WHF for dummies

eengineer

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Mar 1, 2013
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Where engineering equipement is merely applying sience, following rules of good practice. Reviewing equipement is subjective. But there has to be a consensus, an agreement between tastes.

Having read some WHF reviews i noticed a lot of recurring key words. I think it would be helpfull (to me as wel to others) to put them in perspective or on a scale.

The objective hifi spectrum:

harsh - sharp - bright - good clarity - transparent - neutral / flat - lean - warm - disorganized - muddy

Is this correct? Can you add some keywords?

There are also keywords of which I don't know how to put them the above scale:

attacking, musical, detailled, good timing, entertaining, refinement, precision, definition, smooth, bite, rythmic, control

Therefore i think these are far more subjective. Is it possible to put these in relation to one another?
 

tomlinscote

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Feb 12, 2013
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Really glad you have broached this subject, whilst I know that different companies will use different components, makes and tolerances of resistors capacitors etc which will influence the sound ( a bit??) surely the intention of a piece of hifi kit is to reproduce the original artists' analogue output so taking timing and amplifiers for example: if the original recording had the snare and the guitar and a trumpet all hitting a note at the same time and this is not what happens when the signal leaves the amp surely that amp is rubbish. I can appreciate that different frequencies can travel through circuits at different speeds but that is the designers problem(!)

So any insights or even simple definitions from those in the know would be great :)
 
I'm not sure the words exactly form a spectrum. Some are descriptive, e.g. transparent, some are perjorative, e.g. disorganised, and others are positive, e.g. musical.

If it were that easy, you could simply have a scale of 1 to 10 or similar. Best not go there...!

Maybe this glossary will help:-

http://www.head-fi.org/t/220770/describing-sound-a-glossary

I'd not seen it before but a bit of googlage soon turned it up.
 

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