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Natural and Neutral could be boring ..

Hello Guys,

First .. Happy New Year to everyOne!

Building my hi-fi setup I have always searched for "Natural & Neutral" sound and so I have added every piece of my rig thinking and searching in this direction...
Yesterday night , during a listening session , I was thinking about this and theoretically I couldn't be happier about the result

Here my gears:

The loved phono section:

TW Acustic Raven One
Graham Phantom MKII / IC70
Benz LP
Whest Audio PS30 RDT SE
Mogami Neglex balanced to the preamp

The not so loved CD rom session:

Philips CDD 882 (transport)
Philips DAC 960 (converter)
Mogami Neglex balanced to the preamp

Pass Labs X1
Parasound Halo JC1's
IC cables Mogami Neglex balanced

Thiel CS 2.4
Speaker cables Cardas Golden Reference

My room is quite a large room (36 ft. x 20 ft. 10ft. high) and Thiels are pratically in open air :-)) 7,5 ft. from the wall and more from side walls.

Well , I think to have reached an hi-fi setup that sounds pratically Natural and Neutral .. maybe not the 100% but IMHO I'm not far from that.
Yesterday night I was philosophize with myself , during a relaxing listening session , about how much could be boring this Natural & Neutral research.
It's true .. by a large majority .. the Audiophiles are searching for this result .. "Natural & Neutral" .. and the end justifies the means.
But when you get this or you're almost near .. the pleasure is only perceived or obtained by the software .. aka LP's or CD-rom's .. aka Music.
And sometimes the Music could be boring ...
So which is the solution?
Sincerely I dunno .. probably it's into the Tube world that's is often on the romantic side .. even at neutral and natural cost
I have been a great Tube fan some years ago when I had Jadis JA 80 and Klimo preamp .. I sold them when I decided to try Solid State and probably that was a pity!
Now I don't want to re-change all my hi-fi setup buying all tubes .. further I should be compelled to sell my Thiels too
But I could try adding a Tube Preamp .. just to aromatize the rest .. this could be a good idea .. isn't it?

But which tube preamp?
There are lotsa tube preamps that strive for the Neutral and Natural side .. I'm thinking to ARC , CJ , BAT etc.. and I don't need one of them .. I already own a very good natural and neutral preamp!

A good choice could be a Air Tight , Shindo , Supratek , Joule Electra .. but I have to pay attention to the "electrical marriage" with my two Parasound JC1's..

What do you think about my thoughts .. and any other idea about an Aromatic Tube Preamp.. Guys?
curio
opus88
530 posts
 
I usually read the comments that precede mine in an effort to avoid repetitiveness, but not this time. I'll simply say that a somewhat darkish sound may just give you the romantic sound you're looking for. In fact, I more often than not hear that kind of sound at live concerts as opposed to the squeaky clean neutral sound that numerous lovers of reproduced music voice a preference for. Air Tight and Joule Electra (mentioned in your list above)will point you more in the romantic direction than, for example, Supratek. At least that's been my experience, since I've previously owned Joule and Supratek, auditioned Shindo Masseto in my system and have long owned Air Tight. Of course, I can't guarantee your outcome, as you'll have to work on achieving your own desired synergy.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,617 posts
 
"In fact, I more often than not hear that kind of sound at live concerts as opposed to the squeaky clean neutral sound that numerous lovers of reproduced music voice a preference for."

Yes, but if the system is in fact "neutral", then you should get that live-like sound if that is how the recording was made.

If not, then you are attempting to correct for something you do not like in the recording with the system, and the results may be further off as well with other recordings.

Soon you are on a merry go round that never ends.

Unless you are of teh mindset to apply equalizers or other signal processing to get the results you want with different recordings. Nothing wrong with that if you have the tenacity and desire to make it work.

But heck, most audiophiles will go on teh equipmentr merry go round to get a particular sound they want even if it is not there naturally yet turn their noses up at the thought of using even well designed tone controls.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,617 posts
 
CK,

To answer your question, I recently replaced the stock 12AX7 tubes in my ARC sp16 pre-amp with equivalent Groove Tube 12AX7s and do not notice any real difference in sound, which supports what you indicated. For me, that is what I was hoping for (keeping the original sound that I liked with a different brand of tubes) so I was happy.

In teh other hand, tube rolling with my mhdt Paradisea makes a huge difference in sound and I find that beneficial in that it allows me to optimize the sound when I use it in different system configurations.
dover
2,291 posts
 
Hi I know most of the gear you have. Nobody hears the same things, ie one mans neutral is anothers coloured.
The Pass Labs/Thiels are very neutral and clean to my ears if perhaps a little dry. However the Benz cartridges in general are very relaxed and easy to listen to. My view would be that if you are happy with your system, build on it rather than do wholsale changes, a full suite of MIT cable Magnum at least ( OMG here's another marmite vs vegemite discussion ) will enhance what you already have, particularly in timing and fleshing out body. The switchable impedance functionality will be illuminating - just try it out.
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
i try to aply the law of the golden mean--listening to a stereo system should be a pleasant experience. of course that is highly idiosyncratic.

i don't recall ever being bored when listening to music unless i did not like the music. it was a question of the sound. the music is more important.

\
music that you like that may displease you sonically, is preferred to music that you don't like that pleases you sonically.
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