I listened to my Benchmark gear last weekend and I need to retract my last post listed above. It sounded great. I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote it since it does not reflect my reality. The benchmark DAC has amazing detail, allowing me to hear the fine details of each instrument and nuances of vocals. Over the years, it has brought me countless hours of enjoyment. It is a great gear and Benchmark quickly answered any questions I had. I will never sell it and am transitioning it to my headphone setup as I move things around, since it can do double duty as a headphone DAC and amp. It is a great value.
If Warmth Is a Distortion, Why Do So Many Audiophiles Still Defend It?
Hi everyone, this is my first post here. If it stirs some emotions — that’s not a bad thing. It means we’re all still passionate about this hobby.
As AI becomes capable of recreating any sound signature — warm, tube-like, analogue, ultra-wide, hyper-detailed, and everything in between — I’m starting to think the real future of audio lies in neutral, transparent, dynamic, and accurate hardware, while many of the “flavours” we chase may soon become software choices.
Over time, a few things have stood out to me:
• Warmth is pleasant, but it’s still coloration.
Beautiful, yes — but not accuracy, not transparency, and not always the artist’s intention.
• Warm gear enhances some tracks but softens accuracy in others.
Especially vocals, piano, violin, guitar, and other acoustic instruments. Some people hear this, some don’t, and some just prefer it that way.
• Modern Class D deserves more respect than it gets.
Many older audiophiles dismiss it based on outdated assumptions. But the latest designs are already extremely neutral, fast, and precise. I’m not sure how much longer Class A/AB will remain relevant beyond nostalgia and brand loyalty.
• Price reflects real quality only up to a point.
Beyond that, it becomes about branding, house sound, and personal bias. Preference is fine — but preference isn’t the same as absolute fidelity.
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⭐ Why I May Not Respond Immediately
This post is meant as a sharing of thoughts, not a debate I plan to defend point by point.
If I don’t reply right away, it’s because I’m taking time to read, think, and learn from others’ perspectives here.
Posting in good faith — looking forward to all views, supportive or critical.
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"If Warmth Is a Distortion, Why Do So Many Audiophiles Still Defend It?” There are many shades of distortion! Better SQ is a tradeoff between different kind of distortions, e.g., number even/odd harmonics in the signal, time domain (transients) vs. single tone irregularities, inter-mods vs single tone, difference in phase vs frequency behavior, etc.. The key is a distortion of original soundtrack at the listener ear point! |
Which of these two audio recordings, of the same track streaming from Tidal, sounds most accurate to you: To me the warmth versus neutrality is more about frequency response contour and spectral content & spectrum rather than distortion or distortions profile. Sure there are certain distortions that fatten the sound and other transients and attack capabilities that round the sound which is perceived as adding body but this can all be also achieved by simply making some judicial adjustments to the frequency response contour of the system without having to introduce any additional distortion generators.
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WRONG @carlos269 because you insist with out success that manipulating the recording signal makes no additional distortions but you never in your thread proved/(facts that you are rigth.
That signal Manipulation is a distortion that did not came in the recording we are listening.
R. |
Every single element in our systems and listening environment contributes to the composite resultant sound that we hear at the listening chair position. The question is, do you leave the resultant sound as a raw aggregate or do you take charge and control the outcome? The questions then becomes, do you leave all the influences on what we hear uncontrolled? Or do we take charge, if we have the knowledge and know how, to control what we hear? As Dr. Ernst said, “if you don’t understand the concept then none of the details will make sense to you”! |
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