Quality Audio is Topsy Turvy

When many people use labels to describe music reproduced as coloured or not accurate this can be topsy-turvy, or the opposite of reality. Many people call Hi Fi reproduction coloured when it may actually be a more faithful reproduction of the sound of an instrument such as the cello, what they call inaccurate reproduction is actually more accurate.

The words neutral and uncoloured are frequently used as a litmus test for quality audio reproduction. In reality, what is often called neutral reproduction is highly coloured, as it is extremely poor representation of the timbral profile of music. (Timbre is what makes a particular musical instrument or human voice have a different sound from another, even when they play or sing the same note. It is the difference in sound between a guitar and a piano playing the same note at the same volume. Both instruments can sound equally tuned in relation to each other as they play the same note, and while playing at the same amplitude level each instrument will still sound distinctively with its own unique tone colour.)

If you experience talented artists in a place with great acoustics, like trio or quartet in a Palace in Salzburg you will be treated to ravishing timbre, wonderful articulation with a subtle variety of tonal colours.

The tactile ‘I can touch you’ resonance of the strings bowed and plucked. The experience of listening to the softest caresses and most energetic bowing. The deep substance of the higher pitched sounds, the striking dynamics of even the violin which sounds wispy and thin and colourless on most stereos. The liquid like musical flow, the absence of any strain even at crescendos. At the Palace the colours of the music stay rich and vibrant at all sound levels. To be bathed in kind of sound beauty where dreamily you can forget everything else other than the music.

For many reasons reproducing the timbrel qualities of music is difficult. The overwhelming majority of Hi Fidelity equipment has a poor ability to reproduce the timbre of music. What is needed to be neutral is much more timbre and much more subtleties of timbre. Washed out, dry sound bleached of timbre is a far more frequent phenomenon that one note over honeyed reproduction, where all instruments have a similar sounding golden tone.

Great artists journey valiantly, often making many sacrifices to create musical beauty. Neutrality is thrown around as some kind of Holy Grail. What is needed for a more immersive musical experience like the Palace is more realistic reproduction of musical timbre in Hi Fidelity play back.