Voice? Whose voice, and where does it come from?
If an audio product were perfect, it would have no sound of its own. It would be invisible. It would have no “voice.” In the real world, DACs, amplifiers, turntables, and especially the transducers—microphones, phono cartridges, and loudspeakers—all have character, all have a sonic signature. If an overly optimistic designer believes their design and all the parts are perfect, and that there’s no need to listen during the development process, then the resulting product is very likely to have an irritating and fatiguing character, even if it measures very well. “Voice” is the result of crucially acknowledging the sonic effect of every decision and every part, and then purposefully coordinating the combined effect of all those many little imperfections into a whole, into a voice with as little overt character as possible. At…
