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 wlutke

“I guess I always thought of "reference" as being similar to laboratory grade, like a precision scale”

When we can measure what makes a speaker a good listen, it will be.

Reference can be a comparative opinion, imperfect but state-of-the-art, or a calibration standard.  All of it applies to speakers.  Do I want exceptional beauty?  Do I want to enjoy the unenjoyable?  Of course I do.  I want both.  Reference gear should deliver more.  It should especially shine when the recording delivers less.  It's not either/or, it's all that.  IMO