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What exactly is colored sound?

I guess the definition would be a deviation from what what was originally intended but how do we really know what was originally intended anyway?  I mean solid state mostly sounds like solid state.  I guess that would be a coloration, push pull amps and set have their own colorations.  It seems we try to denote certain definitions to either promote or dis certain sounds I guess.  We could have a supposedly neutral amp but their just is not enough bass so we turn up the subwoofer or the bass, a coloration per se.  I guess one could say that colored sound would be a good thing.  after all, each instrument has its own sound (color).  A mullard, a telefunken, I mean who knows what tubes were in the recording studios at the time of the recording.  Syrupy, sweet, rich, NEUTRAL, forward, backward I mean really...  I guess its all about certain preferences for each person.  even in the studio.  who knows, maybe a recording may be meant to sound syrupy or sweet and then we try to make it as neutral as possible.  Maybe thats a coloration in itself.  I guess what I am asking is why do reviewers use the word colored in reviews anyway?
tzh21y
mirolab
208 posts
 
You could listen to a dozen different $100k audiophile systems, and guess what, they will all sound different.  You could go into a dozen different recording studio's and listen to their monitors, and guess what?  They will all sound different.  They are all colored in some way.  They all have areas of excellence, and areas of deficiency.
To me... certain "colorations" only need to be minimized such that when i close my eyes, i can just listen to the music and "suspend the disbelief".  If a system can draw me into the music and make me forget about the speakers, the room, the amps...... then it's doing it's job.
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wolf_garcia
6,708 posts
 
Daleaherman…was that supposed to be funny? 
tzh21y OP
1,654 posts
 
I am still trying to figure out exactly what coloration means.  I guess that the only thing I could think of is that I want a trombone to sound like a trombone, a piano to sound like a piano and so on.  I cannot say I have heard systems that a trombone sounds like a trumpet lets say.  Whether in a hall that sounds warm or neutral, well I guess if we want to hear it in a warm hall, we may decide to tweek our systems to that way of listening and so on.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,841 posts
 
If you actually had a copy of an original master tape, for example, and you played it on two different systems, lets say they are extreme high end, I bet that master tape would sound different on each to some degree even if you used the same reel to reel device.  So, unless you were present at the actual recording and heard it with your own ears, would you really know how it sounded?
 I guess that the only thing I could think of is that I want a trombone to sound like a trombone, a piano to sound like a piano and so on.  I cannot say I have heard systems that a trombone sounds like a trumpet lets say.  Whether in a hall that sounds warm or neutral, well I guess if we want to hear it in a warm hall, we may decide to tweek our systems to that way of listening and so on.
I have master tapes, and have encountered colorations due to playback. I actually made two master tapes of one project, as we wanted a backup. The backup machine was solid state. Starting right there, we noticed colorations simply on account of the machines used- the tube master sounded best on the tube machine in playback, sounded better than the solid state master while played back on the solid state machine, and the solid state master sounded best played back on the tube machine. So there is the initial colorations that the recording gear imposes...

Then there are the room, speakers and amplification, all which impose some sort of tonal coloration (more or less bass, more or less highs and so on).

Its impossible to know what is right unless you were there to hear how the actual performance sounded.
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