2. misc-audio
  3. 1148020518

minimze ambiguity when describing audio components

i have noticed and i myself am guilty of using adjectives when trying to describe the "sound" of audio components.

the words, warm, bright, dull, dark, to name a few are ambiguous terms for two reasons.

first, we hear differently. when serious listeners are evaluating the sound of audio equipment, several opposing terms may be used to describe the same component. secondly, without a definition of a term, a word may have different meaning when used by serious hobbyists.

there are 2 solutions.

first, lets have some definitions of commonly used adjectives, and post them where all can see them.
this may not be practical, so hear is solution 2:

describe the sound, instead of saying bright, say elevation in sound pressure in the range 1000 hz to 3000 hz. that is clear and specific.

if someone is looking for a cable wwith a particular sound, describe the sound specificalyy instead of using adjectives.

the word "polite" has idiosyncratic conotations. say what you mean by polite instead of saying "polite".

there still is an unavidable problem, namely differences in perception. someone may hear an elevation in spl in the bass (50 to 100 hz), while someone else may disagree, saying there is no increase in spl in that region.

differences in perception are unavoidable., but at least specifics make it easier to confirm or disconfirm a perception or opinion.
mrtennis

Showing 2 responses by pabelson

pabelson
344 posts
 
describe the sound, instead of saying bright, say elevation in sound pressure in the range 1000 hz to 3000 hz. that is clear and specific

If that's what you want to know, fluffy verbal decriptions are not the right tool for the job. Meaure the thing.
pabelson
344 posts
 
No, Mr. Tennis, it isn't that easy. You must, at the very least, find both a brass cymbal and a steel one, and listen to them over and over and over again until you can tell which is which without looking. Then and only then will you be qualified to judge whether a certain system makes cymbals sound more like brass or steel.

Listener training is not easy. If you want to get an idea of how hard it is, Sean Olive wrote an AES paper on training his expert listening panel at Harman. Not only were untrained listeners terrible at the task (in this case, identifying the general frequency region that was out of baance), but must people still couldn't do it after extensive training.

No audiophile or--more importantly--audio reviewer has ever subjected himself to that level of ear training, which is precisely why subjective reviewing is worthless, no matter how tightly you try to control the language they use. Your holy grail doesn't exist.
More to discover