Crossover design is an important part of audio performance. I am trying to compare speaker crossovers to determine their coloration effects.
TI active crossover - is an old, well-written document. The document identifies important topics. The document is very useful as a conceptual guide.
Words to describe sound are listed below. If I could read measurement graphs like sheet music, I would hear the following.
- Which bookshelf crossover (non-DSP) provides highest performance under $2,500,
- Acoustic Energy AE1?
- ELAC Navis ARB-51s?
- What coloration does the crossover or speakers have?
- A list of specific coloration terms are listed below.
- What sonic effects, beside coloration, does the crossover have?
- For example, I suspect lower detail and/or transparency in the ELAC Navis ARB-51 might be a passive crossover effect?
- Might the ELAC Navis ARB-51sound better at higher volumes due to the passive crossover?
Electronically, the AE1 Active is proudly an
Drive Unit: 125mm ceramic aluminium sandwich cone
- all-analogue design focused on performance without compromise.
- This includes wired analogue inputs, both balanced XLR and standard RCA,
- the highest quality linear power supplies and
- two pair-matched, high-performance 50Watt Class A/B amplifiers per speaker.
- While the design team experimented with
- wireless inputs,
- switch mode power supplies,
- Class D amplification and
- DSP,
- none delivered the audio performance befitting of a loudspeaker wearing the legendary AE1 badge.
Tweeter: 25mm aluminium dome
Frequency Range: 42Hz – 28kHz (+/-6dB)
Crossover Frequency: 3.5kHz 4th Order Linkwitz-Riley
Amplifier: Class A/B with linear power supply
Power: 100w
Dimensions (mm): 300 x 185 x 250 (HxWxD)
Background Information
I use the Tidal search list results for "Caravan", by Duke Ellington as my reference list. Over a dozen renditions by different artists are available. I find the "HiFi" recordings distort the cymbals because the the BPM is 136. Compare at least a dozen different recordings to observe the distortions. I do not hear distortion on the "Master" recordings. The terms at the bottom of this post articulate sounds.
I have a powered AudioEngine A3 desktop speaker attached to a RME ADI 2 DAC. I love the sound. I am looking for a larger speaker for my bedroom. Balanced XLR connections are important because the RME DAC has XLR outputs.
I also have a passive speaker system that I will abandon for active speakers. I connect the RME DAC from a M1 Mac laptop. I also have two REL T/Zero MKIII subwoofers that I connect from the AudioEngine A3 RCA line outputs.
I am looking for a crossover that slightly colors sound to make the speakers listenable all day long. My audio equipment generally plays continuously throughout the day.
I listen to acoustic music (jazz, classical) in near-field. I listen at distances between three and six feet. I listen in small spaces and at low volume.
DSP-based speakers are excluded from consideration. I want all electronics and digital processing to be exterior to the speakers, e.g., ELAC Navis B51, for upgradability and obsolescence reasons. I invest in audio equipment that I expect to keep for a decade, or longer.
I am not a measurement-oriented person. Low-cost, high performance studio monitors that cause listening fatigue are excluded from consideration.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_crossover#Active
A passive crossover splits up an audio signal after it is amplified by a single power amplifier, so that the amplified signal can be sent to two or more driver types, each of which cover different frequency ranges. These crossover are made entirely of passive components and circuitry; the term "passive" means that no additional power source is needed for the circuitry. A passive crossover just needs to be connected by wiring to the power amplifier signal. Passive crossovers are usually arranged in a Cauer topology to achieve a Butterworth filter effect. Passive filters use resistorscombined with reactive components such as capacitors and inductors. Very high performance passive crossovers are likely to be more expensive than active crossovers, since individual components capable of good performance at the high currents and voltages at which speaker systems are driven are hard to make.
TI active crossover - is an old, well-written document. The document identifies important topics. The document is very useful as a conceptual guide.
Circuit Description
This is an analog active crossover solution for two- way loudspeakers. The woofer signal pathway includes a low-pass shelving circuit for baffle step compensation and a
Theory of Operation
- 4th-order Linkwitz-Riley low-pass filter. The tweeter signal pathway includes a
- 4th-order Linkwitz-Riley high-pass filter,
- 3rd-order all-pass filter for time alignment, output attenuation and buffering.
The primary purpose of the crossover circuit in a loudspeaker is to split an incoming audio signal into frequency bands that are passed to the speaker or “driver” best suited. For example, in a two-way system a crossover circuit will pass low frequencies to the woofer and high frequencies to the tweeter.
- This is accomplished using passive or active filters to remove frequencies outside of the desired band for a driver.
- A secondary purpose of crossover circuits is to correct the frequency or phase response of the system for errors introduced by the loudspeaker enclosure and listening environment.
Active crossover networks are commonly used in recording studios and some home high-fidelity systems.
- In an active crossover system, the crossover network is placed before the power amplifiers in the audio signal chain.
- The voltages at this point in the signal chain are much lower than those applied directly to the speaker, allowing the use of active filters which employ op-amps, capacitors, and resistors.
- Expensive passive components which must maintain linearity at high voltage levels can be eliminated from active crossover circuits.
- Furthermore, the filter circuits in an active crossover do not directly interact with the loudspeaker impedance, allowing them to more closely follow the desired transfer function without complicated analysis.
- The tweeter portion includes
- a high-pass filter,
- an all-pass filter for time alignment, and
- output level correction.
- The design parameters are chosen to represent a typical two-way monitor speaker which may be employed in a small room such as a recording studio for near-field listening and sound mixing work.
- The Linkwitz-Riley filter characteristic was selected because these filters sum acoustically flat in the crossover region [2].
