What would you consider to be neutral in terms of direct vs reflected sound? Given the option would you treat your walls to maximize direct energy vs reflected? Or is there a certain amount of reflected sound you consider neutral?
That is so true. I play flute in a chamber group and the violin sitting next to me has a lot of "zing" to the sound, nothing like what it sounds from the audience or on a stereo, unless you crank up the treble a lot (which some recordings do!). Same with the cello and other instruments. Especially so with my own flute since the sound I hear is resonating in my own throat and skull. It's like what your own voice sounds like to you when speaking, compared a high quality recording of it.
You have to remember the objectively flat speaker results in an in room measurement tilt downward due to artifacts of in room measurement. Don't get confused by that. The downward tilt is the amount you get with flat so indeed flat is actually the desired goal.
A pair of JBL 308 with stands and a cable (1 x stereo TRS 3.5mm to 2 x XLR) to connect them to the smart phone most people have anyway will probably sound better than your recommendation.
I think your approach is sound, and I'm in no way suggesting you're going about things "wrong" or anything like that. What I'm trying my best to point out is that within this approach that still leaves room for subjective decision making. The gentle downward slope could be more gentle or less gentle, and that's a subjective preference of what that target curve ought to be. Carpet on the floors and some stuff on the walls too - how much is the right amount of absorption is also a subjective preference. Those elements have a substantial impact on how a system sounds or flipped around which speakers would perform to your preferences inside of that room.
What do you mean it's an artifact of in room measurement? Isn't the actual in room response that of a downward sloping frequency response? If so, that's not an artifact, that's the room transfer function working on the speakers. And when placing the objectively flat speakers in the room, how closely they are placed to the wall will change how flat or steep that tilt is, so a judgment call must be made.
Yeah, it makes a lot of sense to check what is not written in a review.
I've some experience with this. Been using and a friend or two have been using various room EQ devices for a decade. I sort of got adept at letting my friends tell me what they wish were different about the balance and subtly altering target curves to improve their satisfaction. The basic target curve seems good, but a slightly great or lesser tilt, and tiny bubble or trough in the curve hear or there was able to dial in a bit of personal taste or preference. I think that is a reasonable thing to do rather than slavishly stick to the curve. But the curve is a real reference and a point of departure not something you just throw out. Also, the speakers I've done this to wouldn't score that well on the Harman criteria nevertheless hewing in the general vicinity of the target curves in room worked the best.
And this is the problem. The musician looks for an instrument with a specific sound, and I agree that it is difficult to deduct this from measurements only. The audiophile however should strive for accuracy first, and this does not always correlate with better sound - it depends on the recording.
No, I'm afraid that you're missing my point. Flat in-room response is not considered neutral, yet there isn't a specific definition of what should be considered neutral. If by neutral you mean flat in-room response, then say so. If you have a different in room response that you are defining as neutral then specify that. Otherwise I think we'll continue to debate in circles.
That's not at all what I said. I've attempted to be very specific on what I believe to be the variables in playback that do not have a proper definition for neutrality, so we could have an earnest discussion about this.
