Neutral electronics are a farce...

People can define 'neutral' in various ways. How about this (?): When a playback system reproduces music in such a way that it sounds like what the mastering engineer heard in his studio, then it is a neutral playback system. Surely, good equipment is up to the task.

"The entire country of Switzerland is neutral, so I suggest all serious hifi listening should be done there."

I would suggest that since we won’t all have the opportunity in our lives to visit that idyllic land we should at a very minimum listen to the electronics manufactured there so we might gain greater insight into what the word "neutral" truly means.

jmcgrogan2 said it all in the first reply.

infection,

jmcgrogan2 said...

I think that "neutral" is one of the most miss-understood and misused words in the audio hobby.

My impression of neutral is a sonic signature which does not emphasize the low or the high frequencies.

What happens if there is no sonic signature?

Roger

What happens if there is no sonic signature?

I did not say there was no sonic signature Roger. I said the neutral means to me that neither the high nor low frequencies are emphasized. There is a difference. Obviously everything presents a sonic signature, unless it presents no sound at all.

Many folks call gear/cables/speakers "neutral" if they highlight the high frequencies, thereby giving the illusion of higher resolution.  In my mind, emphasizing the high frequencies does NOT connote neutrality.
Obviously YMMV.