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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
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,395 posts
 
Audio is an illusion.

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

Few people all like the same flavor.
tbg
5,263 posts
 
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.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,395 posts
 
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.
newbee
4,768 posts
 
Mapman, IMHO your last two posts are the soul of great wisdom. I can't believe that this thread is still alive, and, apparently, well. :-)
tbg
5,263 posts
 
Mapman, I had an experience last night that suggests we have not gotten everything we can out of recordings. Involved was the Sinatra and Basie at the Sands recording. I had gotten it to be very satisfying with improvements in my system over the years, but not to the level of my vinyl.

I got in a prototype of a dac by Exemplar Audio. After two days of break in, last night, I had a very great improvement in what I seek always, realism. I could hear Sinatra moving around, could hear individual instruments in Basie's band, and could hear the audience's presence even when they were quiet. I was thrilled to say the least. I cannot say yet much about this dac, but I will not be really expensive and it uses tubes in the output.
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