What does "Warm" mean?

@billstevenson, That was Mission Bay Audio.  The owner was a psychiatrist who initially ran the store out of his office.  But he soon moved to a commercial location on W. Mission Bay Drive.  He was a character and addicted to J Gordon Holt's recommendations.  I think he called Holt weekly.  So he sold FMI, Audio Research, and Magnepan with only a few other brands.

I was also familiar with Breier's, first on Park Blvd in Hillcrest, then in Kearny Mesa.  Actually I was probably familiar with all the audio stores in the San Diego area during the decades I lived there.  And I have stories about several of them.

Mostly Audio Directions, during the mid-70s.  One owner, Ike, was known for two bits of advice:

The only specifications that are critical are the component width, depth, and weight.  That will tell you if it fits on your shelf and if the shelf should be strong enough to hold it.

No one agrees on which is the best loudspeaker.  But most everyone agrees the second best is the LS3/5a.

It’s interesting that the description of “ warm” vs “cool” light is quite similar to audio version. From Google:

Warm light and cool light are distinguished by their color temperature, measured in Kelvin (K). Warm light (2700K - 3000K) mimics sunset with soft yellow-orange tones, creating cozy, relaxing spaces like bedrooms. Cool light (4000K - 6500K) mimics bright daylight, providing a crisp, bluish-white appearance that boosts energy, focus, and visual clarity in workspaces and kitchens. [1, 2]

Its counterintuitive that warmer light has slower color temperature in degrees K vs cooler light. 

@pryso My memory is playing tricks on me.  The guy who owned the store was a doctor, Mission Bay was where the store was located.  Audio Research, Magnapan is right, we had Tympani IVs on the floor in one room and Fulton Js in the front.  So, I must have the name wrong.  Breier was on Park Blvd. in Hillcrest.  I left the Navy and San Diego in 1978.  I don't agree with anyone about the best anything.  In my book there is no such thing.  Good speakers should be as flat as possible in terms of frequency response.  LS3/5a are good, but they don't play loud and have no bass.  I gave mine to my sister.

Raul,

I am not telling you anything you don't already know.  Often musicians make terrible audiophiles.  For one thing, sitting in section frequently results in hearing loss.  I was a drummer.  Drums are loud.  What saved me was I always used ear plugs.  So, my hearing is pretty good for a 78 year old man.  I just had it tested a couple of months ago in fact and it is pretty flat up to 12 kHz and down to about 25 Hz.  The doctor repeated the tests twice because he couldn't believe a man my age could hear that well.  Besides the drummer thing, I became an engineer and was exposed to loud noise for decades.  Good genes and ear plugs, which I used fastidiously account for this I believe. 

Anyway, back to your claim of no such thing as warm in the front row.  Well, we all hear differently.  Let me explain myself like this.  If I use calf skin heads on my drums, the tone is warmer than if I use Mylar heads.  You might not hear that difference in the front row, I don't know.  If you have any records with Mel Lewis on drums, you can hear a good drummer playing on calf skin heads.  For comparison, listen to Joe Morello, a good drummer who always preferred mylar heads.  I can hear these differences.  Can you? 

For another example, as a drummer who played a lot of duo/trio with piano, I have always been sensitive to the tonality of different pianos. There are a lot of examples of Steinways, which is a neutral sounding instrument.  Yamaha pianos are too.  By contrast, listen to Oscar Peterson, who in his last years played a Bosendorfer.  His piano had a warmer tonality.  It also had an extra set of notes on the left side so it went deeper than a standard piano.   If you have any of his recordings entitled "Exclusively For My Friends" you can hear him playing a Bosendorfer.   I hope you can find some of these examples among your own record collection.  You might then hear the tonality that I am referring to as warmer. 

With respect to my description of the difference between my Technics SL1200GAE and my Denon DP-3000NE, there is a definite distinction in the sound of the two.  Using identical cartridges (AT ART20, and AT LM60xSL), identical head shells (I have tried both the Denon and the Technics), identical phono leads, identical phono stage (PS Audio Stella).  No SUT. I even used the same mat (I tried three: OEM Denon, OEM Technics, and Origin Stratos).  For analytical detail, the Technics is better, but for just listening for relaxation, the Denon has a softer, warmer sound that I prefer, especially for Baroque and Early Music in general.  Using AnalogMagik, the measurable difference between the two such as speed, wow & flutter and so forth are negligible.  All of this I find more than a little surprising.    

I have yet to experience a ‘warm’ system with full dynamics representing cymbals and percussion with their full oooomph. The opposite of warm isn’t cold but harsh and that isn’t desirable either.