The "cold" sound means there's a peak on somewhere around 3-5 kHz. It's quite common in cheap systems which can't make good performance in high frequencies.
You see, most people would choose the system with stronger trebles. For uneducated ears it sounds "better" in comparison. Try this on your friends: play something with normal settings and after that the same with treble a little higher. You'd be surprised. Exactly the same with basses, as everyone knows, think of the cheap subwoofers!
The modern systems are optimized for that, and that's where the "cold" sound comes. Ye olde tube manufacturers didn't know or couldn't do that.
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The "cold" sound means there's a peak on somewhere around 3-5 kHz. It's quite common in cheap systems which can't make good performance in high frequencies.
You see, most people would choose the system with stronger trebles. For uneducated ears it sounds "better" in comparison. Try this on your friends: play something with normal settings and after that the same with treble a little higher. You'd be surprised. Exactly the same with basses, as everyone knows, think of the cheap subwoofers!
The modern systems are optimized for that, and that's where the "cold" sound comes. Ye olde tube manufacturers didn't know or couldn't do that.
Why wouldn't this be an optimum level?