Life-like, or warm and cosy?

[matthewpiano]

It strikes me that, with hi-fi, you can either go for a life-like sound that might not always been beautiful to listen to, or a cosy and warm sound that is pleasant above all else.

Should hi-fi try to be as transparent and live-sounding as possible, or do you think a degree of easy-listening warmth is necessary to aid longer listening sessions? Do you want seismic bass, or is accuracy more important to you?

 

[Anonymous]

I prefer it as neutral and detailed as possible but not bright... and with a warm, holographic midrange . Everyone has his preference.

 

[Anonymous]

I like the sound to be neutral with a touch of warmth and plenty of smoothness. A natural sound is essential. I think some might find the sound I like a little bit lacking in punch but holographical imaging is more important than overall 'thwack' to me.

I think that a bit of colour to the sound makes it more enjoyable. Fiercely neutral doesn't do it for me.

 

[ESP2009]

Well, based on my posts, I am obviously in the process of discovering quite what I want!

I must say that having experimented recently with the detailed SHB interconnects and then dropped them (at least for now) for apparently warmer VdH interconnects, I may be leaning more towards the warmer, cosier sound although I still want a clear and airy sound. Maybe it's because I am getting older?

Hmmmm, definitely 'work in progress' from this poster.

 

[matthewpiano]

ESP2009:
Well, based on my posts, I am obviously in the process of discovering quite what I want!

I must say that having experimented recently with the detailed SHB interconnects and then dropped them (at least for now) for apparently warmer VdH interconnects, I may be leaning more towards the warmer, cosier sound although I still want a clear and airy sound. Maybe it's because I am getting older?

Hmmmm, definitely 'work in progress' from this poster.

I'm still work in progress too! In fact I think many of us probably are. I swing from one to the other every now and again.

 

[chebby]

Immediacy, presence and energy.

Don't like artificially added warmth or a system that smooths anything out. (Aural Polyfilla.)

Don't like fat, wumph-y bass that sounds like a there is a good speaker buried somewhere inside a continental quilt.

Smoothness and warmth actually have the opposite effect on me, and doesn't make me feel relaxed, or that I could listen for a longer period. It feels cloying and 'muggy' and too much will give me a headache.

I like a nice clean, clear, open 'window' with no fug.

 

[ESP2009]

matthewpiano: I'm still work in progress too! In fact I think many of us probably are. I swing from one to the other every now and again.

I tried, honestly I did, but I can't resist: "Oooooooh, Matron!"

 

[Frank Harvey]

I like to hear my music as I do my movies - clean, powerful, dynamic, and accurate. Transparent, three dimensional, and effortless are a few other words that spring to mind. I want a kick drum to sound like a kick drum, not someone knocking on the door. Cymbals should sound metallic.

What I don't like is a soft mush, robbing the music of all detail and accuracy.

 

[plastic penguin]

matthewpiano:It strikes me that, with hi-fi, you can either go for a life-like sound that might not always been beautiful to listen to, or a cosy and warm sound that is pleasant above all else. Should hi-fi try to be as transparent and live-sounding as possible, or do you think a degree of easy-listening warmth is necessary to aid longer listening sessions? Do you want seismic bass, or is accuracy more important to you?

My system has the bones of what I love. My next job is to put some flesh on the bones......

 

[Gusboll]

The question is valid in that different people have different tastes and preferences, but surely what is key is the representation of what the artist was trying to achieve; you might enjoy Mozart and Fugazi, but if your system doesn't allow for how you want to hear them or what they were trying to achieve or both, it will be a disappointment. If you happened to have been in the recording studio when the composer was putting it together you would a unique/different view. Can you hear the instruments that the artist wants you to hear? You will never know unless you ask her/him. Cue missiles!

Currently listening to: Joe Walsh

 

[the record spot]

I used to think I wanted to hear the lot - as pure as I could have it from my music and then discovered that the more transparent you go, the worse some recordings can be.

Ended up going with - far more preferably - a sound that I enjoy. The amp's 33 years old this November, but it adds a character the speakers and CDP don't really have. The blend works well.

There are those out there who don't buy the whole "synergy" thing, which is their right and that measureable and accurate performance is all, but if you don't like the end result, what's the benefit in that ultimately? Great if you do, but this whole hobby is built round compromise - I've never understood how two "camps" have pretty much set-up with such entrenched positions on the matter.

 

[JoelSim]

Depends on what you listen to.

My system suits vocals and acoustica, wouldn't sound great with The Who as it doesn't have rock energy. But then again who would want to listen to that type of music anyway. Perfect to listen to for hours on end.

The thought of something shrill makes me cold.

Yes it is warm, but it also has plenty of detail, tight bass. Warm doesn't necessarily mean it's not lifelike.

 

[SteveR750]

For me half the problem is that its all relative. After a while even the stereo in my car sounds great until I get home. Then again no system at any price has fooled me into thinking that an artist is there in the room rightt in front of me, and conversely if reality is as good as ACDC at wembley last June then frankly my ears are partly redundant. It's all shades of grey, you think you have it nailed until along comes the new black. I have learnt expensively that your system is actually as good as the day you're in

 

[Anonymous]

ESP2009:
I may be leaning more towards the warmer, cosier sound although I still want a clear and airy sound.ÿ Maybe it's because I am getting older? Hmmmm, definitely 'work in progress' from this poster.