- A 4th-order Linkwitz-Riley filter has a steep roll-off (48 dB/octave, 80 dB/decade) which
- limits high-frequency distortion from the woofer, and
- protects the tweeter from low-frequency content which may damage it.
Although the desired corner frequency for the woofer transfer function is
- 1.8kHz, this does not necessarily mean the corner frequency for the low-pass filter will be 1.8kHz. Examining the woofer frequency response with baffle step compensation in Figure 7 (blue curve), shows that the driver itself begins to attenuate signals above 2kHz. Therefore, the 1.8kHz corner frequency specifies the acoustic transfer function, which is the combination of the low-pass filter transfer function with the driver’s frequency response.
Again, using a numerical solver, it was found that a 4th-order low-pass filter with a
A 4th-order Linkwitz-Riley filter may be constructed by cascading two 2nd-order Butterworth low-pass filters as shown in Figure 9[2].
- corner frequency of 2.145kHz provided the desired acoustic corner frequency of 1.8kHz. Figure 8 shows the predicted acoustic transfer function of the woofer produced by multiplying the woofer frequency response (with baffle step compensation) by the transfer function of the filter.
- The Sallen-Key (SK) filter topology is used because the noise gain and signal gain for this topology are equal since the op amp is configured as a non-inverting amplifier. In the multiple feedback (MFB) topology, the op amp is configured as an inverting amplifier and its noise gain would be twice the signal gain for a unity gain filter, degrading the system signal to noise ratio.
- Adding delay in an analog active crossover is accomplished using an all-pass filter. While the amplitude response of an all-pass filter is flat, the phase response varies with frequency. This behavior allows the filter to add a known delay to the signal without affecting the amplitude response.
- The only capacitor types suitable for active filters are
- C0G ceramic,
- polypropylene film, or
- silvered mica.
- However, because silvered mica capacitors are not available in large capacitances they are not considered here.
- When comparing C0G ceramic capacitors to polypropylene film types, it was found that for the same tolerance,
- C0G ceramics were cheaper and occupied less board area than film types of the same capacitance.
Table 6: A Comparison of C0G ceramic to polypropylene film capacitors
Words to describe sound are listed below. If I could read measurement graphs like sheet music, I would hear the following.
https://www.stereophile.com/reference/50/index.html
coloration An audible "signature" with which a reproducing system imbues all signals passing through it.
- Onomatopoeia---words that sound like what they describe;
- Imagery---words that evoke a mental image; and
- Sensories---words that relate things we hear to more-familiar things we
- see or
- touch.
- The experienced listener does not just hear the totality of reproduced sound.
- He hears into it, observing how the component or system
- handles a variety of sonic attributes which make up the whole.
- Instead of simply "all the highs and all the lows," he may hear a
- coloration that his experience has shown to indicate a treble peak.
- Or he may hear a lengthening of normally brief bass notes which he has learned to equate with a
- low-frequency resonance or a
- lack of woofer damping.
- Of course, both these problems would be revealed by measurements, but
- equating their measured severity with their adverse effects on the sound is another matter.
- To do that, we need words to attach to these effects.
- Those words are what we call subjective terminology.
discontinuity A change of timbre or coloration due to the signal's transition, in a multi-way speaker system, from one driver to another having dissimilar coloration.
judgment A listener's assessment of how well
element One of the constituent parts of a sonic characteristic.
- his perception of a sonic element measures up to
- his concept of perfection.
- The basic choices are "good," "not good," or "undecided."
moderate A qualifier which describes a
- Bass, midrange, and treble are elements of frequency response.
- Depth and breadth are elements of soundstaging.
musical, musicality A personal judgment as to the
- sonic imperfection which is clearly audible through any decent system,
- but not annoyingly so. See "audibility."
qualifier An adjective which the listener attaches to an observed sonic imperfection (such as "peaky" or "muddy") in order
- degree to which reproduced sound resembles live music.
- Real musical sound is both accurate and euphonic,
- consonant and dissonant.
quality The degree to which the reproduction of sound is judged to approach the goal of perfection.
- to convey a sense of its magnitude.
- "Subtle" and "conspicuous" are qualifying adjectives. See "audibility."
subliminal Too faint or too subtle to be consciously perceived.
acoustical space
- bass The range of frequencies below 160Hz, characterized by low pitch.
- "aw" (rhymes with "paw") A vowel coloration caused by a frequency-response peak centered around 450Hz.
- An "aw" coloration tends to emphasize and glamorize the sound of large brass instruments (trombone, tuba).
- dark A warm, mellow, excessively rich quality in reproduced sound.
- The audible effect of a frequency response which is clockwise-tilted across the entire range,
- so that output diminishes with increasing frequency. Compare "light.
- heavy Excessively bassy.
- heft Pertains to bass which has weight, solidity, and visceral power.
- honky Pertaining to a severe "aw" coloration.
- hooty
- Pertaining to a severe "ooo" coloration.
- Resonant colorations may cause some lower-midrange notes to jump forward or "hoot" at the listener
- horn sound An "aw" coloration
- characteristic of many loudspeakers that have a horn-loaded midrange
- hum A continuous 60Hz or 120Hz noise,
- caused by leakage of the household AC supply or
- its second harmonic into the signal path.
- hump A broad frequency-response peak.
- humped Sound that is forward, soft, and lean.
- The apparent listening distance is up-front and immediate,
- yet the overall sound is dull and thin.
- Caused by a broad midrange rise with
- rolled-off lower and upper ranges. Compare "dished."
- lean Very slightly bass-shy.
