Do you preferred Monitor / Neutral or Coloured / Warmer Speaker

[record_spot]

I prefer detailed, but not to the point of being forensic. A good blend of high-mids-low end that are well balanced ultimately.

 

[Al ears]

I guess any speakers that were not neutral with a reasonably flat frequency response curve could be considered flawed...

 

[PieterG]

Realistic volume has given it some EQ in the form of a natural loudness 'switch'.
If any system doesn't sound better when louder, then there's something wrong with it, the room, or both.

I have the same experience, and for the sake of this conversation i measured SPL. (Don't look at these as accurate measurements, i just used a free phone app to get a general idea at my normal listening position.)

• Up to 45 dB i would say it's background music. If the room is otherwise quiet, it's fine, but any normal household sound is disturbing the listening experience.
• Around 55-60 dB i find the response of the speakers is good. This is normal conversation volume, so the music does not dominate the room.
• At about 75 dB i hit the sweet spot and i get the sound i like across the frequency range. There is no noticeable degradation when i go louder up to the point i think it's too much.

My standard EQ setting was done at about the 70 dB level, which sits between the volume i prefer and the upper limit imposed on me by the others in the house. For lower listening volumes (below 50 dB) i definitely need another EQ curve to compensate for the lows and highs dropping off further. (Or maybe that simply can't be fixed.)

I'm guessing manufacturers probably "tune" systems / speakers at the sort of volume I was listening last night, so quiet is never going to be it's optimum.

I'm pretty sure this is actually due to your ears, not the audio system. Well, not your ears specifically but the way human hearing works. You were probably listening at a volume where all frequencies sound properly balanced. What you hear as degradation is actually your brain not picking up as much bass and treble at low volume (the infamous Fletcher-Munson curves), which causes the mids (especially 2-4 kHz) to dominate.

The punch and clarity you think you're losing at low volume is actually there, because most modern amps and speakers have a linear response from whisper-level output. It's our hearing/brain that doesn't respond in the same linear way to various frequencies at different volumes. We used to have an excellent instrument on our vintage amps to compensate for this: the loudness button.

 

[Al ears]

There is certainly a case to be made for the loudness button and, at really low levels, headphones.....
🙂