Audiophiles don't really want NEUTRAL. Audiophiles don't really like NEUTRAL.

You and others may be interested in reading an abandoned patent I found last year while researching speaker crossovers. I used to DIY years ago and have never been entirely satisfied with any speakers I’ve either built or bought. The theory part of this patent is what caught my attention first. Just google Ian Howard Knight speaker crossover. This thing works…..with the necessary drivers. Some of the most expensive drivers out there will not work. It takes a driver with low le like a lot of SB acoustics.

 

Its got to tail off 9db or so from 30-15khz. And We don’t like to feel bass

 

I’ve always been sensitive to sibilance. And most “accurate “ speakers sounded bright to me.

 

The good thing is that a system which is "neutral' - which I would characterise rather as having distortion of all types below subjectively noticeable levels - is that any sane volume is possible. That is, you can wind up any recording to realistic SPLs, and the listening experience doesn't degrade - in particular, the bass line now sounds like how real instruments project, and the treble content is never a problem.

 

I've noticed this specifically with many of the Blue Note RVGs.