PRat: a DAC or transport thing?

PRAT has to do with both frequency response and transient response. Without reasonable tonal balance, you can't have PRAT. Without reasonable transient response, you can't have PRAT. With lesser degrees of either tonal balance and / or transient response, you get correspondingly lesser degrees of PRAT.

What we hear is SYSTEM dependent, so one has to look at the system as a whole. Having said that, one small leak can sink a large ship if unattended to, so you have to find where the leaks are and attend to them individually. One might find that they have one giant leak or they might have a bunch of smaller leaks spread throughout the entire system.

The question here is, did these two components as you are using them now ever deliver "PRAT" when combined with the other parts of your system in the past? Sean
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if you listen to live unamplified music, the playing exhibits a tempo, and within that structure the individual notes may vary. for example, in 4/4 time, there are 8th notes, quarter notes, etc.

if a composition takes 10 minutes, there is a sense of pace based upon the markings. thus, for example, adagio, presto, etc. .

musicians play can play fast or slow. once it is recorded the tempo is set and the timing is set. if you play a recording on 5 stereo systems, the tempo is still the same and the elapsed time is also the same.

if you are talking about perception, that depends upon the listener.

i think the concept is a construct used by audiophiles but has no value as to communication.

i would like to hear a demonstration of this concept. any suggestions ?

Newmanoc: I think that you hit the nail on the head. Mrtennis doesn't understand and / or hasn't experienced what PRAT really is, hence his thinking that consistency of playing speed ( live or recorded )is all that "timing" ( part of PRAT ) is about. Sean
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It's hard to nail it down to one component - but if I had to choose between the transport or the DAC - I'd say the DAC.

I came from an all Linn Aktiv system which was nothing but PRaT. I enjoyed it but have since moved on to a mostly non-linn system.

Regardless - I found that as I inserted more and more Linn components in the chain the system always got better (in terms of PRT). So to sum it up - PRT is really a function of synergy between components.

as i understand, prat is an acronym--pace, rhythm and timing.
these words are metrics, they can be measured.

i have listened to 100's of stereo systems at ces. i have not been aware of prat on any of them.

sean, if you were with me, you could have pointed out at least one instance of this.

perhaps you could explain the terms in such a way that i could understand them.

it is easy to define the individual words, but i suspect there may be a conotation that i am missing. it is also possible that this phenomenon is irrelevant to me, i.e., i may experience it but pay no attention since i am listening for other attributes, such as spectral balance and a pleasing sound.