Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Bright or Warm?

Bright and Warm, what do those terms mean to you?

I have been asking myself that question ever since I came back into the audio market. I just don't remember those terms being used before, to the extent that I now see. The only thing that I do recall is some folks saying that tube amplifiers have a "warm" sound as compared to solid state amplifiers.

If your receiver or amplifier really has a flat frequency response from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz and total harmonic distortion of less than 1%, how are you going to hear a difference anyhow?

Are we talking about some processing before the amplifier chain where some manufacturers may used different algorithms?

Just something to think about the next time you see the terms "bright" or "warm!"

It is my understanding that people refer to what they are hearing as Bright, Warm, Harsh, etc... Before I became an Axiomite, I used to live on AVSForum. Like you, it had been some time since I was serious about getting back into the AV world. I had an old Pro Logic JVC receiver and a mixture of speakers from Pioneer (still have these babies), Infinity, AR, and Advent. Anyway, for months I was looking for advice on speakers and AVR's.

I almost didn't buy Axiom, since many of the biased people on AVSForum basically said they are to bright sounding. Some people like a more rough, oh boy I just started a new word , or one that is not as detailed or accurate. They are probably not used to speakers that are as efficiant as Axioms I'm guessing.

When I started looking at Denon, people said "Oh man, whatever you do, don't combine Denon with Axiom, you will get a very mechanical, bright, harsh sound" This crap just kills me.

Anyway, after talking to many of the members on this forum and Alan,Joe, Brent from Axiom, I could not be anymore happier with my selection.

Randy

60's, 150, 350, 4-Qs8's
Denon 2805
Panasonic s97s HDMI DVD
Sanyo Z2 WXGA Projector
Samsung OTA HD Tuner

So, exactly what do the terms "bright," "warm," and "rough" mean to you?

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So, exactly what do the terms "bright," "warm," and "rough" mean to you?

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Bright = Highs are over pronounced and the speaker is too forward overall. Some call this accurate. I still say it's bright. To this day I won't budge on my comment that Axiom M80's are what I view as a bright speaker. This isn't a bad thing, it all depends on your taste.

Warm = Highs are rolled off and the edge is removed. Equal balance of sound. I usually equate "Warm" to high current equipment.

Rough = I don't think any speaker is rough or for that matter any component. I have heard a few recordings that I would call rough.

None of these are great explanations as I think everyone hears there own thing and listens for what they like to a certain extent.

Hi Ratpack,

Those two terms have been in common usage among some of us that participated for 20 years or more in the double-blind listening tests of loudspeakers conducted at the National Research Council in Ottawa.

If you were on the listening panel, there was a vertical rating scale for "Brightness- Dullness", with "very dull" at the bottoom and "very bright" at the top, as well as a kind of ideal mid-position. Dull signified a depressed midrange and rolled off highs, so it was "muffled" and "lacked detail".

"Very bright" verged on harshness; too much midrange and high-frequency emphasis. But you could use "bright" as a compliment as well, meaning "bright, quite detailed" or you might qualify that a bit, if you heard treble resonances that were annoying.

"Warm" was typically used to describe a speaker whose frrequency response had an audible boost in the upper bass octaves from about 80 Hz to 500 Hz. It might be about 3 dB or so, but it lent a kind or "rich" (another synonym) fuzzy resonance to male voices, double bass, cello, etc.

"Warm" was also used to describe a kind of rich, harmonic wash that characterized speakers with lots of even-order harmonic distortion in the bass octaves, and that was also applied to some tube gear, which typically adds that kind of "musical" distortion to signals. Audiophiles mistake that quality for some ethereal or mysterious trait that belongs to their particular tube device. In fact, it's just a different kind of musical distortion, but distortion nonetheless.

The opposite of "Warm" might be termed "Lean", lacking bass content or "Thin"--too little bass relative to midrange and treble.

Regards,

these two terms annoy the @#$@#$ out of me.

What drives me more crazy, is the misuse of them, or peoples different idea's as to what each one really is.

Terms like my amps sound really nice and warm, and so detailed and clear.

like what the #$#$? If an amp has it's high end rolled off, how is it clear, or detailed?

When I hear the term warm, i think of standing at a concert, listening to a band, with pillows strapped over my ears. Muffled, the opposite of clear.

lets take my latest hunt for the right receiver. 3805 vs nad t773. I have heard people describe both as warm, and bright. Honestly I have. Then there's the question of what speakers are they using, eq settings?, type of music or movies. Man it just gets nuts trying to get advice on the net.

In an area that has good hifi shops around you, I wouldn't even pick up a computer. I'd just go listen for myself. But for people like myself where there is no good hifi shops, all I can say is thank god for companies like Axiom that will let the customers try their product for 30 days and make their own decision on whether they want it. Honesty, I don't think I'll ever buy from another company again that des not offer the same sort of deal.

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Bright and Warm, what do those terms mean to you?

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Sounds like our sun to me. Duh.

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If your receiver or amplifier really has a flat frequency response from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz and total harmonic distortion of less than 1%, how are you going to hear a difference anyhow?

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a) Placabo. Proof that audiophiles hate to admit to here.

b) Elitism. The big penis contest - "OMGZ I CAN HEAR WHAT YOU CAN'T HEAR!!!1111one"

Just slightly oversimplified:

Bright
Hey, that hurts my ears!!

Warm
I'm sorry; I missed what he said...too muffled.
















M3s..........Juuuuuuust Riiiiiiiiight!

Warm speakers can be detailed. With their bump in the 90-110hz region, I think the M3's are a good example of this.

when I think of muffled, I think of laid back, like I was sitting far away from a live acoustic performance.

Great article Thasp. Really interesting especially at the bottom seeing the comments when they knew which amp they were listening to and comments when they didn't know. I still feel a need to get more power in my system (for really loud listening) but I will look for one of the best $/watt amplifiers that I can find rather than name recognition etc.