Is it possible for a speaker to be accurate and warm at the same time

[taters]

I've been thinking about this and can't come to an answer. Any thoughts?

 

[Andre Marc]

I've been thinking about this and can't come to an answer. Any thoughts?

Don't hurt your self.

 

[Bill Hart]

Taters: didn't you post this on the 'Gon too? Isn't a Sonus Faber in that vein?

 

[FrantzM]

Don't hurt your self.

lol

 

[Champ04]

You would first have to answer the age old argument....... What is accurate?

 

[DaveyF]

You would first have to answer the age old argument....... What is accurate?

+1.

 

[jadis]

I've been thinking about this and can't come to an answer. Any thoughts?

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.

 

[taters]

You would first have to answer the age old argument....... What is accurate?

I guess you make a good point.

 

[NorthStar]

-- In reply to the main title's question: I don't see why not.

 

[JackD201]

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.

 

[andromedaaudio]

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

Don't hurt your self.

 

[garylkoh]

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.

+1

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.

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

I've been thinking about this and can't come to an answer. Any thoughts?

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

 

[A.wayne]

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 ..

 

[rblnr]

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.

Agreed. And I think a good chunk of warmth is the ability to render decay well.

 

[NorthStar]

-- And "warm" is more pleasant than "sterile" (clinical).

 

[Kal Rubinson]

-- And "warm" is more pleasant than "sterile" (clinical).

Probably but isn't the antithesis of "warm," "cool." I can deal with cool.
To me "sterile" contrasts with "fertile" or "pathogenic."

 

[NorthStar]

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.

 

[jadis]

Agreed. And I think a good chunk of warmth is the ability to render decay well.

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'.

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

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