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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

Showing 3 responses by lohanimal

lohanimal
659 posts
 
I put out a recent post having not noticed this thread. In any event this is the great question for me. When I ntalk of a system that is 'musical' I say it may well be warm, or particularly dynamic/leading edge - they are each a type of musical. That said I am no longer convinced that this is not 'neutral'. True neutrality ought to be the accurate replication of a live performance. The problem starts with the phrase replication - this is of itself an alteration/change - so the notion of there being a classic concert, or a stadium in your lounge is impossible. What we deem neutral may just simply be the closest copy to the real event. However, most musicians that I know, and some people i know that work in the music industry say that what they aim for is to convey the musical message, and if a system achieves this, then they are satisfied. That being the case a system that is more 'musical' achieves the ultimate goal does it not?
One of the real problems of neutrality replicating the illusion is that I cannot recall last attending an un-amplified live performance in music, and trust me, I have tried very hard to do this, so I for one and truly denied that point of reference.
lohanimal
659 posts
 
I had a chat to my niece who did a degree in audiology, and she, if anything helped me understand that:
1. what we hope is neutrality in hi-fi may well have been achieved a long time ago
2. psychologically we simply will not accept it
The reasons for this stem from a number of factors.
When we engage in one sense, and that sense over all others we become hyper critical/sensitive to that sense - think of blind people who have astounding hearing. When we then try and reproduce sound we try to repaint a 'hyper' as opposed to high-fidelity. Perhaps the best examples of these are 3D films that have hyper accents on 3D visual cues where depth and width of field are accentuated to make you feel that you are there.
If you have read the Regon Audio website where he tests some MM cartridges he said that the MM's are more accurate and neutral - more like master tape. The MC's were picking up and amplifying background ambiance. It may well explain our love of MC's that may well deliver that 'hyper-fidelity'.
True Hi-Fi was probably reached with components in the 70's and 80's - you know the era of wow and flutter, ruler flat responses. Tubes have never be marketed on the basis of neutrality have they (yes i know some are/maybe more neutral than others) but in terms of accurate reproduction of a recording this was achieved a long time ago. Audio IMHO, and in its current format, in particular the High End is, I believe based on 'hyper-fi'.
lohanimal
659 posts
 
TBG - it was not my niece that told me about the background ambiance.
It was reading the Regon Audio website page
http://www.regonaudio.com/Stanton881AudioTechnicaATML70.html
you might want to read this first as he develops the point further and better than I have in this thread.
Simply put the bacground ambiance and cues are highlighted and accentuated more than the original mastertape recording. Drawn against the discussion I had with my niece - these little cues and extra ambiance is what I am coining the phrase 'hyper-fi' in the way I explain 3D above.
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