth. That doesnt mean i lose any detail or definition in this region, just that its not as forward as some systems. To me this sounds nice.

Is it neutral or accurate? I dont really care as long as it sounds good. Which after all, is surely the point of a hifi. My system makes pretty much every musical genre i can find sound enjoyable. Thats enough for me.

 

I think my answer to the question would be very different it I listened to classical.

For rock, when do you ever get to hear it neutral in a venue anyway? The element that carries most live rock performances is dynamics. If you can't get that at home (even at low levels) then it's game over.

Every audiophile should be made to listen a real, live kick drum (unamplified) once in a while and then compare it to what they're actually getting at home.

 

Yep! And real cymbals,... a Marshall stack and....

 

Forgot to answer; A nicely rounded fat bottom end, a firm middle and a top that mesmerises you(sorry that's the missus;-)ahem-coloured neutral-the colourations give it character.

 

Have you tried bringing a cymbal into your listening room and giving it a few whacks? Surprise surprise, the shimmer and especially the decay arte very difficult to reproduce.
The reason I asked the question is that IMO neutral cannot exist. We have yet to reproduce the recording event. Once a signal passes through electronics its lost. Now neutral to our source is a bit easier but still no cigar.
I prefer a coloured sound thats why my Amps are SETs, cdp tubed as well as Pre. The Pipedream speakers are said to be nuetral to the source so their in.
All this proves is we all prefer a personal sound that we relate to wether its warm, sterile or whatever. There is no one sound for all.
So far the answers have been direct with no BS, way to go men.


rollo

 

happy to trade some dynamics and impact for a rich tonal pallette,and i have done.