Dark and laid back vs bright and forward

Good question.

I think I disagree with Rar1's answer. Bright refers to an emphasis on the upper mid-range/treble. The sound has an unnatural glare to it. Dark refers to a diminished upper mid-range/treble. The sound is somewhat "shut-in" and doesn't sparkle when it should. Forward is more of a prominence in the mid-range. For instance a solo vocal recorded with the microphone inches from the performer's mouth should sound very upfront and present, but the same performer recorded in a mid to large size hall with more distant miking technique should sound the opposite. There's another phrase, warm, that describes an emphasis in the lower mid-range/upper bass.

Onhwy61:
Interesting ... I never looked at dark sounding as being the mirror opposite of bright sounding. What I was referring to as "dark" ... you might call "boomy" (the sound of old Bogen and Grundig tube amplifiers come to mind ... if that metaphor makes any sense). From my reading of the British HiFi magazines, I see forward & bright used together a fair bit (a speaker will be a bit tipped or forward in the treble region) ... whereas, forward in your usage is almost part of the recording technique. Way cool. Regards, Rich

The audio language is imprecise. Sometimes I don't think anybody (audio reviewers in particular) knows what they are really talking about.

I disagree with everyone and have more precise sound definitions:

Dark usually auditioned in dark room.
Darkness helps to purify the power lines with no influence of bulbs and other electric supplies. The fridge can also be turned of for real Dark listening. Dark in video if TV is off.

Forward basically signifies of absence of music when you fast-forward a tape or CD searching your favourite place on the particular track. The same is with video.

Bright is usually when you're playing through the whole house lightened and with dishwasher, washer, dryer, fridge is on along with your stereo. In case with video or HT you bring up the brightness and contrast on your TV to the maximum.

Laid Back is when you want to get laid but still you listen to so nice piece of music that you sit back and enjoy instead of gettin' laid. In case with video or HT you simply sit back and watch someone gettin' laid.

Marakanetz, what a hoot!! I think that you know more than all the audo reviewers combined!