- The effect of a very slight bass rolloff below around 500Hz.
- Not quite "cool."
- light Lean and tipped-up.
- The audible effect of a frequency response which is tilted counterclockwise. Compare “dark."
- loose Pertains to bass which is ill-defined and poorly controlled. Woolly.
- lumpy Reproduced sound characterized by a number of audible response discontinuities through the
- range below about 1kHz.
- Certain frequency bands seem to predominate, while others sound weak.
- lush Rich-sounding and sumptuous to the point of wretched excess.
- "oh" (as in "toe") A vowel coloration caused by a broad frequency-response peak centered around 250Hz.
- one-note bass The exaggeration of a single bass note,
- due to a sharp LF peak,
- normally due to an underdamped woofer but
- also caused by room resonances.
- "oo" (as in "gloom") A vowel coloration caused by a broad frequency-response peak centered around 120Hz.
- power range The frequency range about 200-500Hz that affects the reproduction of the power instruments of an orchestra—
- the brass instruments.
- thick Describes sodden or heavy bass.
- thin Very deficient in bass.
- The result of severe attenuation of the range below 500Hz.
- tight
- Bass reproduction that is well controlled, free from hangover, not slow.
- Stereo imaging that is specific, stable, and of the correct width.
- Describes a closely bunched image in A+B double-mono mode that occupies a very narrow space between the loudspeakers.
- warm The same as dark, but less tilted. A certain amount of warmth is a normal part of musical sound.
weight
- The feeling of solidity and foundation contributed to music by extended, natural bass reproduction.
- The emphasis assigned to a subjective term by a qualifier.
- woolly Pertains to loose, ill-defined bass.
- zippy A slight top-octave emphasis. See "toppy."
- low bass The range from 20-40Hz.
- deep bass Frequencies below 40Hz.
- midbass The range of frequencies from 40-80Hz.
- upper bass The range of frequencies from 80-160Hz.
- low frequency Any frequency lower than 160Hz.
- lower middles, lower midrange The range of frequencies from 160-320Hz.
- forward, forwardness A quality of reproduction which seems to
- place sound sources closer than they were recorded.
- Usually the result of a humped midrange,
- plus a narrow horizontal dispersion pattern from the loudspeaker.
- See "Row-A sound." Compare "laid-back."
- middles, midrange The range of frequencies from 160-1300Hz.
- upper middles, upper midrange The range of frequencies from 650-1300Hz.
- treble The frequency range above 1.3kHz.
- aggressive Reproduced sound that is excessively forward and bright.
- "ah" (rhymes with "rah") A vowel coloration caused by a frequency-response peak centered around 1000Hz.
- airy Pertaining to treble which sounds light, delicate, open, and seemingly unrestricted in upper extension.
- A quality of reproducing systems having very smooth and very extended HF response.
- bright, brilliant The most often misused terms in audio, these describe the
- degree to which reproduced sound has a hard, crisp edge to it.
- Brightness relates to the energy content in the 4kHz-8kHz band.
- It is not related to output in the extreme-high-frequency range.
- All live sound has brightness; it is a problem only when it is excessive.
- crisp In reproduced sound: sharply focused and detailed,
- sometimes excessively so because of a peak in the mid-treble region.
- "ee" (rhymes with "we") A vowel coloration caused by a frequency-response peak centered around 3.5kHz.
- "eh" (as in "bed") A vowel coloration caused by a frequency-response peak centered around 2kHz.
- hard Tending toward steeliness, but not quite shrill.
- Often the result of a moderate frequency-response hump centered around 6kHz,
- sometimes also caused by small amounts of distortion.
- hot Very tipped-up high frequencies.
- "ih" (as in "bit") A vowel coloration caused by a frequency-response peak centered around 3.5kHz.
- muffled Very dull-sounding; having no apparent high frequencies at all.
- The result of HF rolloff above about 2kHz.
- nasal Reproduced sound having the quality of a person speaking with his/her nose blocked.
- Like the vowel "eh" coloration.
- In a loudspeaker, often due to a measured peak in the upper midrange followed by a complementary dip.
- pinched
- Very cold, with a
- "nyeah" coloration.
- Pertaining to soundstaging: Laterally compressed and lacking in spaciousness.
- presence range The lower-treble part of the audio spectrum,
- approximately 1-3kHz, which contributes to presence in reproduced sound.
- sheen A rich-sounding overlay of velvety-smooth airiness or guttiness.
- A quality of outstanding HF smoothness and ease.
- sibilance A coloration that resembles or exaggerates the vocal s-sound.
- silky Pertains to treble performance that is velvety-smooth, delicate, and open.
- silvery Sound that is slightly hard or steely, but clean.
- sizzly Emphasis of the frequency range above about 8kHz,
- which adds sibilance to all sounds,
- particularly those of cymbals and vocal esses (sibilants).
- spitty An edgy "ts" coloration which
- exaggerates musical overtones and
- sibilants as well as LP surface noise.
- Usually the result of a sharp response peak in the upper treble range.
- steely Shrill. Like "hard," but more so.
- tick A high-pitched pulse characterized by a very sharp attack
- followed by a short "i" vowel sound.
- The most common background noise from analog discs.
- tizzy A "zz" or "ff" coloration of the sound of cymbals and vocal sibilants, caused by a
- rising frequency response above 10kHz.
- Similar to "wiry," but at a higher frequency
- vowel coloration A form of
- midrange or low-treble coloration which impresses
- upon all program material a tonal "flavor" resembling a vowel in speech.
- wiry Having an
- edgy or distorted high end,
- similar to the "tish" of brushed cymbals,
- but coloring all sounds reproduced by the system.
