Should an amp have a "personality"?

I never use this word when it comes to sound. Anyway, the sound should be natural enough and engaging. Some of those German audiophiles and a few others in their quest for the 'neutral' sound get  the sound that is sterile and lacks many colors and nuances of the original. Colors not colorations.

Incorrect part was assuming that it might not have one. That is impossible, at least from my point of view.

That is nit-picking.  If you're right then there should not be a word "neutrality" in the English language since there is nothing in the universe that is absolutely "neutral".

Incorrect part was assuming that it might not have one. That is impossible, at least from my point of view.

even though you posed it incorrectly

What does it mean?  I thought you said an amp should have a "personality"?  What is it that not "correct"?

Something is lacking in your amp or amp/speakers unit or the entire chain. The sound you get is not 'neutral', it is boring. Sound that is true to the recording will not be boring, it will be engaging in a right way. This is not to say that engaging sound cannot be far from the original. Preferences vary, that's why we choose different speakers.
To answer your question directly, even though you posed it incorrectly. Yes, amp should have a personality, and in fact it always does. Compare Gryphon to Soulution to DartZeel to FM Acoustic to Nagra. Top level transistor amps, they all will have distinct personalities in any set-up.
Sorry, man, you might have to sell both of your Sim Audio amps and go higher.

It sounds as if your amp does not engage you musically.  That may be the fault of the amp or maybe you've just gotten overly familiar with it.  Most people here buy their "final" amp or other piece of gear at least a few times.  After a while that amp that blew your socks off at first just doesn't do it anymore.

Find another amp that gets you involved in the music and don't worry about it being flavored or neutral, just enjoy it.

Andy, could you learn to read English?

Not your English.

I once had a preamp that was neutral to the point it bored me, I sold it and moved on. There are tons of amps out there that are slightly warm SS and tubed.

viridian,
could you translate your post to English?

I think you may be up against the "designed-by-the-book" camp vs the "better-than-reality" camp. 

Most any hifi amp designers, using the "designed-by-the-book" model as a starting point, will try to push the performance envelope here or there, a little more presence...or clarity...or mo' better hi's...or whatever may suite best given the particular amp design being worked with and given his skill as a designer. Problem is that that will necessarily make for some reticence of performance in some other category or two of sound. Now if the designer is worth his salt of course, then that may likely fall in a category that, to most listeners anyway, will seem secondary or tertiary to our internalized "list" of our most (typically) favorite ones and the end result overall may be quite favorable...or at least at first. Just how long that will continue to be seen by us that way will be an open question after a decade or two. IOW our conscious perception of the amp may not really change all that much over time (barring major gear change), but our attitude toward it may actually be the thing that ends up changing...and if it does, do we once again find ourselves wishing for more neutrality.

Then there's the designed-by-the-book camp. That's how the Pro sound camp does things. Just the facts, Ma'am. Just design everything for neutrality's sake...no overemphasis here or there - and if the whole thing ends up coming up short of the sound of reality, then...oh well...

Traditionally, the pro sound, even when you turn loose of some money in the design process, has resulted in a sound that has taken a back seat to that of hifi amp designers. A little uninspiring in that there's nothing bad, like you say, but maybe nothing great either. 

In the last few years, I've had the chance to, while building my current system, try the kinda crazy idea of throwing a lot of money's worth of power treatments at the Pro-sound platform. It was all rather a lot of doing, but the end result for me here was that everything sound-wise was improved (in the whole system) so much that the amps still fall short of reality, of course - but by a whole lot smaller margin than before - full stop. Expensive? Yep. But, I'm no longer looking back at hifi amps...neutrality in spades, and I didn't have to give up excellence.

All that expensive power treatment might have done a great job with hifi amps as well, but this way I don't have any of the weaknesses that would necessarily have to be designed into the amp as a result (if anybody could improve the sound well ahead of the curve without it ever resulting in a single drawback, then everybody would be doing it that way).

But, short of all that, if you're just looking for a quick, easy and cheaper answer, then yeah, I'd say that you might as well have an amp with a "personality". If you really do get tired of it after a long while, well, then you can always think in terms of changing it out for a new attitude. Folks do that all the time. It's what I used to do before I came across what I describe above, and I'm sure I could have gone on like that...it's just that, as expensive as the solution for me was, now I don't have to. I suppose all that may come down to what price you want put on being able to get to a permanent solution that you know will suit you. And on all that, YMMV.

Regards

Exactly how do you determine neutrality? Are you using recordings where you were present in the studio when they were recorded? Or is neutrality a code word that justifies a purchasing decision?

Im not real bright but always thought it was an objective term.

Hm ... how do you determine something is neutral?  I think it's a matter of listening a "component" with other associated equipment and different recordings.  If the sound is consistently neutral, then it is most likely neutral.  

As for being objective, since it is always subjected to a person judgement, I think there is always some part of it that is subjective.  

We are getting too philosophical here.  I don't know how to define what  "neutrality" is but I know it when I hear it.  That's all I could say.

Something in the system should have a *personality* that is enjoyable to the individual.Not necessarily the amp though.

One amp to trump them all?

Which amp you may have in mind?  

Well my amp is for listening. When asked though it says its for music. Are you looking for one with an even stronger personality? Forward, upfront and ultimately more interesting to listen to? One amp to trump them all?