Meaning of sound that is too "bright"?

Post #6 got it right. A boost in the extreme treble often isn't noticed due to hearing loss from any number of possible causes. But the upper mid-range/lower treble [3.5k to 8k] region often stands out on many recordings so that you hear the boost on all equipment. The vinyl reissues from Columbia records in the seventies are among the most notorious examples, with peaked treble in the reissues that is absent on the originals from the sixties and fifties. My first 'real' pair of speakers—AR 3's, bought used in 1973—have extended high-frequency response but also a suck-out from 4k to 8k. This happens to be the audio region of clicks and pops from LPs. The AR 3's sounded smooth and a little veiled but never 'bright'.

 

How do I find the Forum Glossary?

 

Thanks for this example. Very instructive!

 

Bright for me is treble-boosted, with sharp upper frequencies.

An example?: Genesis 1976-1982 box set

The DEFINITION of bright-sounding CDs.

To me, bright-sounding CDs are the most painful to listen to. The brighter the sound is, sooner ear-fatigue comes

 

Bright = treble boost in my book, not compression.

 

That was great. Thanks!

 

That was very cool to listen to, thank you. And thanks to OP for asking.

 

I know that "dynamic" is quite a misunderstood word, but I thought we all knew what "brightness" refers to.

Most of you got it: BRIGHT means excessive treble.

Let's remember, while we're at it, that DYNAMICS refer to the difference between the soft and loud passages of a piece of music. If the song stays loud the whole time, it's not dynamic.

It makes me shake my head when someone refers to something as punchy AND dynamic. Usually indicates a misunderstanding of "dynamic".

 

uncomftorable treble boost, definitely....someone mentioned The Bowie Rykos, good example...also, the 80's columbia cd's are very bright, most of them anyway, and a difficult listen...compare the 1980's Aerosmith's to the 1993 Anesini's to get the idea

 

"Too bright" used to mean too much upper frequencies i.e. the product of extremely sensitive tweeters. Think too much hiss in cymbals and possibly vocal sibilance. On a 31-band graphic equalizer it's located at the specific bands of 10, 12 & 16k. This form of "too bright" is easily EQ'd, and pulling some of it down has little impact on the overall sound.

Nowadays however "too bright" is a different thing altogether. I'll keep it brief with the band frequencies, but here's how they shape up in terms of what you hear. Bear in mind that dodgy remasterers have always pushed certain bands to simulate "clarity" but the reality is that the dynamics and clouds below 315k are then disguised. As are the faults. There are direct parametric relationships between the mids/highs and below 315k, and you will not hear what you should be hearing if any of these frequencies stray so much as one-third of a dB above their natural true sound.

1.25, 1.6, 2, 2.5, 3.2 & 4.

Any individual band push or parametric push here (esp centered @ 2.5) will create listening fatigue and instruments will sound tinny. Vocals may apparently sound clearer and "more digital", but fricatives get lost and the depth and quality warmth of the voice is disguised. A good test for "too bright" is how a track sounds when you crank it: do the drums and acoustics kick in nicely or does the whole thing just become an unlistenable ear-bleeding experience? Is the vocalist right there in the room or is half their voice missing while their microphone sounds like it's gonna shatter from crackling?

I really can't think of any valid reasons for something being too bright, apart from deaf and/or incompetent remastering engineers.

 

Whenever I mention the term here I mean an unpleasant treble boost.

 

Treble boost indeed. Somehow, the original CDs of Johnny Cash's Mercury Records albums suffer from it. And it's present on John Denver's "Different Directions" from 1991, too.
Maybe there was a trend to sound "bright" in late 80s / early 90s country music?

 

Here.

 

Too bright = too much upper midrange or treble that actually hurts my ears.