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Should a reference speaker be neutral, or just great sounding?

I was thinking about something as I was typing about how I've observed a magazine behave, and it occurred to me that I have a personal bias not everyone may agree to.  Here's what I think:
"To call a speaker a reference product it should at the very least be objectively neutral."

However, as that magazine points out, many great speakers are idiosyncratic ideas about what music should sound like in the home, regardless of being tonally neutral.

Do you agree?  If a speaker is a "reference" product, do you expect it to be neutral, or do you think it has to perform exceptionally well, but not necessarily this way?
erik_squires

Showing 2 responses by mapman

mapman's avatar
mapman
21,879 posts
 
The biggest mistake people can make with hifi is spending money while having no reference to determine what it is they are trying to accomplish sound wise.

The second biggest mistake is thinking all recordings should sound a particular way. That will never happen. All recordings are different.

The third biggest mistake is not considering how well specific components will integrate as a system, including the room. That is what specifications are for. To provide a guide for making decisions based on more than just opinions, speculation or hype.
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,879 posts
 
Practically reference with this stuff is a pretty useless term though it is good for everyone to know their own personal reference when they hear it otherwise one may flounder chasing unknowns.
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