I've been around here for a good while now and read these terms frequently. Looked at some of the audio glossaries on the net. I still don't feel I have a good handle on their meaning. What do these terms mean to you?
"Tight" as in "the bass became more tight."
"Hi Fi" as in "it sounds "hi fi" (as opposed to high end)
Tight=not boomy or slow or flabby,mostly boomy.HIfi=thin,not rich,deep, detailed.The warm bass I have no idea really.I don't see that one alot I guess.YMMV of course,Bob
Warm - attenuated, rolled-off highs and emphasized mids. Think warm apple pie, a t-shirt fresh from the dryer, and Jennifer Connelly's bosom in a cashmere sweater.
hifi=the sound audiophiles like so much or close to inaccurate, as in high fidelity , as opposed to low fidelity. i am a literalist with respect to this term
warm=a slight peak in the upper bass or perhaps lower midrange, combined with a degree of attenuation in the upper midrange/lower treble region.
tight=overly articulated, as in a tight bass which emphasizes the sound of the plucking of the strings, at the expense of the vibration of the wood body.
warm and tight are indicative of a sonic signature, while hifi connotes a presentation which has minimal coloration. it is my impression that hifi is what audiophiles want, as opposed to low fi, which means a loss of resolution and other significant inaccuracies.
i will add the ubiquitous term "air" to the above mentioned, as ithere was a thread on this subject , recently.
as i have frequently stated , i am interested in the sound of instruments--pitch, timbre and harmonics.
some audiophile terms have no relevance to music.
air, in my opinion should only apply to the sound waves created by a musician . the air or space that surrounds an instrument(s) can only be heard indirectly, as part of the accoustics of the hall.
i'll stop now before i am accused of pedantry and being overly didactic.
Tight = What you feel when the bartender says, "You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here."
HI Fi = your self congratulatory response when you realize you're the last one there, thinking you won, but couldn't say High Five!
Warm = The feeling you get when being awakened by the neighborhood stray 'cause you couldn't make it into the house the night before.... it's just like being awakened by a horse, except less pressure.
How about this still more ambiguous term?
"Musical" ...as in "it was exceptionally musical."
I'm thinking it's not the sound of pots and pans or cats in heat, unless you're in the Bahamas or the alley passed out again, trying to give the stray with the bladder problem the slip by taking an alternative route.
Or maybe something with Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers in it.
My take is these words mean different things to different people so make sure you ask questions to truly know what the other person means when they use a high end jargon term to describe something.
This is determined by system Q - an overdamped, critically damped or underdamped system.
Q of less than 0.5 is tight. (impression is less bass until you turn it up and then it seems like someone is firing a machine gun in the room - think New Order Blue Monday)
Q of .7 is balanced ( a good compromise but still not much bass especially at low levels)
Q of more than 1.1 is muddy and will resonate "warmly" with plenty of bass ( guess what they use in most designs....)
Low Q means low efficiency and high cost.
High Q means high efficiency and low cost (typically a small lightweight woofer with small voice coil in a ported design)
Hi-Fi = High Fidelity which means you are faithful to your wife and buy only small tall narrow speakers that are unobtrusive. Opposite of Hi-Fi is Ja-Bla = Jack-Black where you suffer male menopause and buy a Harley Davidson and get massive speakers in an effort to have a system that sounds as loud as ACDC.
Tight= Tight bass is bass that you actually hear as well as feel. Bass that is tight is controlled and focused. With tight bass the bass is not just an indistinct rumble. You can actually hear the attack on the bass strings and the detail in the strings. It is not easy to describe. The attack on the strings and the resulting low frequencies maintain a certain coherence. In a series of rapid notes on an electric bass for example, tighter bass means you hear and feel each attack and note distinctly whereas if the bass was not as tight you might not be able to make out the line as clearly and the line would be more of a rumbly blur.
Warm= This means different things depending on the context. Warm can be the opposite of "cold and analytical." This usually means less detail, less neutrality, or less instrument separation but a more pleasing presentation.
Warm also can mean pleasing in the higher frequencies--easy to listen to and not harsh or bright sounding, bright meaning too much treble or shrill sounding. The opposite of warm in this context is not "cold" but rather "fatiguing" or "bright".
hifi - totally nondescriptive although I can see how it might be used to try of explain a sense of higher resolution
Blackstonejd- In other words: Pitch resolution and speed= "tight" Anyone that has been standing(or sitting) near a well played drum set will know what "tight bass" sounds and feels like. Without it there is no sensation of the tautly stretched drum heads, stuck by wooden sticks, their resonances and decay. Likewise: The plucked strings of a double bass, and the resonance of it's body are lost without a system that's capable of "tight bass". I call that "rumbly blur" of an underdamped bottom, "one note bass", because it renders everything in the lower frequencies the same. ie: No distinction between the kickdrum and bass(guitar or upright) when playing the same line. Of course: If you never experience the sounds live, or are seated in the back row/against the wall/in the corner(cheapest seats), where everything is mud anyway: You don't know what "tight bass" is, and can't relate. BTW: My son is a drummer, and one of my best references when tweaking the bass of my system.
BTW: I think the ultimate test material for bass "tightness" is Bela Fleck and the Flecktone's UFO Tofu album. Flight of the Cosmic Hippo isn't bad either. ;)
I third Rodman's comments - spot on - exactly right - that is just how it all sounds! Well said! Although a high Q system (underdamped) can sound pleasant (with plenty of bass for a small WAF friendly design) it will not convey the lower octaves clearly so that you can feel the "texture" of bass sounds. There is actually a stunning amount of information in the bass - every individual track should actually sound dramatically different in the bass just as every midrange and treble usually does.
