"If a system is completely neutral it will sound exactly like the real event. I don't think this will ever happen."
I disagree. A recording will only capture what the mics recorded, not necessarily the real event. It really depends on the hearing acuity of the engineer and mic placement. Even then it may just represent the biases of the engineer. There are too many variables regarding taste and listening preferences to assess what is or isn't right or "neutral".
So far as an audio system goes, I agree with the premis of the OP, that a neutral system will reproduce for good or bad all the artifacts of the recording and it will be like a chmeoleon in distinguishing the differences so that it will not have necessarily showcase a specific character or color. Of course this is an ideal, at least for some, that will never be agreed upon by all. Some like specific colorations that make music sound the way they want it too. None of us are imune to our own particular biases so it will always remain a perplexing enigma. It really is all about taste regardless of how we pine on neutrality.
I disagree. A recording will only capture what the mics recorded, not necessarily the real event. It really depends on the hearing acuity of the engineer and mic placement. Even then it may just represent the biases of the engineer. There are too many variables regarding taste and listening preferences to assess what is or isn't right or "neutral".
So far as an audio system goes, I agree with the premis of the OP, that a neutral system will reproduce for good or bad all the artifacts of the recording and it will be like a chmeoleon in distinguishing the differences so that it will not have necessarily showcase a specific character or color. Of course this is an ideal, at least for some, that will never be agreed upon by all. Some like specific colorations that make music sound the way they want it too. None of us are imune to our own particular biases so it will always remain a perplexing enigma. It really is all about taste regardless of how we pine on neutrality.