- lower highs The range of frequencies from 1.3 to 2.6kHz.
- middle highs The range of frequencies from 2.6 to 5kHz.
- upper highs, upper treble The range of frequencies from 10-20kHz.
acuity
- A large performing or recording hall.
- All the spatial and reverberant characteristics of the performing hall or location in which a recording was made.
aggressive Reproduced sound that is excessively forward and bright.
- The sensitivity of the ears to very soft sounds
- The acquired ability of an audiophile to hear and to assess the subtle qualitative attributes of reproduced sound.
airy Pertaining to treble which sounds light, delicate, open, and seemingly unrestricted in upper extension.
- "ah" (rhymes with "rah") A vowel coloration caused by a frequency-response peak centered around 1000Hz.
aliveness A quality of sound reproduction which gives an impression that the performers are:
- A quality of reproducing systems having very smooth and very extended HF response.
analytical Very detailed, almost to the point of excess.
- present,
- in person,
- in the listening room.
articulation
attack
- Clarity and intelligibility, usually of voice reproduction.
- The reproduction of inner detail in complex sounds, which makes it easy to follow an individual musical voice among many.
Poor attack makes a system sound slow.
- The buildup of sound when an instrument is bowed, blown, struck, or plucked.
- The ability of a system to reproduce the attack transients in musical sound.
attack transient The initial energy pulse of a percussive sound, such as from a
"aw" (rhymes with "paw") A vowel coloration caused by a frequency-response peak centered around 450Hz.
- piano string
- triangle
- drum head.
balance
- An "aw" coloration tends to emphasize and glamorize the sound of large brass instruments (trombone, tuba).
bass The range of frequencies below 160Hz, characterized by low pitch.
- The subjective relationship between the relative loudness of the upper and lower halves of the audio spectrum; "tonal balance."
- The relative loudness of the instruments in a performing group.
- Equality of signal level between the left and right stereo channels, which centers the soundstage and allows mono program material to image at the center. Also called channel balance.
bloom A quality of expansive richness and warmth, like the live body sound of a cello.
body A quality of roundness and robustness in reproduced sound. “Gutsiness."
body sound Of a musical instrument: the characteristic sound of the material of which the instrument is made, due to resonances of that material.
bright, brilliant The most often misused terms in audio, these describe the
- The wooden quality of a viola,
- the "signature" by which a brass flute is distinguishable from a wooden or platinum one.
circularity The paradox of subjectivity: "You can't judge a recording without reproducing it, and you can't judge a reproducer without listening to a recording.”
- degree to which reproduced sound has a hard, crisp edge to it.
- Brightness relates to the energy content in the 4kHz-8kHz band.
- It is not related to output in the extreme-high-frequency range.
- All live sound has brightness; it is a problem only when it is excessive.
clean Free from audible distortion.
clinical Sound that is pristinely clean but wholly uninvolving.
coherent
coloration An audible "signature" with which a reproducing system imbues all signals passing through it.
- Pertaining to a multi-way loudspeaker's sound: seamless from top to bottom;
- showing no audible evidence of a crossover or of different driver colorations in different frequency ranges.
- Pertaining to the soundstage: Phantom imaging that reproduces within the stereo stage the original lateral positions of the performers. See "bunching," "hole-in-the-middle."
comb filtering (NOT)
crisp In reproduced sound: sharply focused and detailed,
- A hollow coloration that, once recognized, is unmistakable.
- Caused by a regularly spaced series of frequency-response peaks and dips, most often due to
- interference between two identical signals spaced in time.
- If that time difference is continually changed, the comb-filter peaks and dips move accordingly, giving rise to the familiar
- "phasing,"
- "flanging," or
- "jet plane" effect used in modern rock music.
damping The amount of control an amplifier seems to impose on a woofer.
- sometimes excessively so because of a peak in the mid-treble region.
dark A warm, mellow, excessively rich quality in reproduced sound.
- Underdamping causes loose, heavy bass;
- overdamping yields very tight but lean bass
decay The reverberant fadeout of a musical sound after it has ceased. Compare “attack."
- The audible effect of a frequency response which is clockwise-tilted across the entire range,
- so that output diminishes with increasing frequency. Compare "light.
deep bass Frequencies below 40Hz.
definition (also resolution) That quality of sound reproduction which enables the listener to distinguish between, and follow the melodic lines of,
delicacy The reproduction of very subtle, very faint details of musical sound, such as the
- the individual voices or instruments comprising a large performing group. See "focus."
depth The illusion of acoustical distance receding behind the loudspeaker plane,
- fingertip-friction sounds produced when a guitar or a harp is played. See "low-level detail."
detail The subtlest, most delicate parts of the original sound,
- giving the impression of listening through the loudspeakers into the original performing space, rather than to them. See "layering," "transparency." Compare “flat."
diffuse (NOT) Reproduction which is severely deficient in detail and imaging specificity; confused, muddled.
- which are usually the first things lost by imperfect components.
- See "low-level detail." Compare "haze," "smearing," "veiling."
direct sound A sound reaching the ears in a straight line from its source. The
discontinuity A change of timbre or coloration due to the signal's transition, in a multi-way speaker system, from one driver to another having dissimilar coloration.
- direct sounds are always the first sounds heard.
- The "critical distance" from a soundsource is when the
- spl of the direct sound is equal to that of the
- reverberant field.
- See "far field," "near field," "precedence effect." Compare "reflected sound," “reverberation."
dynamic Giving an impression of wide dynamic range; punchy.
dynamic range
- This is related to system speed as well as to volume contrast.
