Is it possible for a speaker to be accurate and warm at the same time
- Thread starter taters
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perhaps the heading should not be limited to speakers but to other parts of the audio chain as well. if the recording is 'warm' and it comes out warm, then the gear should be called 'accurate'. but maybe by accurate you mean other 'unpleasing' sound characteristics, like bright. and for me, 'bright' and 'warm' usually do not co-exist in a system.
I'm with Phil. An accurate speaker should be able to do warm whether it is from the recording or from a colored upstream component.
If warm means " bass warm" , a little elevated towards the low freqs gives warmth , downslope to the low end gives a lean speaker .
This is just one expect of accuracy , ever seen average recording mikes FR ( microphone graphs )???, they have substantial FR roll offs compared to high quality flat FR speakers .
So is a flat FR speaker accurate ?
If you know its been recorded and mixed within lets say 5 db s of the original event than yes but who knows that , the speaker can be accurate on 1 recording , wrong on the other
Just my opinion on the matter , this is just one of the accurates /charateristics of a speaker
This is just one expect of accuracy , ever seen average recording mikes FR ( microphone graphs )???, they have substantial FR roll offs compared to high quality flat FR speakers .
So is a flat FR speaker accurate ?
If you know its been recorded and mixed within lets say 5 db s of the original event than yes but who knows that , the speaker can be accurate on 1 recording , wrong on the other
Just my opinion on the matter , this is just one of the accurates /charateristics of a speaker
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For an accurate speaker to be warm, it has to come from the recording or from an upstream component. To me, warmth is a coloration, and it won't be in an accurate loudspeaker. I've heard someone describe my speakers to be "warm due to lack of distortion in the high frequency" but I don't agree with that definition. Other times I've heard of my speakers being warm, that was due to the owner/dealer/reviewer turning the bass gain up to give <100Hz a 3dB to 6dB boost.
If the recording is warm and the rest of the signal chain is accurate (and really, most of it should be more accurate than the most accurate speakers), of course.
Tim
Agree warmth should come from the signal not the transducer. If one listens to mostly symphony music, especially classical piano recordings , they will always benefit from gain in the 120-220 area , brings out a lot of body on percussive instruments, thick and heavy on voices ..
Probably but isn't the antithesis of "warm," "cool." I can deal with cool.
To me "sterile" contrasts with "fertile" or "pathogenic."
---- Kal, you do nave a background in neurology I believe?
For me, "warm" enraptures you from both the outside and the inside (body).
And "cool" seems to be restricted to outside ravishment. It doesn't fully revolve on the inside.
But that is my own interpreted vision.
..."Fertile, pathogenic"; are those, terms often used to describe a state in audio?
* You are right on Kal; "cool" is indeed the antithesis of "warm". ...I simply didn't want to say it and used the word "sterile" instead. :b
And yes, "warm" is fertility; it 'grows' inside and outside of you.
...Very cool exchange.
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Yes, 'decay' is a good description. Others refer to it as 'air'. So if we group audio into just 2 camps, 'warm' and its antithesis, then in the camp of warm will be 'air', bloom', and longer 'decay'. The other camp (name not exactly established), can be 'cold', 'lifeless' and 'dry'.
Devolved into a bad creative writing class. Better, I think, to ask if it is possible for a speaker to be accurate and have a lower midrange emphasis at the same time. And I've changed my mind; it is not. It is possible, however, for a speaker to reproduce a lower midrange emphasis and be accurate at the same time,
Regarding the notion that the warm speaker/system might be a more accurate representative of the Performance, instrument, event, etc. than the more accurate reproduction of the recording, yes, this is possible, but pure chance. It is much more likely that you will convince yourself that your colored system is more life-like than one of higher fidelity, because believing it gives you a warm feeling to do so.
Tim
Regarding the notion that the warm speaker/system might be a more accurate representative of the Performance, instrument, event, etc. than the more accurate reproduction of the recording, yes, this is possible, but pure chance. It is much more likely that you will convince yourself that your colored system is more life-like than one of higher fidelity, because believing it gives you a warm feeling to do so.
Tim
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