Audiophile Word Salad

[watchnerd]

There used to be a fairly standard set of words used to describing sound (dark, bright, warm, airy), but more and more writers seem to be inventing new terms and I have no idea what they mean.

This thread is for the purpose of documenting such terms, and group interpretation of possible meanings.

Feel free to document your own discoveries, or interpret the ones listed here.

To start:

1. Sonic Humidity

"On sonic humidity and degrees of additional warmth, the Special Forty edge out the LS50."

http://www.digitalaudioreview.net/2017/08/beautiful-furniture-that-sings-dynaudios-special-forty/

2. Accuracy

"Fanatics of "accuracy to the source" fail to realize that an audio system's truthfulness is not something that exists on a scale of less to more—it is always more an opinion than a fact. Accuracy is whatever you think accuracy is. And what is more subjective than that?"

https://www.stereophile.com/content/dynaudio-contour-20-loudspeaker#YxOIqMXqR7tpYLhk.99

3. Microdynamic Avidity

"Compared to the AURALiC Aries Mini’s USB output, the Raspi’s tonal colour is a little greyer and its microdynamic avidity weaker."

http://www.digitalaudioreview.net/2017/11/allos-59-boss-dac-is-a-super-tasty-delicious-pi-maker/

4. Champagne colored vs seltzer colored

"The best words I can think of to describe the SL-1200's midrange are bubbly and Champagne-colored! In contrast, the Pioneer's midrange was distinctly seltzer colored, but more transparent and detailed."

https://www.stereophile.com/content/gramophone-dreams-4-page-2#uwqP7BvMFcFkRsoP.99

5. Fruitier

"Within the limits of my hearing acuity and attention focus, I heard no changes in soundstaging, no shifts in the usual sonic parameters. Still, things felt different. The Chinese card reader—I don't use its network facilities—seemed fruitier."

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews2/sotm5/4.html

 

[svart-hvitt]

Sounds like wine.

 

[watchnerd]

Sounds like wine.

I think even the wine vocabulary is more tightly regulated, based on what I've seen from sommelier exams.

 

[svart-hvitt]

I think even the wine vocabulary is more tightly regulated, based on what I've seen from sommelier exams.

Agree (wine education is science-driven now), but most sommeliers and journalists are uneducated.

The flowery language reflects lack of method.

 

[amirm]

1. Sonic Humidity

"On sonic humidity and degrees of additional warmth, the Special Forty edge out the LS50."

Humidity? That is a new one for me. Having lived in Florida, nothing positive comes to mind when I hear "humidity." The dude that wrote that must live somewhere dry to think Humidity is a positive attribute!

 

[bennetng]

Humidity? That is a new one for me. Having lived in Florida, nothing positive comes to mind when I hear "humidity." The dude that wrote that must live somewhere dry to think Humidity is a positive attribute!

https://vinylengine.com/turntable_forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=22360&start=240
http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/wet-playing-vinyl-re-thinking-how-we-look-at-it.633303/
Can you try to verify it with your AP? Just curious.

 

[amirm]

I don't think this experiment works: "All theory aside, I still think the empirical way will settle the matter once and for all. Which involves two identical records, both measured playing dry for calibration purposes the first time, then measure them while one is played wet and the other dry."

We once tried to figure out the effect of demagnetizing LPs. A friend in the industry bought fresh LP, played it and captured its output digitally. He then demagnetized it and again captured it digitally. To my surprise the demagnetized one sounded better and it had objectively produced different output. Well, turned out this had nothing to do with demagnetizing. It was simply the fact that if you played the same LP the second time, it would make this difference whether you demagnetized it or not!

The point being that the format is not repeatable enough to make any observation about it in this manner.

 

[Blumlein 88]

The pellucid degeneration of the treble was matched by a moist midrange quality which while offering a comforting quenching of musical thirst lacked full crystalline clarity.

Sounds like something a USB cable might do.

 

[watchnerd]

The pellucid degeneration of the treble was matched by a moist midrange quality which while offering a comforting quenching of musical thirst lacked full crystalline clarity.

Sounds like something a USB cable might do.

Is that a quote or did you make that up yourself?

Not sure which is worse...

 

[Speedskater]

Back in 1990 J. Gordon Holt wrote a 152 page book "The Audio Glossary".
Somewhere on the Stereophile web-site is a similar but I don't think that it's the same dictionary.
(I lost the link)

 

[Blumlein 88]

Is that a quote or did you make that up yourself?

Not sure which is worse...

Made it up myself. I felt humid sound was not sufficiently nuanced. So some additional wetness comments with more imagery in the language. Where do they get these hack writers anyway?

 

[Blumlein 88]

Back in 1990 J. Gordon Holt wrote a 152 page book "The Audio Glossary".
Somewhere on the Stereophile web-site is a similar but I don't think that it's the same dictionary.
(I lost the link)

https://www.stereophile.com/reference/50/index.html

 

[Eric Auer]

From "The Audio Glossary":

"aw" (rhymes with "paw") A vowel coloration caused by a frequency-response peak centered around 450Hz. An "aw" coloration tends to emphasize and glamorize the sound of large brass instruments (trombone, tuba).

good lord....

Eric

 

[Wombat]

https://www.stereophile.com/reference/50/index.html

Easier to read: http://www.integracoustics.com/MUG/MUG/bbs/stereophile_audio-glossary.html

 

[watchnerd]

Made it up myself. I felt humid sound was not sufficiently nuanced. So some additional wetness comments with more imagery in the language. Where do they get these hack writers anyway?

Especially amongst the new crop of 'indie' writers, some of them seem to be drawn from a strange pool of men (yes, men) who are willing to forego more normal, better-paying careers (and then buying gear with the earnings) and instead embark upon a journey that involves pittance wages, but selling one's integrity and soul in exchange for best in class equipment.

It's a bizarre path, if you ask me.

Others, like @Kal Rubinson , are legitimate music / audio professionals who dabble in reviewing on the side / in retirement. I tend to find those reviewers much more grounded and less BS-prone than the first category.

 

[Blumlein 88]

Especially amongst the new crop of 'indie' writers, some of them seem to be drawn from a strange pool of men (yes, men) who are willing to forego more normal, better-paying careers (and then buying gear with the earnings) and instead embark upon a journey that involves pittance wages, but selling ones integrity and soul in exchange for best in class equipment.

It's a bizarre path, if you ask me.

Others, like @Kal Rubinson , are legitimate music / audio professionals who dabble in reviewing on the side / in retirement. I tend to find those reviewers much more grounded and less BS-prone than the first category.

Kal is a reviewer I respect. I no longer subscribe to any mags though I did for many years both TAS and Stereophile. A shame if it has gotten that bad on writers. I remember when TAS had a majority of reviewers with PhD's. Not that it made them perfect, but they weren't in need of trying to score reference loaner gear. Of course SOTA reference gear then was something an average PhD likely could afford. Now I think you need to be a venture capitalist or banker or something.

 

[Wombat]

Being able to make 'much ado over nothing' seems to be a characteristic of high-end audio reviewers.

 

[watchnerd]

Being able to make 'much ado over nothing' seems to be a characteristic of high-end audio reviewers.

Indeed, see the above example for 'fruitier', with the quote basically saying, 'I really couldn't hear a difference, but one seemed fruitier'.

Whatever that means...

 

[Soniclife]

Indeed, see the above example for 'fruitier', with the quote basically saying, 'I really couldn't hear a difference, but one seemed fruitier'.

Whatever that means...

Urban dictionary has a definition.

 

[DonH56]

I suspect there is a lot more to (and behind) Kal than many if not most audio reviewers: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kalman-rubinson-89b50111/