Sweet treble? Whats that?

[wilro15]

I've got my head around most of the words used to describe hi-fi such as warm, bright, PRaT, etc.

What I have never understood is "sweet treble" - does that mean it is bright? Detailed? Fatiguing?

Whats your understanding of the phrase "sweet treble"?

 

[matthewpiano]

What it means to me is that the treble sound isn't thin, harsh and/or metallic but neither is it shut-in or too rolled-off as the frequency rises. Essentially it is important for higher string sounds in orchestral music, where you want to get a strong impression of the real timbre of the violin - enough detail to really enjoy the full extent of the playing but no strangulation of the tonal body of the instrument. Of course, it is also important for other high register instruments and voices as well, but upper strings are a real tell-tale of how good the treble performance of a system is.

 

[drummerman]

I think the term 'sweet' itself will preclude adjectives such as 'fatiguing'.

To me 'sweet' means in proportion with the rest of the frequency range, pleasant to listen to. For for some it (may) lack the last word of 'excitement' and 'air'. -

Ways to achieve this are manyfold as are reasons why this may not be the case.

 

[CnoEvil]

What it means to me is that the treble sound isn't thin, harsh and/or metallic but neither is it shut-in or too rolled-off as the frequency rises. Essentially it is important for higher string sounds in orchestral music, where you want to get a strong impression of the real timbre of the violin - enough detail to really enjoy the full extent of the playing but no strangulation of the tonal body of the instrument. Of course, it is also important for other high register instruments and voices as well, but upper strings are a real tell-tale of how good the treble performance of a system is.

This would also be my reading of "sweet"...ie. The opposite of harsh, which can be caused by distortion, sibilance etc, creating a hard edge to the treble, which is particularly audible on Cymbals/Violins/Snare Drums/Sopranos and even piano (notoriously difficult to get right).

If you are too aware of the treble, then it isn't "right".

 

[Jota180]

There is no industry wide reference for subjective terms. We can all have our own idea but since everyone is different one persons subjective description may be irrelevant to someone else.

Someone may describe a cup of coffee with one spoon of sugar in it as sweet. I wouldn't. Even if it had two I still wouldn't since I need three in mine for it to taste sweet. But 20 odd years ago I'd have said 4 sugars in a coffee wasn't sweet since I used to take 6.

 

[rainsoothe]

I think the term 'sweet' itself will preclude adjectives such as 'fatiguing'.

To me 'sweet' means in proportion with the rest of the frequency range, pleasant to listen to. For for some it (may) lack the last word of 'excitement' and 'air'. -

Ways to achieve this are manyfold as are reasons why this may not be the case.

same for me

 

[wilro15]

Thanks for the interpretations guys.

 

[SteveR750]

Lack of intermodulation distortion. So a cymbal sounds like a piece of tempered and crafted metal being hit wqith a varying amount of force and part of stick, rather than a grainy indistinct fuzz.