Bob Burwen imparts his knowledge

@williewonka your response seems fitting...

At its simplest, the frequency response is MEASURED output. Unless you’re willing to MEASURE and quantify your findings as fact, everything use is mute.

Sine-waves are essentially frequency shapes.

Different materials have different conductive properties and can color the signal.

Equalization is used to tailor signal coloration.

I’ll repeat my initial point...unless your willing to MEASURE and quantify those findings as fact...good luck finding the truth. Then again, perception is perceived reality.

Cdwallace3,...

Equalization is used to tailor signal coloration

My understanding of equalizers - they allow you to  augment or boost one or more of  a defined set of frequency ranges. Whereas coloration can be a far more complex and intricate scenario.

Or am I missing something 😞

High level, its one in the same. Coloration is a deviation from a desired response. Equalization "corrects" it, or brings the frequency back to the desired response. Yes, it has its complexities and intentionally oversimplifying it,  but it ultimately is a just that. A deviation from a desired response.

The less ambiguous the explanation, the less subjectivity you have....which will quickly over-complicate the conversation.

" Coloration is a deviation from a desired response. "

This is a very simplistic view because coloration can be caused by many things other than just a simple deviation from FR. For example we have THD which can be perceived in a music reproduction system as coloration but it is something other than just a FR deviation or anomaly. In an analog-based system we can have minor speed errors that may not detectable as such but which are interpreted by the ear/brain interface as "coloration" in the music reproduction system. So to Mr. Burwen's claim that we just need an equalizer to insure proper performance - that's simplistic to the point of being just wrong.

@clearthink Having not spoken to Burwen directly, I would...assume...his thought process was beyond the point of system building. We know to select equipment with ultra-low harmonic distortion (in theory). I agree with your point regarding speed error. However, you'll probably encounter these situations in 1 out of 40-50 system configurations...very rough estimate. The vast majority of systems - correlating to his claim - could yield improved performance with equalization. I would argue equalization won't be the end all be all for every system...equalization isn't wrong because it's not a one size fits all solution for every system configuration....but it IS far too often overlooked - most times intentionally for a number of "audiophile purist" reasons - that will make a big difference in overall performance.