Your vote: Most Useless Audio Adjective


From what I've seen in online audio discussion forums such as Audiogon, words like warm, taut, wooly, and forward can upset even died in the wool audiophiles. While some may have a hard time getting their arms around them, most of the terms seem quite appropriate to me. You have to develop some list of terms in order to convey a description of a component's sonics, or to delineate it from another component.

However, I have noticed the description "self effacing" creeping into more and more reviews, and it flat out boggles my mind. Initially, it seemed to fit into the context it was being used - affordable or downright cheap gear, that was fun and lively. However, now that I've read the term being used to describe quite a serious piece of high end kit, the time has come to point out how ridiculous things are getting.

I had to laugh out loud thinking of the snootiest, most condescending audio dealer I know who was carrying this brand. Using the term "self effacing" with anything had to do with this guy was akin to describing Phyllis Diller a young, hot sex symbol.

What is your most useless audio adjective???
trelja
Until today I don't get it when people say "DARK-sounding amps". What does that mean anyway? Does "dark" amps sound any different from "warm" amps? Is there any correlation between dark, warm and shut-in? These adjectives can sometimes be so confusing!
The adjectives have pretty well been covered, but I'm very partial to phrases such as this one from reviewers: "No bass to speak of, shallow soundstage,closed-in,rolled-off in t he highs, not the last word in resolution, but you owe it to yourself to put this speaker on your short list." Damning with faint praise indeed.--Mrmitch
"Until today I don't get it when people say "DARK-sounding amps". What does that mean anyway? Does "dark" amps sound any different from "warm" amps? Is there any correlation between dark, warm and shut-in? These adjectives can sometimes be so confusing!"

Go to Stereophile.com and type "glossary" in the search box to bring up J. Gordon Holt's interesting glossary.

dark: A warm, mellow, excessively rich quality in reproduced sound. The audible effect of a frequency response which is clockwise-tilted across the entire range, so that output diminishes with increasing frequency. Compare "light."

Thanks for the information Nyctc7. I can still associate "warm" with sound as with mellow but cannot really relate "dark" with sound. Dark relates more to sight with the absence of light but anyway now I know the word has the same meaning as warm and mellow. I guess the word "dark" has come up since the antonym is "bright", and bright is the opposite of dark. That makes sense.

Cheers.