Audiocabulary
pploeser
Posts: 88
Not sure if this falls in the "advanced technical" category, but I'm bored at work so I thought I'd pick your brains about audiophile vocab. With all the adjectives used to describe the characteristics of a particular speaker or component, which ones do you find to be the most unusual or odd? Any favorites?
A few that come to mind - deep, bright, clean, clear, dark, warm, thin, solid, open, hollow, tinny, neutral, natural, liquid, transparent, heavy, airy, tame, tight, boomy, muddy, laid back, mellow, up front, life-like, smooth, harsh, tube-like, quick, present, wide, breathtaking, fast...
I have to say that "liquid" is an odd one to me. Although a quick search shows that one of the definitions is "clear" or "transparent", so I guess it really makes some sense.
A few that come to mind - deep, bright, clean, clear, dark, warm, thin, solid, open, hollow, tinny, neutral, natural, liquid, transparent, heavy, airy, tame, tight, boomy, muddy, laid back, mellow, up front, life-like, smooth, harsh, tube-like, quick, present, wide, breathtaking, fast...
I have to say that "liquid" is an odd one to me. Although a quick search shows that one of the definitions is "clear" or "transparent", so I guess it really makes some sense.
Post edited by pploeser on
Comments
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organic
I always get a kick out of "musical". I hope that to some degree all gear is "musical". What does it mean if something is not musical? It's.....? Can we be more vague?SDA-1C (full mods)
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organic
I always get a kick out of "musical". I hope that to some degree all gear is "musical". What does it mean if something is not musical? It's.....? Can we be more vague?
Sterile, lifeless, clinical!:D -
The terms are pretty ridiculous because they mean something different to every person. You can't get more subjective. Besides possibly bright and boomy, you'd find it very difficult to have multiple people settle on the same descriptive words, individually about a speaker's performance.
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A list of terms and a 'tool' I use for reviewing gear, mostly speakers.
Top Secret Ear Tool (form)
DYNAMICS -- The dynamic range, impact and weight of the musical event
DYNAMIC RANGE -- the required range of audible frequencies with the same loudness or output: Perhaps a symphonic selection with wide dynamic and frequency range
WEIGHT -- The authority and feel of a solid and correct bass foundation to the music: Perhaps an Upright Bass, Kettle Drums, or Organ selection
IMPACT -- The strong concussive forces of live music, mainly in the bass region: Definitely a Percussion Selection, more drums the better
PRESENCE -- The quality of the realism and vitality of the music
ATTACK -- The initiation and buildup of sound when an instrument is bowed, struck or plucked: Violin, Piano, Plucked Guitar, Xylophone, Solo Clarinet
PACE -- The apparent tempo of the music, tempo is the rate of speed of a musical passage: Select “Tight” bands and Music with varying Tempo, Jazz, Classic Rock
RHYTHM -- The synchronization of the ensemble playing the music
Go Latin, Cuban or Brazilian, Demo Disc Time
COHERENCE -- The imaging, layering, height and ambiance of the musical event
HEIGHT -- A stable and properly sized location of the instruments up and down the sound stage: Classical or Choral, Don’t forget Gospel
IMAGING -- A stable and properly sized location of instruments across the width of the sound stage: Ideally a selection that was recorded with a single microphone
LAYERING -- A stable and properly sized location of the instruments through the sound stage's depth: A good recording with a vocalist centered in front of a symphonic orchestra
AMBIANCE -- The spatial and reverberent cues of the “hall” where the musical event was recorded: Symphonic, String Quartet, Jazz “Live”
RESOLUTION -- The low level detail resolution of instrumental sounds and reverberation decay.
AIR -- The treble sounds delicate, open and unrestricted without any grain or edge: Strings, Triangle, Bells, Flute
FOCUS -- The musical instruments are clearly defined and you can hear the silence between the musical impulses: Accappella, Scat, String Quartets, Jazz
ARTICULATION -- How well an audio component resolves the inner harmonic structure of an instrument:Solo Violin, Piano, Female Voice, Eva Cassidy
VOICING -- The accuracy of the sound and range of the instruments in your perception
TIMBRE -- The full complex harmonic structure of an instrument's voice:
Violin, Woodwind, Piano, Acoustic Guitar, Brass
TONAL BALANCE -- proper loudness of the instruments upper and lower frequencies: Solo Piano, Organ
ACCURACY -- The reproduction of the music without adding any coloration or distortion: Acoustic Instruments
Cheers,
RussCheck your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service. -
we'll stay serious...
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TIMBRE -- The full complex harmonic structure of an instrument's voice:
Violin, Woodwind, Piano, Acoustic Guitar, Brass
I prefer to use the term "tone" in place of timbre and to include human voice as well as intruments.