"ee" (rhymes with "we") A vowel coloration caused by a frequency-response peak centered around 3.5kHz.
- Pertaining to a signal: the ratio between the loudest and the quietest passages.
- Pertaining to a component: the ratio between its no-signal noise and the loudest peak it will pass without distortion.
effortless Unstrained; showing no signs of audible stress during loud passages. Compare "strained."
"eh" (as in "bed") A vowel coloration caused by a frequency-response peak centered around 2kHz.
element One of the constituent parts of a sonic characteristic.
error of commission Signal degradation due to the addition of sounds that were not present in the original signal.
- Bass, midrange, and treble are elements of frequency response.
- Depth and breadth are elements of soundstaging.
error of omission Signal degradation due to the loss of information that was present in the original signal.
- Distortion and coloration are examples of errors of commission
etched Very crisp and sharply outlined,
- Smearing and treble loss are examples of errors of omission.
euphonic Pleasing to the ear. In audio, "euphonic" has a connotation of exaggerated richness rather than literal accuracy.
- focused to an almost excessive degree.
far field Pertains to that range of listening distances in which the
fast Giving an impression of extremely rapid reaction time, which allows a reproducing system to "keep up with" the signal fed to it. (A "fast woofer" would seem to be an oxymoron, but this usage refers to a
- predominant sounds reaching the ears are reflections from room boundaries.
floating A positive attribute that pertains to soundstaging in which the phantom images seem to exist
- woofer tuning that does not boom,
- make the music sound "slow,"
- obscure musical phrasing,
- or lead to "one-note bass.")
- Similar to "taut," but referring to the entire audio-frequency range instead of just the bass.
independently of the loudspeaker positions,
focus The quality of being clearly defined,
- giving the impression that the speakers are absent. See "beyond-the-speakers imaging," "depth," "layering." Compare "flat," "vagueness," "wander."
forward, forwardness A quality of reproduction which seems to
- with sharply outlined phantom images. Focus has also been described as the
- enhanced ability to hear the brief moments of silence between the musical impulses in reproduced sound.
fuzz, fuzziness A coarse but soft-edged texturing of reproduced sound.
- place sound sources closer than they were recorded.
- Usually the result of a humped midrange,
- plus a narrow horizontal dispersion pattern from the loudspeaker.
- See "Row-A sound." Compare "laid-back."
gestalt response The evocation of a complete memory recognition by an incomplete set of sensory cues.
- Like "hash," but with muffled-sounding spikes.
golden A euphonic coloration characterized by
- A gestalt response to the few things
- an audio system does outstandingly well can make imperfect reproduction seem more realistic than it actually is.
grainy A moderate texturing of reproduced sound. The sonic equivalent of grain in a photograph. Coarser than dry but finer than gritty.
- roundness,
- richness,
- sweetness, and
- liquidity.
gritty A harsh, coarse-grained texturing of reproduced sound. The continuum of energy seems to be composed of discrete, sharp-edged particles.
hangover A tendency for reproduced sounds to last longer than they should.
hand-clap test The use of hand claps to assess the reverberant properties of a room. See "fluttery," "plastery," "slap."
- Most noticeable at low frequencies, where it obscures detail.
hard Tending toward steeliness, but not quite shrill.
haze, haziness A moderate smearing of detail and focus.
- Often the result of a moderate frequency-response hump centered around 6kHz,
- sometimes also caused by small amounts of distortion.
heavy Excessively bassy.
- The audible equivalent of viewing something through a gauzy veil or a dirty window.
heft Pertains to bass which has weight, solidity, and visceral power.
height The usually inadvertent production of vertical directional cues,
honky Pertaining to a severe "aw" coloration.
- which make some instruments sound as if they are above or below the other performers. See "soundstaging."
hooty
horn sound An "aw" coloration
- Pertaining to a severe "ooo" coloration.
- Resonant colorations may cause some lower-midrange notes to jump forward or "hoot" at the listener
hot Very tipped-up high frequencies.
- characteristic of many loudspeakers that have a horn-loaded midrange
hum A continuous 60Hz or 120Hz noise,
hump A broad frequency-response peak.
- caused by leakage of the household AC supply or
- its second harmonic into the signal path.
humped Sound that is forward, soft, and lean.
"ih" (as in "bit") A vowel coloration caused by a frequency-response peak centered around 3.5kHz.
- The apparent listening distance is up-front and immediate,
- yet the overall sound is dull and thin.
- Caused by a broad midrange rise with
- rolled-off lower and upper ranges. Compare "dished."
imagery Descriptive terminology intended to convey an impression or mental image of a subjective observation.
imaging The measure of a system's ability to float stable and specific phantom images,
- Imagery is usually employed to describe qualities in reproduced sound in terms of more familiar sensory responses like
- vision,
- taste, and
- touch.
impact A quality of concussive force, as from a deep, strong bass attack, which produces a brief sensation of visceral pressure.
- reproducing the original sizes and locations of the instruments across the soundstage. See "stereo imaging."
impulse An abrupt, extremely brief burst of signal energy; a transient.
involvement The degree to which a reproduction
judgment A listener's assessment of how well
- draws the listener in to the musical performance and
- evokes an emotional response to it.
laid-back
- his perception of a sonic element measures up to
- his concept of perfection.
- The basic choices are "good," "not good," or "undecided."
layering The reproduction of depth and receding distance,
- Recessed,
- distant-sounding,
- having exaggerated depth,
- usually because of a dished midrange.
- See "Row-M sound." Compare "forward."
lean Very slightly bass-shy.
