Distortions that the human ear likes. Are there any ?

The problem is even if there was a “good distortion” it would be drowned in a sea of “bad distortions.”

In which geoff proves all music is distortion, and all distortion music, and human life is meaningless in the cosmic time scale.

Room measurements typically exhibit a downward “tilt” from low bass to high treble of 6 up to 15 dB. This is caused by a number of factors including reduced dispersion and greater absorption in the room at high frequencies. Do not attempt to EQ your room measurement completely flat – that will most likely sound overly bright.

This is something all acousticians live by. It isn’t opinion. It’s fact. This is why no auto-eq attempts to implement it. If you look at the Dirac documentations for instance, you'll see this built in.

We are used to seeing close miked, "quasi-anechoic" measurements of speakers and electronics, so we expect speakers to be flat in the room, and god help you if you hear it! :)

Also, this is not new. The B&K speaker curve (which I worship as a god) is what, like 60 years old by now?


Best,
E

To confuse the waters even further, there's also changes in our hearing with age and trauma.


There are speakers which are arguably far from neutral, which may correct for these losses, and make your ears feel young again.


Is this "pleasurable distortion?"  Is the loudness curve, whether in an amp, or in the speaker design not distortion?


So yes, we can like things far from neutral at times.

Based on what I've read, and experienced, including writing from Pass, and listening to Pass gear and my own experiences, here goes:

The perception and appreciation of distortion and other non-linear sound reproduction is a learned, not innate, capability or feature of the ear / brain mechanism.


Being learned, it varies from individual to individual. Unless we do a survey that is credibly representative of "most audiophiles" this question has no answer which can be backed up by more than individual accounts.


So, the good news is that variety of product selection is most likely to have a product at a price point most audiophiles can be satisfied with. The bad news is I am not going to agree with a LOT of audiophiles as to what sounds good, but then, I don't really care if I do.


Your own wallet and your own ears and your own heart must ultimately be used to determine the value, desirability and sacrifice you will make for a particular bit of kit. It isn't wrong to like something that sounds like your '78 Oldsmobile. Just don't try to force me to believe it is neutral or state of the art.

Best,

E