Question about neutrality and transparency in an amp

Ladder dacs can sound warm and rich. Examples would be the Teradac Chamelion And the Audio-GD dacs using the 1704 chip
Alan

I'm pretty new to the audiophile scene although I've had my share of quality audio equipment over the years and played piano professionally. Every ear is different. I hear pianos that I describe as warm and rich; others tinny and lifeless. Same for audio systems. If warm and colorful is what pleases your ear, then pursue tubes. Yea it may "color" the digital crispness, but hey, it's your ear and your money. I feel the same way and feel like I warmed up my digital streamer McMB100 by using the DAC in my Aesthetix Romulus eclipse. As a CDP the Romulus gives me a warm sound I really love. Colored?  Maybe. But it's my ear and mummy net. It's played through my McC52, Aesthetix Atlas eclipse and Burmester B30s. My point is tubes are noticeably warmer for digital and analog So go for what you love to hear. Audition equipment n a way to isolate and appreciate their sonic differences. 

Almost bought a Hegel...Demo'd at home.  Cold sounding...got a Krell Vangaurd!  Faithful to the music, colorful and dynamic...warmth?  Yes

One thing to keep in mind in a conversation like this is that the human ear/brain system converts all forms of distortion into tonality.

Tubes are often docked for having a 'warm' sound- this is often due to the presence of a second harmonic. Transistors are often described as 'neutral' and also perhaps a bit 'dry'. The 'dry' sound is caused by the presence of higher ordered harmonics in trace amounts- which the ear converts to 'harsh' and 'bright'.

It is very difficult to tame these colorations! They lie at the heart of the tube/transistors debate which isn't going away anytime soon.

From the OP, I do get the feeling that the equipment must not be truly neutral as claimed, else the closing question would not have been asked. If I got this right, then the answer is that an analog playback through this system will likely retain the character of the system as described. If I am wrong and the system is truly neutral then the analog playback will sound 'warmer' (which is because digital playback often has distortions that don't usually show up in the specs, which the ear converts to brightness and hardness. The most common distortion is an intermodulation between the musical material and the scan frequency. This distortion is not usually described on the spec sheet). The analog will lack this distortion (unless mastered from a digital source) and often has some lower ordered harmonics added depending on the care taken in the recording.