PRaT

[Parrot]

Pace Rhythm and Timing. I often see these audiophile buzzwords bandied about, even in the Klipsch forum.

Pace, rhythm, and timing are conductor/musician dependent. Would anyone find it welcome if his CD or record player decided it didn't care for the original performance, thought it dragged too much and needed some extra pep? Kinda absurd, isn't it? And how would anyone know, just by listening to a recording, whether it exactly re-created the original performance as far as pace, rhythm, and timing?

Some people say that PRaT is just a highfalutin term for whether it sets your toe a-tappin'. That's pretty dubious too and personal taste dependent. Does a component have PRaT for one listener in a room who likes the recording played through it, and not have PRaT for another listener who is totally unmoved by the piece? If PRaT means little more than whether something gets your foot moving, aren't there better ways to convey that meaning than misusing these other words, pace, rhythm, and timing? Sheeesh, it's almost as bad as saying something is "magic."

[maxg]

That is funny Paul as PRAT is one of the few audiophile terms that I do not have a problem with.

I wouldnt go as far as saying that a record player or a CD player are making decisions as to the pace they inject into the music. It just seems that some systems convey what you expect a given piece of music to sound like better than others.

I have heard many systems that do not convey the PRAT as well as others. On the other hand they appear to do other aspects well.

For example. I listened a couple of years ago to a very high end system based around some rather large Sonus Faber speakers (Cremona's I think) and a second system with small Sonus Faber speakers (Auditors - certain of that one).

All the components of each system were the same - only the speakers were different. (I was at the distributor for Greece of Sonus if you are wondering).

Now the large speaker system was magestic, powerful and ponderous.

The small speaker system was neat, tidy and very quick. In comparison to its larger brothers it felt right - like it had all the original Pace rhythm and timing - rightly or wrongly of course.

Play something that was less sensitive to the impact of the piece (like massed choral voices) and the big system was as impressive as I have heard. Switch to something snappier - like Rock or a string quartet and it just seemed to lose the plot. The small ones shone like a new pin on the latter music but seemed inadequate to convery the might of the former.

To me it was an illustration of PRAT - but then again I am talking about speakers and you are talking about sources.

As for sources themselves - I felt my own TT improved considerably in its PRAT when I introduced a power conditioner into the system. My TT uses a fairly cheap motor that takes its speed from the frequency of the mains. Regulating that frequency made a relativly large - and real difference to playback. PRAT in a word - although I still do not feel PRAT is my system's strong suite.

Could be why classical plays so much better on it than anything else...

[Parrot]

Max,

In the first example, are you not talking about attack, transients, and dynamics, rather than pace, rhythm, and timing?

[maxg]

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On 11/25/2004 12:04:07 PM paulparrot wrote:

Max,

In the first example, are you not talking about attack, transients, and dynamics, rather than pace, rhythm, and timing?

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I dont know Paul - am I?

er...no...I am not. All the information was there - just a bit laid back.

Or - yes I am - but the effect was of a system that lacked Pace Rhythm and timing.

You choose.