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Audiophile words [message #68983]

Thu, 11 August 2011 22:23

Wayne Parham
Messages: 18793
Registered: January 2001

Illuminati (33rd Degree)

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. Smile

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"

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Re: Audiophile words [message #68997 is a reply to message #68983]

Sat, 13 August 2011 13:17

gofar99
Messages: 1955
Registered: May 2010
Location: Southern Arizona

Illuminati (5th Degree)

Hi Wayne, How about descriptions for Forward, Fuzzy and Detailed to add to the list.

Good Listening
Bruce

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Re: Audiophile words [message #69007 is a reply to message #68997]

Sat, 13 August 2011 20:57

Wayne Parham
Messages: 18793
Registered: January 2001

Illuminati (33rd Degree)

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

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Re: Audiophile words [message #69011 is a reply to message #69007]

Sun, 14 August 2011 00:00

Shane
Messages: 1117
Registered: May 2009

Illuminati (3rd Degree)

Audiospeak. Gotta love it because everyone has a different idea of what a description actually means. Nice go at the definitions Wayne!

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Re: Audiophile words [message #69013 is a reply to message #69011]

Sun, 14 August 2011 14:25

gofar99
Messages: 1955
Registered: May 2010
Location: Southern Arizona

Illuminati (5th Degree)

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. Very Happy