- which audibly places the rows of performers one behind the other.
lifeless Sound that is dull, unfocused, unconvincing, and uninvolving.
- The effect of a very slight bass rolloff below around 500Hz.
- Not quite "cool."
light Lean and tipped-up.
liquid Textureless sound.
- The audible effect of a frequency response which is tilted counterclockwise. Compare “dark."
listening distance The distance from the listener to the loudspeakers. See "critical distance," "far field," "near field."
listening fatigue A psychoacoustic phenomenon from prolonged listening to sound whose
live
- distortion content is too low to be audible as such but is
- high enough to be perceived subliminally.
- The physical and psychological discomfort can induce headaches and nervous tension
localization In stereo reproduction, the placement of phantom images in specific lateral positions across the soundstage. Also, the specificity of those images.
- Describes an acoustical space having a great deal of reverberation.
- Pertains to the sound of actual instruments or voices in performance, as opposed to the sound of their reproduction.
loose Pertains to bass which is ill-defined and poorly controlled. Woolly.
low bass The range from 20-40Hz.
lower highs The range of frequencies from 1.3-2.6kHz.
lower middles, lower midrange The range of frequencies from 160-320Hz.
low frequency Any frequency lower than 160Hz.
low-level detail The subtlest elements of musical sound,
lumpy Reproduced sound characterized by a number of audible response discontinuities through the
- which include the delicate details of instrumental sounds and
- the final tail of reverberation decay. See "delicacy."
lush Rich-sounding and sumptuous to the point of wretched excess.
- range below about 1kHz.
- Certain frequency bands seem to predominate, while others sound weak.
meter man A person who believes that measurements tell all you need to know about a component's performance. An auronihilist. Compare "mystic," “subjectivist."
midbass The range of frequencies from 40-80Hz.
middle highs The range of frequencies from 2.6-5kHz.
middles, midrange The range of frequencies from 160-1300Hz.
moderate A qualifier which describes a
modulation noise A hiss or other extraneous noise which
- sonic imperfection which is clearly audible through any decent system,
- but not annoyingly so. See "audibility."
motorboating Low-frequency oscillation of an active device,
- "rides on" the main signal,
- varying in loudness according to the strength of that signal.
muddy Ill-defined, congested.
- producing a continuous, rapid "bupupup" sound,
- like a one-cylinder engine.
muffled Very dull-sounding; having no apparent high frequencies at all.
musical, musicality A personal judgment as to the
- The result of HF rolloff above about 2kHz.
muted Dark, lifeless, closed-in.
- degree to which reproduced sound resembles live music.
- Real musical sound is both accurate and euphonic,
- consonant and dissonant.
mystic An audiophile who attributes all currently unmeasurable sonic differences to forces beyond human understanding.
nasal Reproduced sound having the quality of a person speaking with his/her nose blocked.
naturalness Realism.
- Like the vowel "eh" coloration.
- In a loudspeaker, often due to a measured peak in the upper midrange followed by a complementary dip.
near field Pertains to that range of listening distances in which the sounds reaching the ears are predominantly direct. See "far field," "critical distance."
neutral Free from coloration.
noise Any spurious background sounds,
Noticeable In aural perception, any sonic quality which is clearly audible to most people.
- usually of a random or indeterminate pitch: hiss, crackles, ticks, pops, whooshes.
objectivist A meter man. Compare "subjectivist."
observation The perceived attribute of a sonic element, on which a personal judgment about its quality is based.
obvious You'd have to be deaf not to hear it. See "audibility."
- Observations are described by subjective terms such as
- "smooth,"
- "woolly," or
- "spacious."
"oh" (as in "toe") A vowel coloration caused by a broad frequency-response peak centered around 250Hz.
one-note bass The exaggeration of a single bass note,
"oo" (as in "gloom") A vowel coloration caused by a broad frequency-response peak centered around 120Hz.
- due to a sharp LF peak,
- normally due to an underdamped woofer but
- also caused by room resonances.
opaque Lacking detail and transparency.
open Exhibiting qualities of delicacy, air, and fine detail. Giving an impression of having no upper-frequency limit.
pace The apparent tempo of a musical performance, which can be different from its actual beats-per-minute tempo. Pace is affected by phrasing in performance and speed in reproduction.
palpable Describes reproduction that is so realistic you feel you could reach out and touch the instruments or singers.
perceptible At or above the threshold of audibility of a trained listener.
perspective The soundstage depth information that is conveyed by layering.
phantom image The re-creation by a stereo system of an apparent sound source at a location other than that of either loudspeaker.
phasey A quality of reproduced sound which creates a
picket-fencing (Also called vertical-venetian-blind effect.) A tendency for stereo channel balance to vacillate from left to right as the listener moves laterally with respect to the loudspeakers.
- sensation of pressure in the ears, unrelated to the intensity of the sound.
- Phasiness is experienced by many people when listening to two loudspeakers which are connected out of phase with each other.
pinched
pinpoint imaging Stereo imaging that is precise, stable, and focused.
- Very cold, with a
- "nyeah" coloration.
- Pertaining to soundstaging: Laterally compressed and lacking in spaciousness.
pitch resolution The clarity with which the pitch of (generally) bass notes is perceived.
plastery A hard-sounding reverberation
- Poor pitch resolution makes all notes sound similar;
- good pitch resolution gives an impression that you "can almost count the cycles.
polite Laid-back.
- having an "a" (as in "cat") coloration,
- characteristic of bare, plaster-walled rooms. Compare "fluttery," "slap."
pop A midrange pulse characterized by
power range The frequency range about 200-500Hz that affects the reproduction of the power instruments of an orchestra—
- a very sharp attack followed by a short "o" or "aw" vowel sound.
