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To answer your either/or questions, I'll be a pain and answer "yes." Which is to say that there are degrees within these (admittedly imperfect) categories. By analytical I mean that treble is the emphasized portion of the spectrum, frequently resulting in high level resolution of detail and plenty of sparkle (though not necessarily with sibilance). To some ears, these would sound thin, edgy, and brittle. By balanced, I mean that there is some sort of a U or V shaped frequency curve, with varying degrees of a laid back mid range. Detail fanatics might find these a bit muddy, especially if the mid and upper bass emphasis crowds out some of the mid range.
If these were speakers we were talking about, I would liken analytical to many of the professional studio monitors--relentlessly revealing and excellent in conveying dynamics, but sometimes accused of playing a series of noises, not music. Balanced is akin to the classic British sound--sometimes accused of being musical at the expense of some detail, a more euphonic than "hi-fi" sound.
To answer your either/or questions, I'll be a pain and answer "yes." Which is to say that there are degrees within these (admittedly imperfect) categories. By analytical I mean that treble is the emphasized portion of the spectrum, frequently resulting in high level resolution of detail and plenty of sparkle (though not necessarily with sibilance). To some ears, these would sound thin, edgy, and brittle. By balanced, I mean that there is some sort of a U or V shaped frequency curve, with varying degrees of a laid back mid range. Detail fanatics might find these a bit muddy, especially if the mid and upper bass emphasis crowds out some of the mid range.
If these were speakers we were talking about, I would liken analytical to many of the professional studio monitors--relentlessly revealing and excellent in conveying dynamics, but sometimes accused of playing a series of noises, not music. Balanced is akin to the classic British sound--sometimes accused of being musical at the expense of some detail, a more euphonic than "hi-fi" sound.
