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
Well without being at the recording venue all is moot. The only way to tell is to hear a song live in your listening room record it and play it back.
Know a guitar or violin player? Have him or her sit inbetween your speakers and play. Then record it and play it back. It will be closer than you think. No recording processing, no stamping of such or digital transfers. Nada. Just a pure recording. You can try, digital or analog recording methods and discern the benifits of both formats.
Pipedream is right.

I will say that some recordings resemble what I hear live enough to think them to be pretty neutral, but in general different recordings are recorded differently and will sound different. They is what they is. Attempts to make them into something else will usually have undesirable consequences.

Realizing this is one way to get off the high end audio merry go round.

Seeking perfection continuously with all or even most recordings is the best way to stay on.
Audio is an illusion.

Any truth, to whatever extent ascertained, is just one flavor of that illusion.

Few people all like the same flavor.
Mapman, I know all too well that your stance is just giving up. Once you have heard the thrill of realism, you will persist. I only regret that I didn't have this forty years ago with my audio.

I would agree that people's tastes differ, some like what I think is a cop out that their system sound musical. I want a holographic image and brass to sound brassy. Otherwise I might as well listen to an Ipod and MP3 or better get just walk in the woods with no music.
Tbg,

I have not given up on anything. In fact, it took a lot of time and some money to get to a good place. I have just learned to focus on the things i can control, not waste time with what i cannot, like how recordings are made. They is what they is. It does not pay to try to make them something they are not.