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Diversity of opinion over what

I find it remarkable that what I percieve as cold and analytical others will call warm. Has this ever happened to you?
My particular situation I'm thinking of was that I sold Musical Fidelity A308 integrated amp, some years ago.I thought was just too SS, hard, cold, etc , sounding for my JM Lab speakers.
The guy I sold it to was very happy (I priced it waay low) and said it was very warm as he had expected it to be.
I didn't argue of course, but was really baffled. Even if he used soft toned speakers, by comparison with other amps it really should have been on the cool to neutral side, or am I way off? Beats me!! So I am asking if you have noticed this too? Either way your Warm is another guys cool etc..
I have learned never to argue about this, one guys "ruler flat" is anothers 'really rolled off top end' and dark. I am not equiped like John Atkinson to argue the point empirically.
My assessment of other sonic charateristic has been endorsed by some friends, in particular with tubes which I love experimenting with. I rarely get into a disagreement on tube qualities.
mechans
spinaker01
491 posts
 
Everyone hears things differently. Different preferences and biases. That is why important to find a reviewer with similar opinions as yours when reading gear reviews in mags.
kijanki's avatar
kijanki
4,428 posts
 
It's a matter of taste. Benchmark DAC1 in my system sounds very natural and transparent but to many it sounds sterile and analytical. Adding distortion or noise would likely make it sound more vivid same way distorted guitar appears more dynamic then clean sounding guitar. I don't have John Atkinson's experience either but have to admit that Benchmark surprised me with its sound purity making impression of less instruments playing together. Today it sounds absolutely normal to me. As long as we are not talking about bright or unpleasant sound it is better to spend more time getting used to new gear to avoid hasty decisions, especially when it needs long break-in time like my Rowland 102 amp, that sounded best after about 400 hrs.
philjolet's avatar
philjolet
2,306 posts
 
different speaker loads bring out different sound qualities in amplifiers as well

also, tonal balance is a fickle thing and speaker placement and cables etc can change tonal balance in a flash

maybe the persons expectations play into it as well and after time he may change his mind...?
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jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
It's not just that different folks have different tastes, it's about synergy too. I'm not trying to offend the OP, but I have always found JM Lab speakers to be hard or analytical. I'm sure they would sound their best with some warmer electronics. Speakers that I enjoy, Verity Audio Parsifal Ovations, others have called lifeless or polite. They will be if you put warm electronics in front of them.

It's about balance and synergy. Warm electronics + revealing speakers = good. Revealing electronics + revealing speakers = not so good, and vice versa. Oh yeah, don't forget to through cables into that mix too. I've heard enough different sounding pieces of gear that I think I can take just about any unit and place it with the right accompanying gear, make it sound very good, or make it sound very bad.

Most of us arrive at a similar location via very different paths. Synergy.
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