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RE: "transparent" versus "colored"?

I've always thought of transparency as the ability to allow a live properly mic'd performance sound like the actual performance. Though I've always thought some degree of coloration may be present to make up for or to mask attributes of the actual recording process or playback environment.

When it comes to studio recordings or lessor quality live recordings transparency doesn't make sense to me as there is no live performance to judge transparency. A less colored system might be more transparent however when listening to studio recordings the more transparent system may become overly revealing of the nature of the recording and thus a hinderance to enjoying it.

I find the term "euphonic coloration" as being somewhat demeaning though I'm sure some and maybe even many systems are built around a preferred sonic signature to various degrees. That said carefully chosen system compromises and intelligent design choices likely enhance the listening experiences for all kinds of audiophiles at all price levels.

There are audiophiles and music lovers with divergent purposes and thus we have such an amazing selection of equipment to chose from. It's usually not a matter of tricking or fooling people into buying crap - it's more a matter of selling people on a vision. It's up to the buyer to understand their own purpose and select equipment based on their particular purpose not some objective argument or philosophy contrary to their reasons for buying stereo equipment in the first place.


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