Great thread, but since we all seem to like wide soundstage with warm, clear and airy sound, then we either accept the Werther's Original hypothesis or come up with something more flattering than flat caps and zimmers. My supposition therefore (which is the product of only one beer and a packet of dry roasted) is that we're all on a journey towards a commonly recognisable hi-fi Goldilocks zone of moderation, and that this is not the product strictly speaking of age, but rather of experience.

Although individuals will exhibit certain differences, en masse I suggest we're all tending towards the norm, or 'average', represented by that Goldilocks zone. If we measure experience by the number of trials (some combination of frequency of listening and changing components), then we should find that the periodic preference deviations (to which we all seem to furtively confess) of those with lots of experience are less pronounced and more subtle than those who have less experience, who will veer around more wildly. What seems like occasional capriciousness is then still part of the same ragged journey towards the norm, and if we could ignore short-term effects and focus on the long-term pattern, then we'd see the deviations tending towards a central line of best fit as we gain experience, all inexorably headed towards that average or moderate sound.

If that sounds too dull for words, bear in mind that studies of human beauty ALWAYS show we think "average" looking people are the most beautiful - nose not too big and not too small, eyes not too close together and not too far apart. Sound familiar? Treble not too bright and not too dull, bass not too pronounced and not too timid.

However, economic factors and the number and type of trials we can undertake complicates the picture somewhat. So when someone finds a sound "lean" and someone else finds it "warm" they're both correct, relative to their own experience which is the only thing they can compare that sound against. You simply can't meaningfully compare views between people, but only for each person relative to two points in time within their personal stream of experience. Those two different people with different views are not therefore on a different journey, as it might appear initially, but rather on different stages of the same personal journey towards the Goldilocks zone.

Therefore, to answer the original question, it's only meaningful within our own experience and we'll all end up somewhere in the middle. QED. Obviously I have no evidence for any of this and indeed I feel a second beer coming on.

 

[Anonymous]

As I've improved my system over the last few years I've come to the conclusion that I prefer clean and detailed but not too brite. I'm not sure what the artist hear or intend us to hear so It's more to each his own. For me the speakers are going to be what drives this. If you can get differences from cables then you're much more attuned to it then I am. I guess it's like fine wine, some like the currant undertones and some don't know what the heck your talking about. I'm somewhere in between.

 

[ESP2009]

I think that Athenry has made a well-reasoned post. Spot on. Now where's my porridge?

 

[Sliced Bread]

Just a touch of warmth, bot not too much!

 

[Anonymous]

I would think a bit of both, plenty of detail but sweet enough so that your ENJOYING the music rather than trying to ANALISE the music. A few years ago a friend of mine who has a recording studio made a cd of me playing some solo stuff, one with a pick and one fingerstyle, any time i,ve listened to hi fi in a good shop i,ve used this cd as a reference because i know exactly how each note should sound and where all the mistakes are, and yes all hi-fi does sound different, and yes cables do make a big difference. I personally think that if you play an instrument then you can understand better what the musician is trying to achieve. Remember when you watch and listen to a musician playing, you hear only the sound, but the musician is thinking about his or her next note, chord, slide,comp, turnaround etc, they are thinking ahead all the time, whereas you are enjoying whats happening at that moment. Listening to music is VERY DIFFERENT to playing music.

 

[Anonymous]

johnnyjazz:I would think a bit of both, plenty of detail but sweet enough so that your ENJOYING the music rather than trying to ANALISE the music. A few years ago a friend of mine who has a recording studio made a cd of me playing some solo stuff, one with a pick and one fingerstyle, any time i,ve listened to hi fi in a good shop i,ve used this cd as a reference because i know exactly how each note should sound and where all the mistakes are, and yes all hi-fi does sound different, and yes cables do make a big difference. I personally think that if you play an instrument then you can understand better what the musician is trying to achieve. Remember when you watch and listen to a musician playing, you hear only the sound, but the musician is thinking about his or her next note, chord, slide,comp, turnaround etc, it,s all maths to them.

Not much music honestly deserves to be ANALISED. Chart manufactured stuff, but not much else.

 

[chebby]

Rob_manchester:Not much music honestly deserves to be ANALISED. Chart manufactured stuff, but not much else.

LOL!

 

[Anonymous]

I think David was spot on

 

[Anonymous]

FrankHarveyHiFi:
I like to hear my music as I do my movies - clean, powerful, dynamic, and accurate. Transparent, three dimensional, and effortless are a few other words that spring to mind. I want a kick drum to sound like a kick drum, not someone knocking on the door. Cymbals should sound metallic.

What I don't like is a soft mush, robbing the music of all detail and accuracy.

Well said & Agreed.

A kick drum should be almost able to pound you in the stomach

 

[Sabby]

I don't know what all the fuss is about. I always thought that the purpose of a good hi-fi system was to reproduce the music as close to the original as possible. So it doesn't matter if it is ear piercingly bright or warm and cuddly, if that's the way the artist intended it to sound like, that's the way it should be heard. No artificial softening or brightening is needed.

 

[Anonymous]

I prefer my music to reproduce the recording as faithfully as possible, thought that was the point of Hi Fi,

If you prefer anything else I suggest you purchase an amp with tone controls......

 

[JoelSim]

I prefer my hifi to make music as enjoyable as possible, those eye-closing moments.