Shifting absolutes

If your reading that from an audio magazine, its more likely that they are missing something, not you. As far as I know, the absolute sound in audio is referred to an actual instrument, voice, etc being played live. So if you are somewhere listening to someone play a piano, the piano itself is the absolute sound. If you are trying to reproduce the absolute sound, the idea is to get the sound as close as possible to the live event; nothing added or taken away. Anyway, that's how I've always understood it.

Yes but everything sounds different in different venues. I am a violinist, well acquainted with the sound of my instrument, but in each hall I play, it sounds like a different instrument. There are no absolutes

Bass bumps are typical for any speaker in any room, depending on the listening position. Hard to avoid. Maybe those bass bumps were better for his room/position.

Wouldn't be surprized if anyone who thought his system was "neutral", or even "bright", then actually did some measurements found that it was tapered off by 10 dB or more by 10 kHz.

The more measurements I do, the more I realize that frequency response is just the tip of the iceberg and often fails to describe the sound. Certainly not absolutely.

"09-18-13: Stringreen
Yes but everything sounds different in different venues. I am a violinist, well acquainted with the sound of my instrument, but in each hall I play, it sounds like a different instrument. There are no absolutes"

Sorry if I wasn't clear. That's what I meant. The absolute sound, as I know it, would be you playing your violin, in one place, at one time. That would be the original source. If you play somewhere else, the AS would be that event. Going by that, the goal of recording and playback would be to transport the listener as close as possible, to what one would experience had they actually attended your event and heard it live.

Not to get too far off topic, but have you ever compared how a violin sounds when you play it and then give the exact same violin to someone else and listen to them play? I've always wondered about that.

Zd542,
Very good ! Absolute doesn't have to be or mean identical, just real. I listen
to very familiar musicians in different jazz clubs and their sound will vary,
no surprise. But what never changes is the unmistakable sound and
presence of an acoustic instrument played live into a room unamplified.
You can hear a street musician from around the corner three blocks away
and immediately recognize it as a live sound. No component gets it 100%
right, but some sure come closer than others relatively speaking. If I play
my trumpet in my bedroom, kitchen or patio it sounds different in each
location. No one within ear shot would have trouble identifying it as a live
trumpet.
Charles,