Coloration

A subjective term used in the audio industry to describe subtle types of alteration or distortion of sound. When we say some piece of audio has a certain “coloration” to it we mean that it doesn’t sound pure, or as it normally would. The sound has been affected in some way. When audio passes through a device we say it “colors” the sound. For example, microphones color the sound, each in their own way. We choose microphones based largely on the type and degree of coloration we prefer. The same is true for literally everything in the audio chain. The subjective differences in sound – the colors – from one device to another provide us with different palette to choose from when creating our audio masterpieces.