2. misc-audio
  3. 186570-6055

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
tvrgeek
299 posts
 

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

Yes, but we don't have agreed on terms to describe these things, so we make them up.  Would it make more sense to talk about the ratio of even vs odd harmonics? How would you decide your preference?  Who would understand that?  How about moving the image fore and aft with 1/4 dB equalization changes?  Color. Warm, clinical, musical, natural?  Our feeble attempt to describe something we are not sure how to measure.  Then we get into even harder things like dynamic compression which happens in all speakers and in some electronics.  Is that "life" or is 1/2 dB @ 4K life? Or is that "flavor"

frogman
7,476 posts
 

@mapman,

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

Not really 😊

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmeu3dwBjdGzVIQT6wZ1TzdxyH2573tsn&si=IVCHb6XodL1UAk2V

mapman's avatar
mapman
22,413 posts
 

Don’t mind me. I get it it but just find the topic amusing. Carry on.

mapman's avatar
mapman
22,413 posts
 

I’d wager Mr Spock would call this topic “illogical”.

 

Then Dr McCoy would bawl him out and Kirk would give a speech about being human. This would be an episode called “The Color of Sound” where a strange alien probe makes the crew have mind wiping psychedelic dreams whenever a certain tune plays. Then they take over the Enterprise and only Spock can save them thanks to his unwillingness to see color from sound. Great episode! Make it so!

ditusa's avatar
ditusa
1,901 posts
 

@noromance Wrote:

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.

I agree 100%!

Mike

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