There's no argument here...... but, yes, "color" DOES mean distortion.
(Strictly speaking, coloration is a general term that refers to changing the sound in any way, and so includes both distortion and alterations in frequency response.)
Glass comes in a variety of pretty colors, even "clear" glass often subtly alters colors, and most glass also produces noticeable reflections.
Glass can also be frosted, and make the image you see less sharp, or wavy, and make what you see look wavy and wobbly, without actually altering the color.
Have you ever seen what they call "museum glass"? (You can specify it when getting pictures framed - and it's expensive.)
Museum glass is as transparent as practical, and it also has anti-reflective coatings on it, of the same sort used on good camera lenses.
What does it look like?
Well... nothing.
You wouldn't want to put it in a window because you would put your hand through it - or walk right into it - BECAUSE YOU CAN'T SEE IT.
It's actually a bit unnerving to look at something that you know is there and not be able to see it.
It looks like you can actually reach out and touch the paint, or the paper, but you can't.
(OK. It's not perfect; but, under normal room lighting, it really looks like there's no glass there... even when you squint at it.)
Many "close-miked" recordings sound very "dry" (they have almost no room ambience in them).
And recordings, especially those that are multi-tracked, and heavily processed, can sound unnatural for a wide variety of reasons.
It's also quite well known that adding second harmonic distortion tends to produce a variety of often pleasant effects.
Many effects generators, including the iconic Aphex Aural Exciter, popularized on a lot of Linda Ronstadt recordings, operate by adding controlled amounts of extra harmonics.
Second harmonics in particular tend to make voice sound "fuller" or "richer" and add a sort of "sheen" to some instruments - both of which sound rather pleasant if not overdone.
(If you want to hear "overdone" on the Aural Exciter, listen to "Blue Bayou" on the original Linda Ronstadt recording.)
And, yes, if a recording sounded unnatural because of the lack of certain harmonics, or of room ambience in general, then adding them will probably make it sound more natural.
(Note, however, that, like repainting something that's become faded, you are NOT bringing back the original color, but REPLACING it with something hopefully similar.)
Less well known is the fact that adding second harmonic content often actually improves the intelligibility of voice.
Many devices designed to help the hearing impaired do it; as do some devices designed to make public address systems more intelligible (adding second harmonics to just the voice frequencies).
It's also pretty well known that tubes add several different types of distortion... including a significant amount of second harmonics.
Therefore, it's no surprise at all that tubes may make certain recordings sound "more natural" or "more pleasant"... and make voices "punchier" and "more dynamic".
The only real question is a philosophical one:
Do you want your stereo to reproduce what's on the recording as accurately as possible, and trust the recording and mixing engineers to make it sound its best?
Or do you want your stereo to alter the recording "to make it sound as good as possible"?
PERSONALLY, I have two objections to tubes:
1)
A given piece of tube equipment, like a piece of tinted glass, alters everything you play through it; so, an alteration that makes one piece of music sound good may make another one sound bad.
I have never found any piece of equipment, or setting on a mastering plugin, that alters the music in a way that sounds good with everything I listen to.
(I've found a few that initially sounded cool on a lot of different stuff... but, after a while, I ended up switching them out most of the time.)
2)
I tend to WANT to hear the recording as the performer, the recording engineer, and the mix engineer, intended me to.
If I didn't like the way it sounded then I just plain wouldn't listen to it.
Beyond even that, I DON'T WANT A PIECE OF EQUIPMENT MAKING THAT DECISION FOR ME.
(So, to me, a piece of tube gear is the equivalent of connecting an equalizer - with all the knobs set to interesting positions - and glued in place.)
If I want to add second harmonic distortion I'll buy myself an Aphex Aural Exciter..... (nowadays they also have a plugin for your favorite digital audio editor).
That way I'll know that, when I hit that bypass button, I'm hearing the recording just as it is; and, if I want to add some effect, I can set the knob just where I like it - anywhere from "none" to "way too much".
Digital editing software is fun - and I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to alter the way their music sounds.
Izotope makes a great set of mastering plugins that work with most serious audio editors - including Adobe Audition.
(And they have a free 30 day demo.)
Of course, the obvious goal si to do what works best for YOU!
My entire 2channel system is tubes from the amplifiers to my custom SP14, to my external dac.
COLOR...does that mean distorted?
For my likings I find tubes to be more natural.
What I love about tube amps is you can potentially breathe life into a potentially bland recording, or take one that's very good and make it great. There are no rules with this. At the end of the day I'm plugging in to the big tubes and enjoying some ear candy.
