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What Neutral Means in Reviews & Our Discussions? Are We Confusing Tame/Flat For Neutral?

Does tame or flat = neutral? Shouldn’t "neutral" in describing audio sound mean uncolored and accurate to what the artists sounded like to the naked ear at the time of the master recording? Or is neutral, as used in our community, intended to mean a lack of crescendo, or the like?

I realize this may get controversial, so lets be mindful of other’s experiences and insight. I’m going to use Dynaudio as an example. They’re often touted as being amongst the most neutral of speaker lines. Monitor Audio is another example of such reviews. I’ve listened to several middle of the line Dynaudio’s, including many times at my brother’s house, where he has them mated to an EAD Power Master 1000 thru MIT cables. They do sound beautiful, airy, smooth, and even slightly warm to my ear (though the touch of warmth could easily be the MITs and EAD). His common statement supporting how great they are is, the audio recording industry sound engineers prefer them as their monitors. But I’ve read that the reason audio engineers prefer them is because they are smooth and "flat" or "level", enabling the engineers to hear the difference of the nuances which they create as they manipulate sound during the editing process. Apparently lively or musical monitors, many engineers find to be a distractor, with too much information over riding what they want to focus on as they edit the sound.

I’ve enjoyed watching live bands at small venues for over 3 decades. Anything from a pianist, to cover bands, to original artists of anything from rock, blues, jazz, etc. My personal listening preference for home audio is dynamic sound which brings the live event to me ... soundstage, detail, with air, transparency AND depth. I want it all, as close as it can get for each given $. When I’ve listened to Dynaudios, Ive always come away with one feeling ... they’re very nice to listen too; they’re smooth and pleasing, airy ... and tame.

Recently while reading a pro review of the latest Magico S7 (I’ve never heard them), a speaker commonly referenced as amazingly neutral, the reviewer mentioned how, while capable of genuine dynamics, they seem to deliberately supress dynamics to enough of an extent that they favor a more pleasurable easy going listening experience.

That’s what jarred my thought. Does "neutral" mean tame/flat; does it mean accurate without audible peaks in db of one frequency over another, which is not on the recording; or is it something we’ve minced words about and have lost the genuine meaning of in the name of some audio form of political correctness?

 

 

 

sfcfran
sfcfran OP
105 posts
 

@jeffseight   Seems at least 3 of us have the parallel thought that the industry needs an encyclopedia of its own to guide the use of how terms are used, and their intended meaning.  I'd say if 3 of us have voiced that here (inlcuding @newbee ), there are several that have the same thought, here alone, that haven't voiced it, which means it is actually a prevalent thought in the community.  If not a prevalent thought, I'll be bold enough to say it is a prevalent need.  But to have someone with the reach, expertise, and common respect of the community at large, to push such a publications, is the trick. 

Hmmmm ... I wonder ... what if we create something as you suggest, and then push it out on the various forums, and to certain people in the industry, asking them to push it further?  Sounds like work.  Whose in?

erik_squires
15,740 posts
 

I’m not trying to be pedantic, OP, honest. You don’t have to clarify yourself. I’m just not sure that neutral to the recording, or the intentions of the artist is really possible.

Once it leaves the speaker driver it’s all up in the air. :)

The  best I think we can do is create a system that allows us to enjoy as many different types of music as possible without grimacing.

sfcfran OP
105 posts
 

@lanx0003  Loving your input, and seriously laughed out loud at, "There is another jargon for you guys. What does "organic" sound mean?"  Oh man... I am so not going there.  lol.

jeffseight's avatar
jeffseight
574 posts
 

Fran,

I'm in. I have a friend who is a recording engineer.

What I do not know is the correct music example of any

given term.

 

sfcfran OP
105 posts
 

@scowler1   You and I have held dear the same definition of 'neutral' ... "true to the source".  Yet, I think this thread is making apparent that the term 'neutral' is used in at least two different ways in the audio community, which means we often misunderstanding what the other person is saying/writing about a component.  Many here are stating they understand 'neutral' to mean an anechoic flat production of sound regardless of what the source is pumping out.  In other words, flat.

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