Review speak:LOL, truer audio words were never spoken ;-)
Revealing = you will need ear plugs
Ruthlessly revealing = you will need ear plugs and Advil
Needs careful system matching = you will need ear plugs, Advil, a tube amp, and a glass of Scotch
My pet peeve: "revealing" speakers
The one word that bugs me the most in all of the audiophile world is "revealing."
It's plenty descriptive but it's also biased. What I mean is that speakers that are revealing are also usually quite colored. They don't unveil a recording, they focus your attention by suppressing some tones and enhancing others. The reviewer who suddenly discovers hearing things he has never heard before and now goes through his entire library has fallen for this trap hook line and sinker.
This is not always true, as some speakers are revealing by ignoring the room. They can remain tonally neutral but give you a headphone like experience. I'm not talking about them. I'm talking about the others. I wish we had a better word for it.
Mind you, I believe you should buy speakers based on your personal preferences. Revealing, warm, neutral, whatever. I'm just saying this word is deceptive, as if there were no down side when there is.
Best,
Erik
It's plenty descriptive but it's also biased. What I mean is that speakers that are revealing are also usually quite colored. They don't unveil a recording, they focus your attention by suppressing some tones and enhancing others. The reviewer who suddenly discovers hearing things he has never heard before and now goes through his entire library has fallen for this trap hook line and sinker.
This is not always true, as some speakers are revealing by ignoring the room. They can remain tonally neutral but give you a headphone like experience. I'm not talking about them. I'm talking about the others. I wish we had a better word for it.
Mind you, I believe you should buy speakers based on your personal preferences. Revealing, warm, neutral, whatever. I'm just saying this word is deceptive, as if there were no down side when there is.
Best,
Erik
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- 106 posts total
The dac/amplifier/ speakers resolve, but the speakers/room reveal. The resolving and the revealing are 2 properties of speakers that must be distinguished.... The resolving potential is in relation to "generic" pre-designed components in the speakers, the revealing potential is in relation to " specific" working of the mechanical structure of the speakers, not only the electronical or electrical one, in the room.... The resolving is defined in relation to the source, the revealing is defined in relation with the room’s embeddings.... Engineering science like medecine is an art, the art of the trade-off.... :) |
Sounds like you have a semantics problem specifically associated with speakers YOU don’t like. What is YOUR suggestion for the correct wording to use in order to describe undefined speakers you probably won’t like?You miss the point completely... I dont speak about speakers i dont like.... I try to explain a complex situation in the simplest words... Contrary to your misconception, almost all speakers can sound good rightfully embed in the house and room if they are paired with the right amplifier and dac... Most speakers that sound bad are badly linked to the wrong piece of equipment for them and/or wrongly embed in their mechanical, electrical, and acoustical dimensions ...(except for some badly designed speakers for sure) Now there is almost no speakers rightly designed i will not like AFTER embedding them and AFTER pairing them with a good dac and amp.(Even if i had my preference like everybody for the best quality speakers) Liking some branded speakers is not like liking and tasting a brand of cheese....You must know how to use and embed the speakers, and then you must know how to deal with the resolving power and revealing power balance of the speakers in specific house /room/positions. If the speakers is a stick, it has 2 ends, he resolve at one end and reveal at the other end.... :) Or more simply put: Speakers, room and ears are only one organ...... |
twoleftearsRevealing = equivalent of cranking up the sharpness control on your TV. Very good analogy. As a professional photographer, I always have to know when the sharpness added is beneficial and when it is too much. Knowing the same in audio is more difficult, since I react faster through my eyes than through my ears. |
- 106 posts total