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Should a reference speaker be neutral, or just great sounding?

I was thinking about something as I was typing about how I've observed a magazine behave, and it occurred to me that I have a personal bias not everyone may agree to.  Here's what I think:
"To call a speaker a reference product it should at the very least be objectively neutral."

However, as that magazine points out, many great speakers are idiosyncratic ideas about what music should sound like in the home, regardless of being tonally neutral.

Do you agree?  If a speaker is a "reference" product, do you expect it to be neutral, or do you think it has to perform exceptionally well, but not necessarily this way?
erik_squires
michaelgreenaudio's avatar
michaelgreenaudio
1,019 posts
 

That's simple. A reference speaker should be Tunable. It would drive me crazy to have a speaker I can't physically adjust to my liking. Why listen to a speaker that one constantly has to blame something else in the system or recording for not sounding good?

Serious audio playback systems are Tunable, the rest...well welcome to the never ending revolving door of HEA. Not me, I'd rather be spending my time enjoying my whole musical collection.

Very strange to see someone having 40 pair of speakers never hitting the nail on the head. That's not a listener, that's a collector. Nothing wrong with a collector if that's what someone wants to be, but there's another way to get the sound you want.

michael

http://www.michaelgreenaudio.net/tunable-speakers

douglas_schroeder
3,370 posts
 
Everyone here can enjoy their swim in the quicksand as they discuss "neutral" and "great".   :)




tweak1
3,768 posts
 
Loaded question

What is the gear, cables, power... making them squawk?
ivan_nosnibor's avatar
ivan_nosnibor
1,057 posts
 
In terms of room design, neutral sound is the hardest (most expensive) to attain. Alternatively you can go for the "live/detailed" sound or the "warm/organic" sound with much less trouble.

But, AFA speakers go and AFA I'm concerned, neutrality has absolutely Nothing to do with a set of measurements. Neutrality is a subjective perception - nothing more. That's all it is and all it ever was.

A speaker in a room either sounds neutral or it doesn't. It can either be made to sound neutral in the room or it can't.
teo_audio
2,197 posts
 
All (the threads) you're given
Is what (threads) you've been given
A thousand times before
Just more more
More of that (posturing ranty) jazz
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