- Usually the result of a severe LP blemish.
precedence effect The tendency for the ears to identify the source of a sound as being in the direction from which it is first heard. See "direct sound."
- the brass instruments.
presence A quality of realism and aliveness.
presence range The lower-treble part of the audio spectrum,
pristine Very clean-sounding, very transparent.
- approximately 1-3kHz, which contributes to presence in reproduced sound.
pumping
qualifier An adjective which the listener attaches to an observed sonic imperfection (such as "peaky" or "muddy") in order
- The exaggeration of abrupt signal-amplitude changes,
- often due to the malfunctioning of a companding (compressing/expanding) noise-reduction system.
- Audible fluctuations of background noise in the playback phase of compansion.
- Large, spurious subsonic motions of a woofer cone, usually due to analog-disc warps or marginal LF stability in the power amplifier.
quality The degree to which the reproduction of sound is judged to approach the goal of perfection.
- to convey a sense of its magnitude.
- "Subtle" and "conspicuous" are qualifying adjectives. See "audibility."
reaction A counterforce imparted to a speaker enclosure in response to the air resistance to the motion of a moving diaphragm or cone.
realism A subjective assessment of the degree to which the sound from an audio system
- On a thick carpet, a reacting enclosure will rock slightly back and forth, impairing LF quality and overall detail. See "spike.
recessed Very laid-back.
- approaches that of live music.
- This has meaning only when the recording purports to reproduce an acoustical event taking place in a real acoustical space. See "quality."
reflected sound A sound which reaches the ears after being reflected from at least one boundary surface. See "critical distance," "far field," "near field," "precedence effect." Compare "direct sound."
resolution See "definition."
reticent Moderately laid-back.
revealing Pertaining to a loudspeaker or a system as a whole:
- Describes the sound of a system whose frequency response is dished-down through the midrange.
- The opposite of forward.
reverberation A diminishing series of echoes
- Outstandingly detailed and focused; analytical.
- Compare "pristine."
rhythm See "timing."
- spaced sufficiently closely in time that they
- merge into a smooth decay.
ringing The audible effect of a resonance:
rolloff (also rollout) A frequency response which
- coloration,
- smear,
- shrillness, or
- boominess.
rosinous (or resinous) Describes the
- falls gradually above or below a certain frequency limit.
- By comparison, the term cutoff (often abbreviated to "cut," as in "bass cut") implies an
- abrupt loss of level above or below the frequency limit.
rotated The sound of a frequency response that is linear but tilted. See "tilt."
- "zizzy" quality of bowed strings,
- particularly of cellos or violas.
rough A quality of moderate grittiness, often caused by LP mistracking.
rounding, rounding-off The shearing-off of sharp attack transients,
row-A sound Sound which is up-front, forward.
- due to poor transient response or restricted HF range. See "slow," "speed."
row-M sound Sound which is laid-back, distant.
rumble An extraneous low-frequency noise, often of indeterminate pitch, caused by physical vibration of a turntable or of the room in which a recording was made.
scrape flutter Roughness and veiling of analog tape sound due to discontinuous movement of the tape across the head ("violining").
screechy The ultimate stridency, akin to chalk on a blackboard or a razor blade being scraped across a windowpane.
seamless Having no perceptible discontinuities throughout the audio range.
severe Very annoyingly audible. See "audibility."
sheen A rich-sounding overlay of velvety-smooth airiness or guttiness.
sibilance A coloration that resembles or exaggerates the vocal s-sound.
- A quality of outstanding HF smoothness and ease.
silky Pertains to treble performance that is velvety-smooth, delicate, and open.
silvery Sound that is slightly hard or steely, but clean.
sizzly Emphasis of the frequency range above about 8kHz,
slap In an acoustical space, a repeated echo recurring at a
- which adds sibilance to all sounds,
- particularly those of cymbals and vocal esses (sibilants).
smearing Severe lack of detail and focus.
- rate of about 3 per second,
- common to moderate-sized, bare-walled acoustical spaces. See "hand-clap test." Compare "fluttery," "plastery."
smooth Sound reproduction having no irritating qualities;
snap A quality of sound reproduction giving an impression of great speed and detail.
- free from HF peaks,
- easy and relaxing to listen to.
- Effortless.
- Not necessarily a positive system attribute if accompanied by a slow, uninvolving character
sock A quality of sound reproduction giving a sensation of concussive impact.
solid-state sound That combination of sonic attributes common to most solid-state amplifying devices:
soundstaging, soundstage presentation The accuracy with which a reproducing system conveys
- deep,
- tight bass,
- a slightly withdrawn brightness range, and
- crisply detailed highs.
soundstage shift Apparent lateral movement of the soundstage when listening from either side of the sweet spot.
- audible information about the
- size,
- shape, and
- acoustical characteristics of the original recording space and the
- placement of the performers within it.
spacious Presenting a broad panorama of ambience, which may be wider than the distance between the loudspeakers.
sparse Less cold than "pinched" but more than "thin."
spatiality The quality of spaciousness.
specific, specificity The degree to which a phantom image exhibits a definite and unambiguous lateral position, without wander or excessive width.
spike
spiky Pertains to a coarse texturing of sound characterized by the presence of
- The "tick" sound of a pulse.
- A sharp-tipped, conical supporting foot which allows the weight of a loudspeaker to be passed through carpeting to rest firmly on the underlying floor. Used to minimize speaker-enclosure reaction.
spitty An edgy "ts" coloration which
- many rapidly recurring sharp clicks.
