I agree, well reviewed. Oftentimes it is difficult to express what it is your brain is interpreting from the information provided by your ears. It brings up an interesting questinon in my mind. How is "neutral sounding" interpreted. Would this be by the average listener in an average room (what ever that is)? Would it be by a recording engineer? Would it be by the artist recording on stage, or if a studio recording then that would be by the recorder?
I have a friend with a reeeeally nice Taylor guitar that, unplugged, sounds a little thin but when amplified via the built-in pickups produces a full rich sound that is very pleasing.
The review brings up an important factor. The room acoustics. In sounding "congested", I would have to think that the 170 was exciting specific room nodes that the M22 was not. In the larger room, the M22 sounded "thin" but I tend to think that it is really meant for either a small room or a large room with a quality sub. I interpret from that review that the M22 is more neutral. The 170 seems as though it has been tweaked to sound good in a moderately sized room.
The said Taylor guitar may sound better in a small room (it sounded thin in a 4000 sq ft space) but too congested when amplified in that same small room (depending on the amount of amplification). I like this review for the simple fact that, unlike a lot of "professional" reviews, it really gives an idication of performance in different environments which is often overlooked.
Thanks very much for the review!
