Treble words

[nickcornwall]

Making any sense of hifi reviews is a challenge at the best of times, but I wonder if there is a bigger range of words used to describe the high frequency output from speakers than anything else? From a few speaker reviews (OK I probably read too many!) I've seen the following:

Forward
Shiny
Smooth
Clear
Transparent
Harsh
Sweet
Crisp
Refined
Sophisticated
Ringing
Brittle
Airy

I know that many reviewers are just trying to find new ways of saying "this is the best speaker ever" without offering much criticism - but can anyone make more sense of these than me?!

 

[Al ears]

Making any sense of hifi reviews is a challenge at the best of times, but I wonder if there is a bigger range of words used to describe the high frequency output from speakers than anything else? From a few speaker reviews (OK I probably read too many!) I've seen the following:

Forward
Shiny
Smooth
Clear
Transparent
Harsh
Sweet
Crisp
Refined
Sophisticated
Ringing
Brittle
Airy

I know that many reviewers are just trying to find new ways of saying "this is the best speaker ever" without offering much criticism - but can anyone make more sense of these than me?!

Ignore all words, just go audition

 

[Gray]

...can anyone make more sense of these than me?!

Not only can reviewers be inconsistent with descriptions, but readers will inevitably vary in their interpretation of the descriptions- i.e. whether they regard the descriptions as positive or negative traits!

I think the ones intended to be negatives should be obvious to all:
Shiny
Harsh
Ringing
Brittle


Smooth
Sweet
Refined
must surely all come under the 'sophisticated' heading.

As for the rest:
Forward
Clear
Transparent
Crisp
Airy
...sound like my type of speaker.
Though 'forward' can be given and taken as a criticism and even 'transparent' I've seen regarded as a some sort of sin (by crazy people 😉)

Just more reasons never to rely solely on reviews and always judge sound qualities for yourself.

 

[nopiano]

Somebody made sense of these in 1993. Lots to read through here, link to page 1...

Sounds Like? An Audio Glossary

Subjective audio is the evaluation of reproduced sound quality by ear. It is based on the novel idea that, since audio equipment is made to be listened to, what it sounds like is more important than how it measures. This was a natural outgrowth of the 1950s high-fidelity "revolution," which...

www.stereophile.com

 

[nopiano]

And you could get one of these from Santa!

Audio Frequency Poster - Etsy UK

This Digital Prints item by AltSounds has 186 favorites from Etsy shoppers. Ships from United States. Listed on 04 Mar, 2024

www.etsy.com

 

[nickcornwall]

Thanks nopiano - interesting article - would be good if all reviewers had read it! Not sure I’ll be asking for the poster - I’m quite nerdy enough already! Looks as though Gray was pretty spot on, though I’ve seen ringing as a positive (really?) and the article gives sweet as a negative.

I take your point Al ears about auditioning stuff, but it’s pretty deficient as a way of judging equipment in my view. The only way to decide if you like something is to live with it for some weeks. It’s why I’ve always bought used - I can sell it on if I don’t like it. Hifi shops might do well do do leasing - where you pay a weekly fee to have the thing at home for a longer period than the normal home demo.

 

[Gray]

Hifi shops might do well do do leasing

I think I'm right in saying that Hegel (or one of their dealers?) wanted £200 for providing that service.
Presumably people pay it 🤔

I imagine they knock that off the bill if you decide to buy....I wouldn't take the chance of not wanting to buy.