How do you add color?


For those of you who are adherents of straight wire, ruler flat frequency response, accurate and neutral sound, artists’ true intentions, etc. ... please stop reading now. You’ve been warned. If you continue to read, you might get heartburn and since I’m a nice guy, I don’t want to do that to you.

Now, for those who are not opposed to adding a bit of color and flavor to tune/tweak the sound to their liking, what is your preferred method of madness? Speakers, amps, preamps, DACs, cables? I know many who like the combination of solid state amps with tube preamps. Lately, a lot of upmarket DACs are using tubes (Lampizator) or R2R to add a sort of tube-like flavoring. Let’s say you’re happy with your solid state amp but want to add a bit of tube magic to the chain, would you get there by way of tube preamps or tube DACs? Or both -- which might be too much of a good thing perhaps?

128x128arafiq

@frogman Respectfully, I may have said it first at the top of the thread. 😉

I hate when a system adds a color. It permeates all music played through that system. My goal has been to remove all color so as to achieve tonal neutrality and transparency to what is on the recording.

@cdc could you explain more about the speakers that are colorful but not colored?  Not trying to be snarky, just want to understand this

Gotta love a conversation about sound  that’s talking about color.   Aren’t those two different senses?  Go figure!  Only audiophiles……
 

Let’s talk about touch sometime. Nothing like a nice bass punch. We do feel bass more than hear it. That’s a fact! Now let me try and hear some color in my sound. Only technicolor will do. Not to mention a soundstage in CinemaScope. Yee ha!

@noromance , you did indeed,  Somehow, I missed your post.  Unusual, since your posts always interest me,  Credit where credit is due.  Regards.