- Like the sound of tearing cloth, only crisper.
steely Shrill. Like "hard," but more so.
- exaggerates musical overtones and
- sibilants as well as LP surface noise.
- Usually the result of a sharp response peak in the upper treble range.
stereo imaging The production of stable, specific phantom images of correct localization and width. See "soundstaging," "vagueness," "wander."
stereo spread The apparent width of the soundstage and the placement of phantom images within it.
stereo stage The area between and behind the loudspeakers, from which most phantom images are heard.
- Generally, a group of instruments or voices should uniformly occupy the space between the loudspeakers.
- Compare "beyond-the-speakers imaging," "bunching," "hole-in-the-middle."
sterile Pristinely clean but uninvolving.
strained Showing signs of audible distress during loud passages, as though the system is verging on overload. Compare "ease," "effortless."
strident Unpleasantly shrill, piercing.
subjectivist A person who has found that
subliminal Too faint or too subtle to be consciously perceived.
- measurements don't tell the whole story about reproduced sound.
- Compare "mystic," "meter man," "objectivist."
sweet Having a smooth, softly delicate high end.
sweet spot That listening seat from which the best soundstage presentation is heard. Usually a center seat equidistant from the loudspeakers.
syrupy Excessively sweet and rich, like maple syrup.
tail The reverberant decay of a sound in an acoustical space.
taut In bass reproduction, under tight control of the electrical signal;
tempo The actual number of beats per minute in a musical performance. Compare "pace."
- detailed and free from "hangover."
texture, texturing A perceptible pattern or
thick Describes sodden or heavy bass.
- structure in reproduced sound, even if random in nature.
- Texturing gives the impression that the energy continuum of the sound is composed of discrete particles,
- like the grain of a photograph
thin Very deficient in bass.
tick A high-pitched pulse characterized by a very sharp attack
- The result of severe attenuation of the range below 500Hz.
tight
- followed by a short "i" vowel sound.
- The most common background noise from analog discs.
tilt
- Bass reproduction that is well controlled, free from hangover, not slow.
- Stereo imaging that is specific, stable, and of the correct width.
- Describes a closely bunched image in A+B double-mono mode that occupies a very narrow space between the loudspeakers.
timbre The recognizable characteristic sound "signature" of a musical instrument,
- To aim the axis of a loudspeaker upward or downward.
- Across-the-board rotation of an otherwise flat frequency response, so that the device's output increases or decreases at a uniform rate with increasing frequency.
- A linear frequency-response curve that is not horizontal.
timing The apparent instrumental ensemble (synchronism) of a performance, which is affected by system speed. See "articulation," "rhythm," "pace."
- by which it is possible to tell an oboe, for example, from a flute when both are sounding the same note.
tizzy A "zz" or "ff" coloration of the sound of cymbals and vocal sibilants, caused by a
tonality In music, the quality of an instrument's tone,
- rising frequency response above 10kHz.
- Similar to "wiry," but at a higher frequency
tonal quality The accuracy (correctness) with which reproduced sound replicates the timbres of the original instruments. Compare "tonality."
- often related to the key in which the music is written.
- In audio, mistakenly used in place of "tonal quality."
top The high treble, the range of audio frequencies
tracking The degree to which a component responds to the dictates of the audio signal, without lag or overshoot.
- above about 8kHz.
transparency, transparent
treble The frequency range above 1.3kHz.
- A quality of sound reproduction that gives the impression of listening through the system to the original sounds,
- rather than to a pair of loudspeakers.
- Freedom from
- veiling,
- texturing, or any other quality which tends to
- obscure the signal. A quality of crystalline clarity.
tubby Having an exaggerated deep-bass range.
tube sound, tubey That combination of audible qualities which typifies components that use tubes for amplification:
upper bass The range of frequencies from 80-160Hz.
- Richness and warmth,
- an excess of midbass,
- a deficiency of deep bass,
- outstanding rendition of depth,
- forward and bright, with a
- softly sweet high end.
upper highs, upper treble The range of frequencies from 10-20kHz.
upper middles, upper midrange The range of frequencies from 650-1300Hz.
uninvolving Ho-hum sound.
upper bass The range of frequencies from 80-160Hz.
- Reproduction which evokes boredom and
- indifference.
upper highs, upper treble The range of frequencies from 10-20kHz.
upper middles, upper midrange The range of frequencies from 650-1300Hz.
vague, vagueness Having poor specificity, confused.
veiled, veiling Pertaining to a deficiency of detail and focus, due to moderate amounts of distortion, treble-range restriction, or attack rounding.
violining See "scrape flutter."
visceral Producing a bodily sensation of pressure or concussion.
vowel coloration A form of
wander Side-to-side vacillation of the apparent position of a stereo image as the instrument plays different notes. Poor imaging stability.
- midrange or low-treble coloration which impresses
- upon all program material a tonal "flavor" resembling a vowel in speech.
warm The same as dark, but less tilted. A certain amount of warmth is a normal part of musical sound.
weight
width The apparent lateral spread of a stereo image. If appropriately miked when recorded, a reproduced instrument should sound no wider or narrower than it would have sounded originally. See "stereo spread."
- The feeling of solidity and foundation contributed to music by extended, natural bass reproduction.
- The emphasis assigned to a subjective term by a qualifier.
wiry Having an
withdrawn Very laid-back.
- edgy or distorted high end,
- similar to the "tish" of brushed cymbals,
- but coloring all sounds reproduced by the system.
woolly Pertains to loose, ill-defined bass.
zippy A slight top-octave emphasis. See "toppy."
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