Natural to me should be true to what an instrument would sound like in a concert hall or recording studio to our ears. A truly natural speaker should allow the listener to tell the difference between say a Steinway and Yamaha piano. They do sound different. Very few speakers do this well and for things like rock music, who really cares.

What is intended by the artist/producer/engineer is also A. not necessarily what comes through on a recording and B. if the slave used for copying is too many copies from the original master, may sound awful anyway.

In these pages (stereophile) there is an interview with the guys from Rush where they admit that the Vapor Trails was poorly mastered and it effectively ruined the album. See the bottom of page 1, top of page 2.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/rush-working-men-page-2

Secondarily, I have a personal experience with an Iron Maiden album. Love them or hate them, Iron Maiden's producer, Martin Birch, was well known for outstanding production and great sounding albums. Enter, my cassette purchase of The Seventh Son of the Seventh Son. When I bought it back in the early 90s it sounded flat and hollow. Same thing with the CD I bought a few years later. Always hated that record because it sounded terrible. A few years ago, Maiden re-released the original 80s albums in a box set on vinyl and the record sounded unbelievable. I now like it very much. The issue was not with the master (the records weren't re-mastered) but with the slaves used to make copies. A copy of a copy of a copy of a copy, eventually sound degrades. Thus, even the recording I purchased doesn't deliver what the producer intended.

Purity and natural sound are a wonderful thing to strive for and if that is your true objective, Dynaudio, Vienna Acoustics, Wilson Audio and a few others do an admirable job of trying to stay true to that principal. That being said, I have found that in practice, reproducing exactly what is on a recording is not always going to deliver an enjoyable result in which case having a speaker with a colored sound or a system with tone controls or EQs can be highly desirable.

Incidentally, I went our with the intent of getting what you describe, decided I didn't like it and went in a different direction.

Flying Scot wrote:

I have spent the last few days going from one hifi shop to the next with my amp under my arm, auditioning speakers for it.(New and s/h)
Most of the speakers I heard sounded pretty good but all sounded different. I see people who know what they are talking about say that the ideal speaker should sound 'natural'.
My question is, how do I know or anyone else know, how the producer and mastering engineer wanted the finished track to sound?
I took a couple of CDs along with me to compare the sound with different speakers. Some were brighter than others, some had 'squacky' mids, and some had amazing bass. The point being which ones sound like the artist or producer wanted?

here endeth my question.

btw, the amp and CD player I took with me are
Linn Majic
Cyrus CD 6s

Thanks

The speakers listed in Recommended Components are generally the better ones in terms of realistic reproduction.

Look at the reviews listed here on the website and the info there should help a lot.

I am personally partial to Vandersteen, Focal, Wharfedale, and KEF and PSB speakers. Most of their speakers are very good for their prices.

To avoid confusion when auditioning, pick out 4 or 5 tracks that you are very familiar with, and always play those same tracks each time.

One of the things JA has always been a stickler for is that his reviewers have experience playing musical instruments or lots of time around live music. That, of course, is necessary to recognize what various instruments sound like and gives people a frame of reference for hearing deviations from the natural sound of live music.

I suppose the term "natural" and "convincing" go somewhat hand in hand. How convincing are the instruments being portrayed on the recording?

Hi everyone. I’m new hear but been doing hifi for ages.
My advice flying Scot would be go with what you like on hearing set ups. What’s natural to you, won’t be to someone else.. A lot is compromise on what you start with and an organic process. I have cyrus signature kit. Cheers