What the heck do these terms mean?


I read a lot about audio equipment and some descriptions come up occasionally about the components sound qualities that to me are confusing. Most of the time I regard these descriptions as by someone with little knowledge about audio equipment that are trying to sound impressive.

Most of these terms are used in describing speakers but I have also seen them used on cables, amps , electronics of all sorts etc..
So, can someone help define these common descriptive terms?

1. Treble/ bass is dry- Huh? What does this mean?
2. Treble/bass is wet.- Huh? Again, what does this mean?
3. Organic sounding- Huh, huh?
4. Musical sounding.- What? Compared to non musical sounding?

The last one can be used with just about any description of any component or speaker performance.

There may be more...

ozzy

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Showing 2 responses by jond

ozzy the problem is hearing is really not a relatable sense the way other senses are. Taste most people can taste sweet/bitter/sour/ etc different flavors of food are broadly recognizable. Touch same thing. Sight short of being color blind people see colors the same blue is blue etc. But hearing is both more elusive and more subjective. And there’s some standard terminology but plenty of folks, reviewers mostly, coming up with their own adjectives. In terms of the ones you mention:

Wet/dry- I usually see this in terms of overall sound not treble/bass think of it this way to use a very broad generalization wet is tubes dry is SS. Does that make sense?

Organic sounding- To me this means sounding less like a recording and more like people making music in your room.

Musical- To me this is a synonym for warmth in a system though not always. I think it can be kind of a je ne said quoi thing or like porn you know it when you "hear" it.

Hopefully that makes a bit of sense.
ozzy the lack of reviewer consensus is why it's good to find a reviewer you like, and stick with that person. That way you get to know their biases and what they mean when they describe something.

In terms of obscure recordings not sure if you stream but these days I can often find the recording a reviewer is using on Qobuz or Tidal.