The terms can be demonstrated. You'll know it when you hear it.Take PRaT for instance. One system will have you tapping your toes and really feeling the rhythm and another will have all the right notes but lack the livleyness - no PRaT.
Audiophile Jargon Demonstrated
https://www.moon-audio.com/audiophile-terms-guide
I've been thinking recently about audiophile jargon and which of them could be demonstrated through setup manipulation to the average listener or less experienced audiophile. I've found that I didn't have a working concept for many of the terms commonly used, but have had some experiences with my system that were a bit of an "ah ha" moment where I felt like I understood at least a bit more.
Below are some definitions from the link that are related to how audiophiles describe how a system sounds and what they can hear. Pick one or two and describe a demonstration that could be done to help someone better understand the term. Can it be demonstrated through adjustments in the physical setup or switching a component or two within the system?
Analytical – Sound with a high emphasis on detail, achieved through a boosting of the high frequencies.
Bloat – A lack of definition and clarity in the mid-bass range. Overly-accentuated bass makes the signature sound heavy and poorly tuned. Bloat is commonly associated with dark, or overly warm, sound signatures.
Bloom – A quality of expansiveness, richness, and warmth in music.
Bright/Brightness – A boost in the upper frequencies or upper-mid range. Brightness is a feature enjoyed by many but walks a thin line to becoming unpleasant due to a potential of treble peaking.
Brilliance – High frequencies from 5kHz up to 20kHz. Not enough? Sound will be muddy. Too much? You'll hear hissing and sibilance.
Clarity – Macro details in sound. You hear every sound distinctly.
Congestion – Poor clarity caused by overlapping sounds. Congested sound signatures lack detail and clarity, making it hard to hear separate instruments and may also be called muddy or muffled.
Dark/Darkness – A quality of sound defined by prominent bass and recessed treble.
Decay – Describing the fade effect/length of a sound or note.
Depth – Describing how far away the instruments spacing is from back to front.
Detail – The subtlest, most delicate parts of the original sound, which are usually the first things lost my imperfect components.
Dynamics – The volume of a sound or musical note.
Forward – A more intense overall presentation of the sound. Described as opposite of laid back and relaxed.
Glassy – Described as very bright.
Harsh – Usually used to describe the upper-mid to upper frequencies when you get too much treble. An unpleasant quality.
Imaging – The left-to-right localization of sound. The ability to locate instruments on an imaginary soundstage.
Low-Level Detail – The subtlest elements of musical sound, which include the delicate details of instrumental sounds and the final tail of reverberation decay.
Lush – A rich tone and usually with some warmth to the overall presentation.
Microphonics – Frictional sound heard in a headphone caused by movement or rubbing of the cable against itself or other objects. The rustling noise comes from physical vibrations being converted into electrical signals. This is also called cable noise and is minimized with proper shielding in higher-quality cables.
Muddy – An unclear presentation of the sound. The opposite of clean or clear.
Neutral – Sound that is free from coloration.
Openness – Described as good width and depth in the presentation of sound. Plenty of room between the instrumentation.
Resolution – Microdetails in sound. The "texture" of the sound.
Reverb – Short for reverberation. A diminishing series of echoes spaced sufficiently closely in time that they merge into a smooth decay.
Roll-off – Also known as rollout. A frequency response which falls gradually above or below a certain frequency limit. By comparison, the term “cutoff” implies an abrupt loss of level above or below the frequency limit.
Sibilant – The high unpleasant peaks that are usually unpleasant to the ear if too prevalent.
Smooth – Describing the quality of sound reproduction having no irritating qualities; free from high-frequency peaks, and relaxing to listen to. Not necessarily a positive system attribute if accompanied by a slow, uninvolving character.
Soundstage – A description of the 3D sound space that a driver makes. A wide soundstage allows a listener to discern different positions for various sounds, lending a hand in making the sound more realistic. The bigger the soundstage, the better.
Texture/Texturing – A perceptible pattern or structure in reproduced sound, even if random in nature. Texturing gives the impression that the energy continuum of the sound is composed of discrete particles, like the grain of a photograph.
Timbre – The basic tone of a note, or the recognizable characteristic sound signature of an instrument.
Tonality – In referring to music, tonality is the quality of the instrument’s tone. In referring to audio, it refers to the reproduction of the sound and accuracy of the original timbres.
Transient – The leading edge of a percussive sound.
Transparent – Described as clarity in the sound presentation; being able to distinguish details and qualities.
Uncolored – Free from coloration. Sound that is neither warm nor bright, but neutral.
Veiled – Lack of full clarity due to noise or loss of detail from limited transparency.
Warm/Warmth – A quality of sound defined by fullness, engaging vocals, bumped mid-bass, and a clear midrange. Warm sound is often described as "cozy" or "pleasant"; excessive warmth may be described as "laid back" or "lush."
Weight – The feeling of solidity and foundation contributed to music by extended, natural bass reproduction.
Width – The apparent lateral spread of a stereo image. If appropriately recorded, a reproduced image should sound no wider or narrower than how it sounded originally.
When I rolled tubes in my Pathos and upgraded to some Audioquest interconnects the result was experiencing transients, timbres, and decay in a new way. The dynamics increased where I can hear individual notes bloom build and then decay.
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@tylermunns - The discussion that you're referring to is partly why I started this post. I can tell you that I have experienced PRaT in my system after swapping in a better power cable and interconnects. I believe that the previous tube rolling set the stage for the cables to shine. I'd describe it as having some involuntary toe tapping that wasn't there before. @pennpencil - I'm not frustrated at all, more curious. I have read and experienced enough to have a basic understanding for most of the terms, but have not clearly heard them all. In general terms, I think that not being able to understand the terms is an indication that the system being listened to isn't sufficient to showcase the differences that would be described by these terms. I've heard some of them in my system, but certainly not all. My goal isn't dissatisfaction, so I'm steering clear of better systems for now! |
These terms only have merit if they are correctly applied and defined. As an example I find Harbeth speakers highly colored and far from neutral but many who own this speaker think they are among the most neutral especially in terms of vocals and midrange. So who is correct and what does "neutral" really mean?
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@audition__audio Most of these terms I can identify and cite as observable, repeatable aural phenomena. I can then use these terms to communicate to another person the inherent aural qualities of a certain thing. This is useful. Due to the high number of multiplied variables (be they technological, acoustical, psychoacoustical, emotional, etc.) some of these inherently nebulous terms become next-to-useless as a means of imparting a useful explanation to another person. |
Learning many of these terms requires listening, some of them lots of listening. Some are pretty easy… slam, overall tonal balance. But many take time. I have read constantly during my pursuit of the high end. One term, grain meant little to me. I knew it… I had some idea. Of what it meant, but I had never heard it. Then I bought a used preamp as an upgrade. I was happy as a clam for a day. I was listening and suddenly I heard grain… my face turned red and suddenly this wonderful preamp went from great to terrible. I felt like a fool. I could not un-hear the grain. I took it back immediately… but of course the used audio guy said no dice to taking it back. But would trad it in (minus $200) for a used Audio Research preamp which cost more as well (1979). I lost a couple hundred on my initial purchase and paid a couple hundred more. He promised the ARC was in a different league and I would never hear any grain. He was right. Now all my equipment is Audio Research… 40 years later.
The most important term for me has been Rythmn and Pace. I am sure it took me over 40 years to finally pin the sonic quality on the terminology. I noticed long ago that some systems made me want to tap my foot and get wrapped up in the music… many did not.
I don’t think you need elaborate descriptions as much as keep reviewing them and listening to systems… one by one you make the connection. Once made, they tend to stick. This is a critical part of becoming a critical listener. |
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