Tone is what I'm all about.
madmaxVinyl, the final frontier...
Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want...
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Great stuff Russ!
Cpyder, I totally disagree as I've had several people in my audio room on several occasions that all had the same descriptions in one way or another as to what they were hearing. Yes it is very subjective but these are means for people to communicate what they are indeed hearing. -
I have to say that "liquid" is an odd one to me.
Liquid as in the music reproduction simply flows. The opposite of a forced, un-natural or hard sound.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
I like (and use) the term "congested" - meaning the different instruments being reproduced are not sonically distinct and clear. A congested sound prevents the listener from clearly hearing each instrument's contribution to the sonic whole and instead you hear a wall of noise.
H9: If you don't trust what you are hearing, then maybe you need to be less invested in a hobby which all the pleasure comes from listening to music. -
Sucks-something bad
Awesome-something good....
How's THAT? -
Good input. It can be more difficult than one would think to describe with words what your ears are experiencing.
There seems to be some general consensus on the majority of the terms (BTW thanks for the extensive list Russman). But if my ears are more sensitive to a certain range of frequencies than mopar paul here, what sounds bright to me, could sound neutral to him. I think that makes it tough to compare apples to apples.
I'd say terms describing extremes like "crappy" and "awesome" might be a little more easily agreed upon! You would have your hifi, and your not hifi. Simple as that! -
You would have your hifi, and your not hifi. Simple as that!
Ed Zachry. Audio is a fanastic hobby for the chronic over-thinkers.
At the end of the day it's:
1. Listening to music.
2. On the hifi.
That's it.Check your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service. -
hearingimpared wrote: »Great stuff Russ!
Cpyder, I totally disagree as I've had several people in my audio room on several occasions that all had the same descriptions in one way or another as to what they were hearing. Yes it is very subjective but these are means for people to communicate what they are indeed hearing.
Do you think that if you let them listen individually and then write down their descriptive words on paper they'd still match? (Assuming your setup is "normal" and doesn't have hideously loud highs for example) Do you suppose they influenced what each other thought they were hearing? -
Joe, some get 'it', some don't. Audio life rolls on.
Q: 'What kind of cables should I use?'
A: 'Good ones.'
(from the 2nd Texas Gathering, courtesy Stu Lumsden, V.P. of Engineering @ Polk Audio, and general Audio Wizard)
Cheers,
RussCheck your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service. -
Joe, some get 'it', some don't.
"Hi there. Are you feeling tired, drained of all energy? Is your life becoming routine? Does your husband find you unattractive? Is your love life non-existent? Then you need it because it, like you, is a product of our time. It will change your life. You'll be vibrant, elegant, sexy...
You want it.
Don't you?
It."Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
LMAO! Where does one buy this 'it' ?;)
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Joe, some get 'it', some don't. Audio life rolls on.
Q: 'What kind of cables should I use?'
A: 'Good ones.'
(from the 2nd Texas Gathering, courtesy Stu Lumsden, V.P. of Engineering @ Polk Audio, and general Audio Wizard)
Cheers,
Russ
In Baltimorese!:D -
hearingimpared wrote: »LMAO! Where does one buy this 'it' ?;)
have you checked eBay? -
I like the best stuff.I don't read the newsssspaperssss because dey aaaallllllllll...... have ugly print.
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NO Polk Audio Equipment :eek:
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Rane PEQ-15 Parametric Equalizers x 2
Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature Seven
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Klipsch RT-12d Subwoofer -
What is going on!?
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hearingimpared wrote: »LMAO! Where does one buy this 'it' ?;)
I think we are born with or without IT Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them. -
"Hi there. Are you feeling tired, drained of all energy? Is your life becoming routine? Does your husband find you unattractive? Is your love life non-existent? Then you need it because it, like you, is a product of our time. It will change your life. You'll be vibrant, elegant, sexy...
You want it.
Don't you?
It."
:rolleyes: made me LOL!Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them. -
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How about "Polk sound"?
I know some people say that it's supposed to be flat response from highs to low, but isn't that the goal of most (not all) speaker brands? -
There's more to sound reproduction than frequency response~
We haven't even BEGUN to test all the aspects humans can hear that we've not figured out how to measure yet...TNRabbit
NO Polk Audio Equipment :eek:
Sunfire TG-IV
Ashly 1001 Active Crossover
Rane PEQ-15 Parametric Equalizers x 2
Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature Seven
Carver AL-III Speakers
Klipsch RT-12d Subwoofer -
There's more to sound reproduction than frequency response~
Agreed. That is why we have so many terms to describe speakers. Yet, what aspect does "Polk sound" refer to? I have only vaguely heard it referred to frequency response. However, I think this term has never really been defined, thus it IS vague.
