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What does "Warm" mean?

In his post today Paul McGowan ([email protected]) had a pretty good post on the subject of warmth.  Here is his definition: "The word usually points at a few related things. There's a slight rise in the lower midrange and upper bass — the region where male voices, cellos, lower piano notes, and the body of most instruments live. There's a softness at the very top, a rounding off of transient energy that feels easier on the ear over long sessions. And there's a sense of weight and body in the music, a presence that makes acoustic instruments feel three-dimensional rather than etched in air. When all three of those things show up together, listeners reach for "warm" because nothing else describes it as quickly."

Paul then goes on to discuss both the good and the bad of this set of characteristics.  In general I associate warmth with harmonic distortion, but prefer it to the stridency or harshness that I associate with intermodular distortion.  I think most people would agree.  Since we all live with a certain amount of distortion, more in analog than in digital playback, I wonder what others think about warmth, or lack of same, and their tolerance or lack of same in their own listening preferences. 

billstevenson
billstevenson OP
1,203 posts
 

Raul,

I agree with you.  The Technics is definitely more neutral, clearly offers better definition.  And yet the Denon is just lovely for casual listening.  Of course my VPI HW-40 is better than the Technics, but only a little bit.  When I was younger these things mattered more to me.  I don't know how much of that to attribute to my ears and how much to maturity.  There was a time when Rega's approach was not appealing to me.  Not long ago I had occasion to "set up" a P8 for a guy using AnalogMagik.  Actually all I did was verify that it did not need to be set up, it performed just fine right out of the box.  Excellent without qualification.  There is a lot to be said for that approach.  I would really like to have a chance to compare a Rega Naia to my HW-40.  

 

kennyc
2,951 posts
 

@billstevenson  I was a Naval officer….

Thanks for serving. I live in Silicon Valley and am disappointed that many don’t appreciate the military protection of our peace and freedom.

@lewm I think of warm as a coloration. 

My SS is neutral, Audionet Humboldt.
But my 2nd system is using a 100db Volti Rival (neutral within budget) to discover tube midrange magic (pleasing distortion) starting with SET amps. Got a Coincident 300b v2 Frankenstein yet to be hooked up. WE 300b tubes very expensive, but seems it’s something to hear in one’s lifetime.

I’m a bucket list late to the table audiophile trying to sample various top audio presentations. 

 

parkergetdean
1,078 posts
 

warm is the opposite of analytical (not the opposite of bright)

It should be relaxing and "lazy" as opposed to stimulating. 

To me bright is wrong (in the chain), whereas analytical and warm are both correct, depending on the setup. The pros always say: warm source, analytical amp, neutral speakers: perfect result, or some combination of the above. Warm can be as realistic as analytical, just from a different seat in the concert hall.

parkergetdean
1,078 posts
 

many don’t appreciate the military protection 

like whom? Why are provoking members in a clearly non-political thread? You mean we should be grateful for wasteful and senseless wars that are actually making us less safe and ruining the economy?

kennyc
2,951 posts
 

@parkergetdean - I also appreciate the police and firefighters who protect us. Your overreacting. In the Bay Area, there was a push to get the military out. You’re free to vilify the military, but they defend our freedoms. I find 4th of July meaningful and am grateful for those who sacrificed for our freedom we enjoy today. Of you were Ukrainian, would you simply roll over and play dead to let yourself be absorbed back into Russian pseudo-communist control? They already lived it and want no part of it. Yes war is wasteful and terrible, but to prevent all parties must agree. If not, I’d rather defend now and for future generations the freedoms we enjoy today. Freedom is not free.

This is off topic. I will not pursue further.

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