How do you judge your system's neutrality?



Here’s an answer I’ve been kicking around: Your system is becoming more neutral whenever you change a system element (component, cable, room treatment, etc.) and you get the following results:

(1) Individual pieces of music sound more unique.
(2) Your music collection sounds more diverse.

This theory occurred to me one day when I changed amps and noticed that the timbres of instruments were suddenly more distinct from one another. With the old amp, all instruments seemed to have a common harmonic element (the signature of the amp?!). With the new amp, individual instrument timbres sounded more unique and the range of instrument timbres sounded more diverse. I went on to notice that whole songs (and even whole albums) sounded more unique, and that my music collection, taken as a whole, sounded more diverse.

That led me to the following idea: If, after changing a system element, (1) individual pieces of music sound more unique, and (2) your music collection sounds more diverse, then your system is contributing less of its own signature to the music. And less signature means more neutral.

Thoughts?

P.S. This is only a way of judging the relative neutrality of a system. Judging the absolute neutrality of a system is a philosophical question for another day.

P.P.S. I don’t believe a system’s signature can be reduced to zero. But it doesn’t follow from that that differences in neutrality do not exist.

P.P.P.S. I’m not suggesting that neutrality is the most important goal in building an audio system, but in my experience, the changes that have resulted in greater neutrality (using the standard above) have also been the changes that resulted in more musical enjoyment.
bryoncunningham
Cbw723 - no I would not adjust sound for individual songs but rather pick affordable system that sounds best to me on average with the type of music I listen to.

Whole issue of neutrality is very fishy since there is nothing to compare to. Should my wife get neutral system if she doesn't like strong bass. Some people have ears more sensitive to certain frequencies than others. Older person with loss of hearing at high frequencies (we're all getting there) shouldn't be forced to listen at home to neutral system that plays what they hear at the concert with lack of highs. He should rather pick a little brighter system to compensate. Even gender matters - woman hear and see differently than man. Do all people have the same taste for the food. Do all people like spicy dishes?
Neutral food to hindu is too spicy for you. It is similar with hearing to lesser degree.

If neutral system could be really defined we could hire people with best hearing ability (conductors, musicians etc) to rate systems or pick them for us. It will never happen.
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If neutral system could be really defined we could hire people with best hearing ability (conductors, musicians etc) to rate systems or pick them for us.

Isn't that what part of what these talented people do? They have the know how to create music we like - sounds we like - musical arrangements that fit together beautifully. Some experts are in heavy demand for mastering for the sound quality they create. Others provide key artistic input during the production. Whilst some have great skill in getting the microphones setup perfectly (and to know by ear immediately what is wrong when it ain't right)

I believe there is such thing as great sound or excellent equipment and that this can be measured and rated by experts. (Dr. Floyd Toole spent years researching people's perceptions of sound quality and found that we are not so completely different - but I grant you that there are many here who at extremes of the bell curve, as one might expect from obsessive behaviour about sound rather than "music", which Newbee pointed out so well)
I had a girlfriend once, who was quite neutral looking, neutrally shaped (or shapes), in fact it was all rather boring and very nondescript, beige is how I would describe her. I now want an edgy, spikey, sharp, exciting, intoxicating woman, bit like my hi-fi setup.