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What's up with "warmth"

F

Floriaudio

New Member
I was wondering, lots and lots of people who sell an amplifier describe the amp as being "warm". It seems that this is commonly perceived as an advantage...

To me, "warmth" is a description of a colored-sound, this isn't what we want right?
We want or system to give a realistic sound reproduction, so if f.e. a violin sounds very edgy (you know they can, in their higher register) we want or system to reproduce that edgy sound.

We don't want to camouflage this displeasing sound, right?

:music:
 
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It is all a matter of taste. Some like it warm, some like it bright, some like it dead on.

It sounds like you like it bright.

I feel that both has its place.
 
Floriaudio said:
I was wondering, lots and lots of people who sell an amplifier describe the amp as being "warm". It seems that this is commonly perceived as an advantage...

To me, "warmth" is a description of a colored-sound, this isn't what we want right?
We want or system to give a realistic sound reproduction, so if f.e. a violin sounds very edgy (you know they can, in their higher register) we want or system to reproduce that edgy sound.

We don't want to camouflage this displeasing sound, right?

:music:
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Well, no and yes, in that order. Warmth does not describe "colored sound". The problem really is semantics and what people "inject" into various definitions.

All systems impart coloration of some kind, and live music of unamplified voice and instruments has a natural warmth in that it is not electronically sterile sounding. So the answer here is "no".

An accurate system will tend to not mask displeasing or pleasing sounds. In this case, the answer is "yes".
 
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To me, *warmth* in tube amps is distortion. Tube amp distortion isn't the same as SS distortion...to me.
 
Floriaudio said:
I was wondering, lots and lots of people who sell an amplifier describe the amp as being "warm". It seems that this is commonly perceived as an advantage...

To me, "warmth" is a description of a colored-sound, this isn't what we want right?
We want or system to give a realistic sound reproduction, so if f.e. a violin sounds very edgy (you know they can, in their higher register) we want or system to reproduce that edgy sound.

We don't want to camouflage this displeasing sound, right?

:music:
Click to expand...

I have a little toshiba receiver which gives a nice warm sound, like a roberts radio.

The reason i like the warmth from it is because it reminds me of the 1970's when I was growing up and all music seemed to have that warmth about it.

That said my main receivers are jvc and yamaha neither of which give an overly warm sound. It depends what sort of mood i am in as to wether i prefer it warm or not but as long as it sounds good i dont really care if its coloured or not.
 
RJolly87 said:
It is all a matter of taste. Some like it warm, some like it bright, some like it dead on.

It sounds like you like it bright.

I feel that both has its place.
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I always thought our goul, as being audio-hobbiest/audiophiles or whatever you'ld like to call it, is to give an as realistic as possible sound reproduction.

Though, I understand that some people prefer on or the other. For me it's neutral, not particularly warm and or bright.
 
Floriaudio said:
I always thought our goul, as being audio-hobbiest/audiophiles or whatever you'ld like to call it, is to give an as realistic as possible sound reproduction.

Though, I understand that some people prefer on or the other. For me it's neutral, not particularly warm and or bright.
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Many speakers out there are designed to have a specific sound. Whether it is the house sound of the manufacturer or something else they've come up with, that's why speakers can vary so much. One may carefully select the most neutral amp/electronics they can find and end up with a warm or bright sound depending on their speakers.

And then there is the music. It can be recorded any way the producer prefers. My speakers are a little forward and with a slightly hot top end amp from Emotiva they really sounded bright, not neutral/accurate.
 
Warmth and that "violin sounds very edgy" are two completely different sound characteristics in two different ranges.

IMO: Warmth is an emphasis mostly in the lower midrange, upper bass range. Edgy is an emphasis mostly in the lower to mid treble area.

All reproduced sound is colored. Some gear has more coloration. Other gear has less. You have to decide what type and how much you're willing to put up with. You make a decision based on auditioning gear and speakers.
 
I always chuckle at the flowery descriptions the audio writers use to describe the sound of an amp, cartridge, cdp, speakers, etc.

"Warm" is one of the most meaningless among them.
 
TheX said:
To me, *warmth* in tube amps is distortion. Tube amp distortion isn't the same as SS distortion...to me.
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A commonly held view; not one that I subscribe to, though.

There are certainly some boozily bloomy, inaccurate vacuum tube amplifiers out there -- including some pretty big names (ahem, stock Dynaco ST-70, ahem).
 
Hm...today I read the german "LP" magazine, and it's allways a fountain of amusement. Warmth, "schmalz", "depth" and "resolution" and "Bühnenbreite" - ehm "sound stage" are in every test about 10-20 times. Per page...

"Warmth" means to me an cart/amp/speaker setup I could listen to endless. No anoing sharp heights, no gut-shaking bass.
 
highwaychild said:
Hm...today I read the german "LP" magazine, and it's allways a fountain of amusement. Warmth, "schmalz", "depth" and "resolution" and "Bühnenbreite" - ehm "sound stage" are in every test about 10-20 times. Per page...

"Warmth" means to me an cart/amp/speaker setup I could listen to endless. No anoing sharp heights, no gut-shaking bass.
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Have you never heard a good sound stage?:scratch2:
 
Floriaudio said:
I always thought our goul, as being audio-hobbiest/audiophiles or whatever you'ld like to call it, is to give an as realistic as possible sound reproduction.

Though, I understand that some people prefer on or the other. For me it's neutral, not particularly warm and or bright.
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Same with me. I think people are giving two different definitions to warmth. One is high frequency roll-off and the other is the even order harmonics involved when tubes are overdriven (which, obviously, sounds better than odd-order harmonics that most transistor amps produce when overdriven.

I've always tried to keep each of my components as neutral as possible, as opposed to trying to balance out bright ones with warm ones and hoping to hit something in the middle.
 
High frequency roll off is not warmth and does not produce or accentuate it. it's exactly what it says, "high frequency roll off". It's commonly called "dull". Warmth is an emphasis in an entirely different part of the audio spectrum.

Although I'm a tube user I'm not getting into the harmonics of tube power. I will say I'm a fan.
 
JoeESP9 said:
Have you never heard a good sound stage?:scratch2:
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Of course. In Bamberg (Kaulbergsaal) imho there is one of the best small-scale concert buildungs in the world. Or the Landestheater in Coburg, or Concertgebouw in Amsterdam...
But at home (every home...) it's like virtual sex - not the real thing...

(But sometimes you don't have the choice - I will never see Karajan, The Who or the Beatles live in this world...)
 
Quoted from Sounds Like? An Audio Glossary Glossary

warm: The same as dark, but less tilted. A certain amount of warmth is a normal part of musical sound.

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."

Pretty vague terms in the description :scratch2:
 
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