How can we account for all of these things? To me, the cumulative effect of all of these would far outweigh the difference between two similar DACs, for example.
I agree with the "more likely" part. But at best, isn't it just a very rough approximation? Maybe there needs to be a distinction between what is neutral and what the artist intended?
If I'm understanding your point correctly -- if all else is equal and the engineer masters on a pair of DT770s and you listen on a pair of HD800s, the music will sound very different than what the engineer is hearing/intending. Now, multiply that by many factors, and then it seems a bit silly to stress over minute differences in subtle changes in, say, rolling op-amps.
Tonal neutrality is difficult enough to attain, but with headphones I've found that one of the more important tricks is to catch on to how to adjust crossfeed to compensate for different approaches to recording/mastering.
I prefer that to fiddling with other things like different DACs or amps, tube rolling, etc which are not only more expensive but much less flexible, and precise.
I've almost given up on staging with headphones because I get far more realistic staging to my ears with my $65 Creative Labs PC speakers. But I haven't tried the Smyth Realiser yet or spent serious time with the Phonitor. With headphones I'm happy if I get a decent 'headstage'.
Thanks LFF. I was hoping to hear from you! So as an engineer, how much confidence do you have that what the listener is hearing is what you want them to hear- especially not knowing what they are listening with? And if I were able to zero in on some sort of parameter to match what you hear, would that carry over to what other engineers produce?
Photographers are in a very similar situation. Every printer and kind of paper will change an image from the way it looks on your screen, and each printer and paper does so in different ways. Then people look at prints in all kinds of different lighting conditions, especially recently some buildings will have 5 different colors of flourescents all mixing together to form a mess. So the best you can do is calibrate your monitor to a standard, and make the print look as close as you can to what you want it to look like. A well color balanced print will generally look good in every (or most) light sources, even though they all add their own distinct color cast to the print. Because a well balanced print has enough latitude in any direction to be given a color cast and still look good. Good printers will look at their print in a variety of light sources, until they get to know what a print should look like under a certain standard kind of light. Like recording engineers listening with different systems until they get to know their system well enough they might not need to anymore. I think it's basically the same with music. Though LFF can correct me if I'm wrong.
Are tubes neutral?Functional ones properly designed to be. Are transformers neutral? (ones in the signal path like output transformers, input transformers, step up transformers for cartridges or microphones)Functional ones properly designed to be.Should recording engineers use tubes?They already do and have. Did you not notice? Should recording engineers use transformers? (ones in signal path see above, or should they stick to solid state devices for mic stepups?)No idea, LFF/MarvAre even order harmonics neutral?No, they sound like shit. I think Marv and myself have come to the conclusion that this even order distortion representing the musicality of tubes is BS. It's all garbage noise, even or odd. Or are odd order harmonics neutral?No, they sound like shit.
