What is "warm" sound?

"Warm" is such a fascinating term! I understand warm and cold when I'm thinking of handshakes, smiles, glances, greetings, relationships, and paint colors. But what is a "warm" sound? Is it just a sound with the highs attenuated or with more or less of a particular kind of distortion? Or is there more to it? And is there now also a marketing/psychological component (I see the word in ad copy constantly) that is less interested in description than in evocation and association? (If I prefer a warm touch and a warm dinner then surely I'd want a warm sound as well?)

 

I think the extreme side of 'warm' sound is an old fashioned single speaker phonograph sound (or old fashioned Console stereo)- I think of old fashion sound when I think of warm- ex tubes add a hint of it.

 

Not using klipsch speakers is warm.

 

It means there is a slight boost in the low midrange around 300 Hz, the highs are rolled off, and there's harmonic distortion created by vacuum tubes

 

To me it means no harshness in the midrange. A more natural presentation.

 

Trying to describe it is cold - that's the way I'd put it.

 

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."

Sounds Like? An Audio Glossary »

 

It's definitely a vague and therefore malleable term that has ceased to mean very much. The audiophile glossary entry above tries to nail down a definition, but as you point out, "warm," is also a feeling and therefore very subjective (and marketable). For this reason, I find that equipment reviews that rely on adjectives are much less useful than those that talk about specifics.

 

Interesting, I just got a pair of vintage cornwalls and I would say they are much, much warmer than my Paradigms. Perhaps a bit muddy by comparison.

My basic definition of warm would be more bass and less detail than neutral.

 

If you want to hear how 'warm' sounds, cup your ears and listen to some music like this kid. Then describe the change in the sound signature (the description is bound to be very subjective).

 

This is like the discussion that was on here about the term "musical". If everyone has their own definition the words don't mean a lot. There has to be an actual definition to these words in an audiophile context (and luckily, there is!).

 

For me, it's the presence of bass, and drums. The opposite of having my fillings hurt when I listen to a recording.
Big Stars first two albums on Classic vinyl = warm.
The SACD of the same = cold.
.

 

I'm fascinated by the metaphorical nature of language in general. Why is one note "high" and another "low"? Piano players might well speak of right notes and left notes, but then I suppose there'd be the risk of concluding at some point that bass players are socialists and flute players are capitalists!

 

"actual definition" might be a bit of a stretch. It's not like there is an official sanctioning body for lame audiophile words. That was just a guy with an opinion writing an article for money.

Gross over simplification....If you have tone controls on you receiver, add more bass and it gets warmer, add too much and it is muddy. Add more treble and you get more detail. Too much and it is bright.

 

I always think of it as mellow and lifelike. I don't think of it as no highs, it's just that the highs are sweet and pleasing, not harsh.

 

Less fatigue on the ears.

 

If y'all think "mellow" and "less fatigue on the ears" bear any relationship with "lifelike" you've never been to my 6th grade winds and percussion class! The sound in there is more lifelike than a $200k stereo, but "mellow" and "less fatigue on the ears" it ain't!

 

If I had a recording of a 6th grade winds and percussion class, I would probably not describe it as "warm" no matter how it was mastered.

A lifelike recording of a dinette set crashing down the stairs wouldn't be "warm" either.

 

Warm=dirty heads on a 8-track player.

 

Warm-
Neil Diamond-His 12 Greatest Hits, 1985 (Sanyo Japan)
Cold-
Asia Alpha

 

Not first pressings from direct to disc?

 

As a trumpet player, an expensive horn, especially with a larger bore will produce a warmer tone, while a cheaper student horn or a horn with a small bore will be bright. Go far enough down the spectrum to Indian made junk and it will actually get tinny. Sometimes the variance is something you want. A flugelhorn is almost exaggeratedly warm, and is seldom used in a large ensemble. Cornets tend to be warmer than trumpets, which are more brassy.

 

Well, I guess the answer is quite easier on that one: I presume it just refers to the way you write notes on a music sheet, right?

 

'Warm' is the fictional belief that vinyl cut from the same compressed digital files used for the CD and download sounds better, when in reality it's worse than the already damaged music on the digital formats. I just talked with another engineer last week who runs his own business and we laughed how people blindly talk of how the LP sounds better because they don't realize it's cut from the same digital files. It's the modern age, most will not spend extra money for a direct from tape analog transfer for vinyl, new releases or reissues. In references to original vinyl pressings, perhaps 'Warm' is all the EQ modifications and limitations that have to be applied for the sake of accommodating the vinyl medium. In other words, lack of bass and overdone midrange, not to mention sibilance, must be some people's idea of 'Warm'. I'll take a highly dymanic, proper "Cold" digital CD any day if it's an option.

 

According to Bob Katz...



Warm can be characterised as excessive energy in the 250-450 Hz range, or a deficiency in the 3-6 kHz range.