Neutral electronics are a farce...

What happens if there is no sonic signature?

I did not say there was no sonic signature Roger. I said the neutral means to me that neither the high nor low frequencies are emphasized. There is a difference. Obviously everything presents a sonic signature, unless it presents no sound at all.

Many folks call gear/cables/speakers "neutral" if they highlight the high frequencies, thereby giving the illusion of higher resolution.  In my mind, emphasizing the high frequencies does NOT connote neutrality.
Obviously YMMV.

jmcgrogan2

I did not say there was no sonic signature Roger. I said the neutral means to me that neither the high nor low frequencies are emphasized. There is a difference.

Yes I know you did not say there was no sonic signature. My point was what happens when there is no sonic signature? IOW most audiophiles can sit down in a blind test and listen to a "system" and say this sounds like a tube system or SS system (in some cases where there is both it might be tricky).

Obviously everything presents a sonic signature, unless it presents no sound at all.

It is possible to have no sonic signature and still have sound. The sonic signature represents a trace or finger print that is imposed on the music signal by the amplifying process. If you speak through a cardboard tube like you find in the center of a paper towels, it becomes obvious that the hollow modified sound of your voice was caused by the cardboard tube. That is its sonic signature and your ear-brain recognizes immediately what it is.

Tube and transistor circuitry has come a long way but it still has audible traces of the process. It is due to low level distortion which are different for both circuit types. (that's why you can tell which is which).

When there is no distortion (zero) there is no sonic signature and cannot be recognized as tubes or transistors.

I don't know if you call that neutral or natural but I know it is desirable because it sounds "live". Any sonic signature gives your brain a clue that it is a reproduction. The only sonic signature at the concert hall is the sound of concert hall.

Roger 

^^ of course, there is the issue of what is meant by 'zero distortion'.

I'm a musician & it isn't necessarily the case that the signature of a live event is the venue. It depends which venue & it is possible to determine the 'quality' of the backline within a particular venue which would therefore be the signature of the performance with consideration to multiple artists performing in that venue. 

atmosphere

^^ of course, there is the issue of what is meant by 'zero distortion'.

I think it narrows down to obviously having ultra low or no harmonic distortion but more importantly it has to have the absence of dynamic phase errors that fall far below harmonic distortion measurements.

Take for example ground loops and grounding in general.
If you cue up your cartridge with the volume up and listen for noise (hum buzz etc.) it it is dead quite, it does not mean that you do not have a problem with ground loops. The problem caused by some ground loops show up when the music is playing. This is where electromagnetic broadcasts such as current running through your speaker cables can be picked up by a low Z loop that includes your IC's.

The other problem is extremely low level hum (not audible) that is contaminating the phase angles of bass info between 60 to 120 hz.
It dynamically modulates the presented image like a shake table. As a result, the velocity of the sound waves is modulated and the total presentation is perceived as a smear or out of focus.

Amplifier errors in the area of phase distortion must be removed first..
Harmonic distortion only happens when the phase distortion is unchecked.
If you kill the phase errors you kill harmonic distortion.

That's zero distortion.

Roger