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I've generally avoided using "audiophile words" as adjectives to describe sound quality, preferring to talk about things in a more concrete, technical manner. But I do know that many people try to describe qualities using adjectives they know, sort of going by the "feel" of the word. So I thought I'd start a little list of audiophile words. Chime in with your favorites. Here are a few to get us started: Fast bass - usually low Qts woofers, tend to have little extension and gradual rolloff Warm - tends to be heavier in the midbass and lower midrange than the upper midtrange and treble Full, Fat or Round - deep bass extension Flabby or Boomy - low Qts, often underdamped, peaks in the bass Shouty - strong in the upper midrange overtone region Shrill - strong in the treble, weak in the lower midrange and bass Strident - Like shouty or shrill, but maybe not as strong Crisp - strong in the top octave Air or Sparkle - the top octave Tilted up response - slightly stronger in the treble than the bass, usually with a uniform, gradual rise Tilted down response - slightly stronger in the bass than the treble, usually with a uniform, gradual fall Beamy - narrow directivity, often collapsing with frequency. Sometimes used the same as "shouty"
Hi Wayne, How about descriptions for Forward, Fuzzy and Detailed to add to the list.
Good ones, please do tell. When I've heard people use the word "forward", they've always meant more midrange and treble than bass. Same thing with "detailed". Can't say I've ever heard anyone say something sounded "fuzzy", but I would guess they meant noisy, like a preamp with poor a high noise floor. I dunno. What's your take on "fuzzy"? What did they mean? That brings up an opposite - the word "black" is often used by tube amp guys to describe a very high signal-to-noise ratio, a very low noise floor, where nothing can be heard between passages. Forward or Detailed - over-represented midrange and treble, generally lacking bass Fuzzy - poor signal-to-noise ratio(?) Black - good signal-to-noise ratio, as in no sound in-between musical passages
Audiospeak. Gotta love it because everyone has a different idea of what a description actually means. Nice go at the definitions Wayne!
Hi, Yes indeed. I try to avoid it when ever possible. But everyone wants to know how something sounds. Fuzzy would be indistinct. Especially on voices. Black is a good description of a quiet amplifier. I figure based on my own data and system that it occurs in the -80-85 db range. That is part of the reason I won't post any projects until they get to that level. As opposed to "black", "dark" is usually referring to a lack of detail and usually a poor response in the mids and upper ranges. Now for some fun.... I use the description of "like a 6 transistor radio" to describe really bad sound. Everyone seems to be able to figure that one out.
I knew a woman once whose voice was "shrill". A bit on a the nasal side as well. Those are some good lists. I will try to add my own sometime soon