Ivan,
switching out between single-ended and balanced has no longer made an audible difference, under my roof
This is an interesting observation which can mean one of two things.
1. You have very good gear with not too much of a problem with external interference.
2. You have arrived at a combination of gear that has masked the benefits or the "sounds" of either configuration.
I believe you can have both a neutral system and a natural system. After all - if your understanding of "neutral" means no top end or bottom end exaggerations or no coloration's etc., wouldn't the default term be "natural" as well - meaning that a system that can deliver a flawless performance in your listening room would have to be considered natural?
If two audiophiles went to a live concert - how would they describe the performance to each other? Would they use terms like "sweet top end" or "detailed mids" or "smooth" or "rich"?
No. They would say what non-audiophiles in the audience would say..
"It was awesome"
"It was overwhelming"
"It was thoroughly enjoyable music"
This is how audiophiles want their home systems to sound.
Unfortunately they have to go through months and years of swapping this for that until they "bump into" the best compromise. Except now it is worse because if they upgrade one component that gives them truly better detail, it further exposes a harshness in some component up stream and they either have to get another replacement for it or put the first one back in so it is tolerable.
On most of these threads you see a pattern of some wisdom. When someone gets the bug be can't afford much, the old guys tell the newbees how to get the best sound for the buck. You simply get a "bright" sounding preamp to drive a "good" power amp with poor top end that emphasizes the mids and bottom end. This uses one component as pre-emphasis and a second for de-emphasis. You end up with the perfect mix of zig and zag and you save a lot of money. Yes?
Well, it might be a good place to start but it will be quickly disappointing.
It is hard to fool your ears with anything that contains distortion - even if it is the "good" kind.
Roger
switching out between single-ended and balanced has no longer made an audible difference, under my roof
This is an interesting observation which can mean one of two things.
1. You have very good gear with not too much of a problem with external interference.
2. You have arrived at a combination of gear that has masked the benefits or the "sounds" of either configuration.
I believe you can have both a neutral system and a natural system. After all - if your understanding of "neutral" means no top end or bottom end exaggerations or no coloration's etc., wouldn't the default term be "natural" as well - meaning that a system that can deliver a flawless performance in your listening room would have to be considered natural?
If two audiophiles went to a live concert - how would they describe the performance to each other? Would they use terms like "sweet top end" or "detailed mids" or "smooth" or "rich"?
No. They would say what non-audiophiles in the audience would say..
"It was awesome"
"It was overwhelming"
"It was thoroughly enjoyable music"
This is how audiophiles want their home systems to sound.
Unfortunately they have to go through months and years of swapping this for that until they "bump into" the best compromise. Except now it is worse because if they upgrade one component that gives them truly better detail, it further exposes a harshness in some component up stream and they either have to get another replacement for it or put the first one back in so it is tolerable.
On most of these threads you see a pattern of some wisdom. When someone gets the bug be can't afford much, the old guys tell the newbees how to get the best sound for the buck. You simply get a "bright" sounding preamp to drive a "good" power amp with poor top end that emphasizes the mids and bottom end. This uses one component as pre-emphasis and a second for de-emphasis. You end up with the perfect mix of zig and zag and you save a lot of money. Yes?
Well, it might be a good place to start but it will be quickly disappointing.
It is hard to fool your ears with anything that contains distortion - even if it is the "good" kind.
Roger