Tidal Speakers owners

Tbg,

the answer to your question why the two sets had totally different sound lies on the cables that were used. During the first time, the cabling was Echole Obsession. This year they used Argento Flow Master Reference. I have owned both so I understand very well what you say.

Geopolitis, I certainly know that the cabling this year was Argento. If you are right, it certainly was an example of how critical cabling is.

Roysen, it may come as a surprise to you, but measurements don't tell you the whole story about how a speaker sounds. Far from it. If it was that simple, manufacturers could simply design speakers to measure perfectly and they would all sound identical. But we know that isn't true, don't we.

Look at Atkinson's measurements as compared to the what the reviewers hear. There is often a wide descrepancy between the two.

Fiddler,

Are you trying to imply that measurements are not part of a speakermanufacturer's manufacturing process and that they rely on hearinng to find out if their speakers are neutral! How then would they know that all their production units of one model sound the same? By listening? Of course not! Measurements is the only tool to accurately understand why a speaker sounds the way it does or if its neutral.

Listening can reveal if the listener likes the way the speaker sounds. This has nothing to do with neutrality. Neutrality can only be proved by measurements.

Do you honesty think Atkinsons measurements in Stereophile are alll that can be measured on speakers? He is working for a magazine for the masses that are mostly interested in subjective listening descriptions. They wouldn't sell If they used mostly measurements in their magazine.

Measurements can not. og course tell you how something will sound overall, but it is the only accurate way to prove deviations from neutrality.

Fiddler,

There certainly are no deviations between what JA is hearing and his measurements. If that was so there would be something wrong with his hearing.

What you probably mean is that how he perceives the overall sound may not be what he expects after having measured one characteristic of the speaker.

One non-neutral character of the speaker can mask out another non-neutral character of the speaker, the rest of the system including the rooms non-neutral character can mask out non-neutralities in the speaker and non-neutralities in the recording can mask out non- neutralities in the speaker so that when listening the speaker sounds neutral. Still the speaker would not be neutral and the only way to find out would be by measurements.

Neutrality in this context by definition means nothing is added or subtracted from the signal inside the speaker. How can that be subjective as if something is added or subtracted to the signal inside tbhe sound is a matter of opinion. Either something is changed or its not. A fact can't be subjective and has to be measured to be proved.

If someone likes the sound is of course a matter of taste and highly subjective, but that has nothing to do with neutrality.