Is the color in the amp , the preamp, the souce?

Is the color in the amp, the preamp, the source?

To add to my earlier post, and to address the OP more directly: I think there is a general consensus among audiophiles that colorations exist in every component in the system. Perhaps the greatest contributors to coloration are the two things you didn't mention - the speakers and the room. Regardless, some audiophiles conclude from the fact that every component is colored that neutrality does not exist.

I, for one, believe that neutrality exists, in the sense of ‘degree of absence of coloration.’ Although every component is colored, not every component is equally colored. Some components are more colored than others. Components that are less colored are more neutral, in the sense of ‘degree of absence of coloration.’ This issue was debated at great length in the thread I mentioned in my earlier post, so I will not belabor it here. I mention it only by way of addressing your question…

Would it not be preferable to add any coloration (if one so chooses), warm, cool, what have you via the source and/or the preamp?

As I understand it, you are asking whether there are any generalizations about selecting components for neutrality or coloration based upon their function in the system. For example, is it better to have neutral speakers and a colored source, or a neutral source and colored speakers? Answering those kinds of questions would be helpful for achieving the kind of system synergy that several other posters have (rightly) emphasized. Unfortunately, my suspicion is that there few, or possibly no, generalizations about these questions that hold true across a wide variety of systems.

Having said that, I do believe that, when assembling a system, it is valuable for an audiophile to ask himself how each components is colored (i.e. deviates from neutrality). The answer will always be speculative to some extent, since we can listen to components only in the context of a whole system. But it is valuable nonetheless, because, even if we get it only approximately right, understanding how each component is colored will help us get closer to the sound we are looking for. This is particularly true when the colorations in question are not euphonic. As for the best place to deliberately add euphonic colorations to a system, I suspect that that is a question that can be answered only through experimentation, and even then it will be a matter of taste.

Guys, I want to thank you all very much. I feel I've gleaned a bit of information from all of you. Some (OK, a LOT of) technical, and quite a bit of perceptive info, but all appreciated. It must be really nice to either work in an audio shop that sells quality gear, or have an excess of play money and time to try different pieces. Perhaps when I retire I can play more :)

This discussion helps me stop worrying about what the name on the case says, and use my ears as the real judge. I have been feeling like I'm sure a lot of people feel, that if you can just take that one step higher up the dollar ladder, you can achieve greater musical satisfaction. I see now this may or may not the case (based on far too many variables), and in fact something that may coat much less might in fact sound better to my own ears.

The one down side to all this information, is that it makes it almost impossible to get an answer as to which xyz is better. I guess the best one can do in this regard is to ask a question in poll form, then weed through and try the most popular first.

Anyways, thank you all for your thoughts and time. I will bookmark this, an refer to it anytime I get nametagitis again :)

I got to thinking, and I hope my last post didn't go off topic onto name plates. What I meant was that you guys had more than satisfactorily answered my question on coloration, and at the same time gave me a better overall view of using a brand name as a guide to getting better sound. Other peoples descriptions of perceived sound qualities will vary widely, and obviously a system as a whole will be of utmost importance. Thank you all again for the very in depth information and opinions.

no two devices operate or sound the same because well they are designed and built differently. almarg hits upon many of the technical reasons nicely.

how to sort through it all and decide what will work best though?

my advice is always to do your homework before taking a plunge. an amp must interact directly with speakers and pre-amp or source. published specs can provide guidelines to help estimate how well these will work or synergize as they say together. remember that an amp alone produces no sound, only signal. how the signal is transferred effectively or not frompiece to piece largely determines end results. good pieces matched well to each other and the room will almost always sound good. a lot of the rest is a matter of personal taste and preference.