I agree with the above comments, even if my own personal opinion is that the Q scale is skewed a bit low for my tastes. I realize these are the historical numbers, but I feel a value of 0.5 is beyond ascetic. Then again, there are a lot of guys who think the younger Kate Moss was the ideal, so who am I to say? Going against the traditional figures of 0.7 being ideal and 1.0 being on the voluptuous side, I feel 1.0 is pretty close to reality, the right balance of all parameters.
The last best response was Blindjim. I had tears in my eyes. After that I couldn't make it through those serious responses. I'm still waiting for someone to take the "blanket" off my speakers!!
Thanks for the "serious" responses. Some of you others are a hoot. The mention before of "musical" as a descriptor for gear reminds me how ridiculous that is.
But the uncertainty and subjectivity doesnt stop there, for many others remain in ordinary use, some being offered up as editorial staples .
Such as
TUNEFUL ORGANIC SWEET DRY RICH SPACIALITY DYNAMIC SLAM WET INNER GLOW COOL PRAT = PACE, RHYTHM AND TIMING ... isn't that what the performers are supposed to have going for them already? How is sound reproduced without these elements . Unless you have your thumb on the LP as it spins.
Use only the denotative definition, even in context, and many descriptions become laughable rather than laudable and the connotative usage, still in context, remains ambiguous pointing towards yet more vagary.
The truly funny thing, is the use of these and so many other terms are so widespread and accepted without much afterthought. As if we all have the same degree of Sweet attached to that word or to any of the others.
In lieu of this, the attempts to reveal the essence of what has been divined continues to be entertaining, yet provides only a general sense of a thing and not its thumbprint. Consequently the most important epithet around these parts will eternally be: Experience. .or the Try it for yourself, suggestion which is the declarative test dispelling further speculation, with logistics and finances, being for so many, the true bars to this insightful event.
Perhaps, following the next glowing redress of some vaunted high end appliance, the editorialist will then define that description by degrees. lol
I can't believe the staggering amount of info this thresd has induced from the inmates.Can we take SPRAT one step further or is this the end to quote Jim?TIA,Bob
Glad you asked about "Pace", "Rhythm" and "Timing"!! The fella that first mentioned these dynamics(viv-a-vis critical listening), Martin Colloms, is a highly regarded British audio reviewer, speaker designer and holds a number of engineering degrees. I thought some might care to read(carefully- all of it) the following treatise, and gain some illumination on the meanings the terms: (http://www.stereophile.com/reference/23/index.html) I just re-read it myself(I've still got the Nov. '92 Stereophile issue), and it's interesting how it flows so well with what was stated earlier about, "tight bass". Some of Mr Colloms works: (http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=au%3AMartin+Colloms&fq=ap%3A%22colloms%2C+martin%22+%3E+ln%3Aeng&qt=facet_ln%3A) (http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470094303.html) I believe he may know a little something on the subject of audio/music reproduction! Happy listening!!
And Happy Listening to you also my friend.And also happy to hear of all things illuminating from the UK where its still illegal to sell an anchor after 12 midnight.Circa 1645 and counting......
Touch'e 99999, or as they say in England "Aint that it Guv'nor?Arr,Arr.....Pirates,gold dubloons,cheap rum,shiverin'timbers,rogue traders[See Nasdaq circa 2008]....nothings changed,just the clothes and the rap...we're still surrounded......
Britain doesn't have a monopoly on wacky laws either. Here are some that are on the books in the good old U S of A: In Rhode Island it is illegal to use the adjectives "small," "tiny," "teensie-weenie," "runt," "dwarf," "midget" or "shrimpy" when referring to the state, its government or its political leaders.
In Brooklyn, New York, parents can be fined if they neglect to teach their children the boroughs characteristic colorful expletives or the proper insertion of the word Yo before all sentences by the time they enter the public-school system.
Golfing with chicken heads is illegal in 17 states, frowned upon in 32 and heavily taxed in Florida and the District of Columbia.
Renderings or images of the human navel, big toe or either nostril cannot be used in classrooms without the supervision of either the local constable or a leading religious authority in North Quiverburgh, Kentucky.
In Wyoming, automatic-weapon purchases are tax deductible, but there is a 10-percent sales-tax surcharge on shooting-range targets with a likeness of Bill Clinton; 20 percent for Hillary.
In Clandestine, Missouri, on Palm Sunday it is illegal to sing or hum songs containing any reference to being homesick for Moravia.
The words monkey or ape cannot be used within two minutes of the word human within 100 yards of any school in Cranium County, Kansas.
I found this site interesting: (http://crazytopics.blogspot.com/2007/01/craziest-laws-in-america.html) OOPS! Sorry for diverting this thread. It won't happen again.
I just hate it when the diverting starts up here.Try to control yourself 99999......we're evaluating your behavior as we speak.....er.....type....Cranium County indeed....
Here in Pennsylvania, when driving an automobile between dusk and dawn, the driver is required to stop after 1 mile, and fire up a flare. If no response is received within 10 minutes, the driver may proceed.
Of course, he must stop after traveling another mile and repeat the process, and so on and so on...
They started out as a bunch of blind Squirels juggling knives, and are now less ambitious as they just sit around in the same room and compulsively text message each other all day... if they would all just get the same ring tones I'd be lots happier.
Tight bass means the amount of gravitas (like that one??) I hear in the bass when I have had one too many shots of single malt. Warm bass would be what I hear when I am sweating from having one too many shots of single malt. Hi-Fi is definitely what I hear after one too many shots of single malt, but before the cutoff region is reached (in this case, unconsciousness). Oh, and just in case some of you are going to refer me to AAA, I usually dont drink, especially when I actually want to hear what I'm listening to.--Mrmitch
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