fuzzydog Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 Is anyone else tired of hearing/reading the adjective "warm" used to describe the sound of a component or speaker? What the heck does "warm" sound like anyway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knorbu Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 Is anyone else tired of hearing/reading the adjective "warm" used to describe the sound of a component or speaker? What the heck does "warm" sound like anyway? Beige? Definitely not yellow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted June 10, 2013 Moderators Share Posted June 10, 2013 What the heck does "warm" sound like anyway? Take your room and throw and hang heavy blankets and comforters everywhere. You know how a completely empty room has a echo and reflects every sound......warm is the opposite. Or it could be a beige room with no AC in the summer ? [:S] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Richard Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 What the heck does "warm" sound like anyway? Lots of even order harmonic distortion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxx Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 I seem to remember that vintage Marantz gear often prompted the use of the word "warm" to describe the sound it reproduced; especially in regard to receivers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boom3 Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 and a hump in response between 100-300 Hz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 Warm is one of those audiophile words. It is one that makes some sense, though. made more sense to me when i listened to an amp that produced a sort of cold, clinical sound. that probably doesn't make much sense, either. some amplifiers have different sound signatures. the comparison reminds me of listening to pianists playing various compositions. two different pianists can play the same piece and one sounds more expressive than the other. some pianists have got the mechanics and timing right, playing the music and hitting the particular keys at the right time and duration, whatever. one pianist playing can sort of cold and mechanical. the other plays the same music with heart. hard to describe, but when you hear it, you know it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiet_Hollow Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 clinical sound.Who comes up with these words? Seriously. Where did that one get started? Who approved it? [*-)] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxx Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 clinical sound.Who comes up with these words? Seriously. Where did that one get started? Who approved it? Ask the NSA.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paperboy117 Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 to me the word (warm ) means a soft and pleasing sound, easy to listen to .... not hard or harsh, hard to lisiten to ... or at lease thats what i thought it meant ..lol this makes any sense ? I have vintage sony recevier that i think sounds (warm) , it has a big soundstage and a really nice easy listeing warm sound. I also have a newer Harman kardon , i think it is more colder, but more (correct), is what i call it... i think it has a more clear and detailed sound than the sony, but with a smaller soundstage and not as warm as the sony. the HK is hooked to my cornscalas on one end of my living room, the sony is hooked to cornwalls on the other end of the living room, some days i listen to one or the other, never really know which reciever i like best....lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxx Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 Welcome to the "forum" paperboy117... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 clinical sound.Who comes up with these words? Seriously. Where did that one get started? Who approved it? disclaimer: it wasn't my idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tube fanatic Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 The inimitable J. Gordon Holt had a different definition: http://www.stereophile.com/content/sounds-audio-glossary-glossary-v-z Cheers! Maynard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paperboy117 Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 thanks Boxx, and yes the vintage Marantz gear was known for being warn, always wanted one of their receviers but it never happened... I have heard them and they do sound warm ...lol.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mongo171 Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 Isn't it a big Class A amp that can warm your toes on a cold winter's night? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paperboy117 Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 yes, they are warm..... smells good too after a good listening .... lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyrc Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 What the heck does "warm" sound like anyway? Lots of even order harmonic distortion. That’s my best guess. "Warm" may be close in meaning to "rich." If we are going to have harmonics generated or emphasized in recording/playback equipment that were less loud in the live performance, let’s have them be even order ones. As to a bump in the response between 100 and 300 Hz, according to a dealer I knew in the early 1960s, a JBL rep actually stated that some JBL speakers were “warm” because they had lots of response in the upper bass, as opposed to the midrange. Then, again, he was a rep. To me, analog recordings, either reel-to-reel magnetic tape, or good vinyl with my old Ortophon cartridge sounded “warm,” while most digital recordings sound “cold.” Tubes are warm, transistors are cold, and cumquats are funny. When I was comparing speakers in about 1964, I distinctly remember thinking that both the Klipschorn and the EV Patrician sounded “golden” as compared to the JBL Paragon’s “silver.” I then doubted my sanity. But Rimsky-Korsakov thought B flat was "golden." About the same time, I repeatedly heard recording engineers say the RCA 77 ribbon mic was “warm,” the Telefunken (Neuman) U 47 was neutral, and most dynamic mics relatively cold. What we need here is an adaptation of Osgood’s Semantic Differential. The original one actually had “warm” v.s. “cold” on it, along with “sweet” v.s. “sour” (the best Marantz tube power amps of the ‘50s & early ‘60s were “sweet,” compared to the McIntoshes, which weren’t sour, but definitely not on the “sweet” side of the continuum – or, at least, so I heard). If a new Semantic Differential could be devised that used all of the common ultra-audiophile terms and their opposites, including the weird ones like “stringy,” we could sell it to the audio magazine editors, but it would have to be at a monstrously inflated price. Imagine the equipment reviewers dutifully checking boxes along the continua between pairs of opposites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiet_Hollow Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 Ask the NSA.... Heh,I guess they would know. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZAKO Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 SSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHH !!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo33 Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 It's like you're walking home from a cold winter night and settle down in front of the wood-burning fireplace. What the heck does "warm" sound like anyway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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