Alright folks ... what the hell does "Sweet" mean in sound?

Hi all!

Yes, over the last few months I've heard a lot, I mean A LOT of brands of electronics and speakers, learnt quite a lot too, etc

I understand what words like "harsh", "dull", "thin", "bright", "smooth", "deep", etc mean. But WHAT THE HELL DOES "SWEET" MEAN?

Thanks a lot

 

I'd ignore that one! Perhaps analogous to 'tasty', but marketed towards audiophiles with a sweet tooth?

 

According to the Stereophile "Sounds Like" Audio Glossary:

sweet - Having a smooth, softly delicate high end.

 

Jackie Gleason knows

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESOKpp7QanA

 

I always felt when you stop hearing all those other terms while listening and the music just sounds great- that's sweet!!

 

Sweet is what you want

 

By that definition my Audeze LCD-2 headphones are sweet.
Yet when I google "LCD-2 sweet" I find a 6moons review that effectively says the LCD-2 don't have a sweet top end coloration like other high end headphones. Now I'm confused. The only other high end headphones I would consider "sweet" would be some of the Stax like the SR-007. T1, not sweet. HD800, not sweet. Edition 8, not sweet. HE-6, not sweet. So what is that idiot at 6moons talking about and which high end headphones is he comparing to think they're sweet in the treble?

"Sweet" is obviously a useless way to describe audio. Effectively means nothing and only serves to up the word count in a review.

 

I prefer the term "smooth".

 

Better than bitter sound, I suppose ...

 

'pleasing to the ear'


surely its not that hard to work out!

it ain't dull, bright, brittle, strident, mushy etc etc....... its sweet.

 

"Ear Candy"?

 

Then think of it as the opposite of "harsh". It would make more sense to say that the treble was "airy and sweet" rather than it would be to say "the treble was not closed-in or harsh".
-Bill

 

Once you heard it, you know what it is.

 

+1

Agreed.

M~

 

As above, once you have heard the 'sweet' sound, you will understand.

 

Think of it this way: If you were listening to something that sounded bad, the first words out of your mouth would not be "sweet!" Therefore, "sweet" can be understood to mean anything to the opposite. Of course, that can be broken down to a whole host of adjectives. In my opinion, when I yell out "sweet" in my family room, I mean "Damn Good!"

 

Sweet = smooth and free of distortion

In my experience, the term "sweet" has come into use to describe fully extended highs that are coloration-free, and that have no grain, distortion, digital or electronic artifacts, etc. so that the music sounds quite pure and "sweet". This is distinguished from a sound described as "musical," "romantic" or "tubey" that has quite pleasing highs, but with some warm coloration and, perhaps, less than full extension. Some of the very best solid state electronics may be described as producing a "sweet" sound that is not "romantic" (though it is certainly "musical" within that word's normal meaning rather than its audiophile meaning).

 

Using the term "sweet" when referring to the sound of music ends up becoming whatever the listener wants it to mean. It's not a term I would use to describe audio as it is not specific in any sense.

 

It's like when people say "musical." A complete subjective term that means something differnt to everyone.

 

Well from the engineer's point of view, sweetening refers to overdubbing and adorning of basic tracks. In fact, I've often heard of producers booking time for sweetening. I'm not sure how that relates to the OP's question, but I figured I might as well throw it out there.

 

I think of sweet as a very musical, engaging, never-fatiguing, slightly warm and natural-sounding musical presentation. If I had to use one word to characterize my C-J Premeir 17LS, it would be sweet.

I also liken it to the difference between the ride quality of a superbly designed steel-framed bicycle crafted by companies like Richard Sachs, Ibis, or Independent Fabrication compared to a mass-produced aluminium framed bicycle. Amongst cyclists, steel is famous for having a "sweet" ride.

 

I think sweet refers to the frequencies starting in the upper midrange all the way up to the extreme highs. All the notes and reverberation that are on the recording are present and easily heard, but it is not exagerrated in any way, and it is never described as "harsh" or "bright". (this also assumes everything else is correct)

"You're system sounds SWEET!!!!"

 

Great, great responses here

 

I've heard some very sweet sounding distorted playback.

 

+2
I know of no way to covey the meaning of this type of sound in objective terminology other than by hearing it. Once you've heard sweet highs or mids for yourself, you'll understand.

But I'll give it a shot, even though I know that this is probably futile. The only way that I can even attempt to describe it any further is that sweet highs should "ring". Sweet-sounding symbols, for example, should have lots of "ring" and a deep resonance to their sound without sounding overly bright, and not simply sound like an indistinct hiss.

Many systems are completely incapable of sounding this way though. So if you have never experienced anything along this line, then you need to get out and listen to some really good tube gear.