Neutral or warm? Which do you prefer?

I think I would say that I prefer neutrality, but the sonics of my room can be somewhat cooler, so I prefer warmer components. However, warmer components in a more neutral sounding room might leave me wanting. It's all about synergy between the components and the room.

Technical director of Benchmark Media Systems Inc. said this about DAC1:

"We designed the DAC1 for maximum transparency. If you want to add warmth, you can't add it with a DAC1. Personally, I do not like what warm sounding equipment does to the sound of a piano. Warmth is wonderful on vocals, guitars and certain instruments, but it beats against the stretched overtones of a piano. The overtones in a piano occur at slightly higher than harmonic ratios, and these create beat notes with the exact integer ratios produced by electronic equipment (and speakers). Too much harmonic distortion will make a piano sound out of tune."

I like slightly warm sound to compensate for overly bright recordings, that can be very unpleasant on neutral system.

Liquid Smooth,since you have both of the speakers in your possession, you're the best person to answer your question.

Being as ignorant as I am with regard to the hows and whys of audio, I really can't pin point particular qualities in equipment. Still, as I said, I do like to listen to music.

The personal litmus test that I devised is as follows. I get home. I fix myself an Old Fashion and I turn on some tunes. Over the course of about a week or so, I'll reflect on how much listening I did, assuming that I had time. What I've found is that even with speakers (or a system as a whole) that I think I like, I tend to listen for shorter lengths of time when I'm not really enjoying it as much as I think I am.

I know, it sounds idiotic, but I did admit to ignorance. My last three sets of speakers can be used as an example. I started with a pair of System Audio SA-505s. These are WONDERFUL little speakers. They sounded natural. I could listen to these for hours on end. I only turned the system off when I had to. The downside was that they didn't do rock very well. Not nearly as well as they did jazz and blues, anyway.

So...I got a pair of Paradigm Studio 10s. When I heard them at the dealer I fell in love. I got them home and I liked them. Very dynamic and detailed. Over the course of about a month or so, I discovered that I was listening much less that I was with the 505s. I was just getting tired of listening.

So...I put the 505s up for sale and got myself into a pair of Silverline Minuets. All I can say is that I've found my home (for now). They've done everything I've thrown at them well. Who would have thought that these relatively inexpensive speakers could be so nice. Since I got them, I've been listening continuously. When one play list ends, I start another.

In the end, it turns out that putting the analysis aside and letting my ears be the judge turned out to be the best way to decide.

It's tough to ask others to answer this question for you because you are the only one with your equipment in your listening area. I'm sure that another in different circumstances could greatly enjoy the 505s and the Studio 10s, but for me in my listening room, I just had to find what worked.

"Better" depends on the individual and listening environment. Generally I prefer a slight bias toward warmth but not too much.

Neutral.