Neutral or warm? Which do you prefer?

I prefer natural, which is neutral with the natural warmth that accompanies it. Clarity is paramount as it is part of natural, which is neutral and with the warmth that accompanies it.

I could go on but I won't (you're welcome).

Yes, it is all subjective which is why we must use acoustic performances and our aural memories as a baseline if, indeed, one is to recreate a neutral performance with the natural warmth that accompanies it.

We know it when we hear it. It isn't on every recording. If and when we do hear it, don't dismay at not be able to recreate it again on other recordings as it's not your system that is at fault, it's the recording. Taking this in mind should make most realize that our systems are mostly okay and are capable of delivering the goods. We just have to be more discerning in selecting our music. Our systems can't wake the dead.

All the best,
Nonoise

I was just going to say, until Bob beat me to it, that live acoustic events can sound weak, thin, and not very image specific. Go one step further and play the same acoustic material at another place and the sound can and will change dramatically. Quite the can of worms, eh?

So, like Peterayer and Jmcgrogan2 imply (if I infer it correctly) is that an actual acoustic event can be not so neutral sounding as we'd like. I think this is due to our hearing acuity, which we should never doubt. Live events can sound wrong if out of tune or played incorrectly. Neutral is satisfying to our ears as no one part of the spectrum is out of line with the rest, drawing attention to itself.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that if something sounds pleasant, involving, and gratifying to us, it can be considered to sound "neutral", which then makes it very specific and therefore unique to each and every one of us. But a consensus can be arrived at that most can agree on. The same goes for our home systems even more since that is where we build and validate our beliefs.

All the best,
Nonoise

Agreed. Speaking of venues, I had the pleasure of being stuck at a traffic light and was fortunate to be under an overpass and some kind soul was playing the sax ever so lovingly. Not loud enough to reverberate like crazy but softly, allowing the sound to expand and trail off beautifully.

That was a nice, momentary, venue. Too bad it doesn't happen often enough where I live.

All the best,
Nonoise