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Your vote: Most Useless Audio Adjective

From what I've seen in online audio discussion forums such as Audiogon, words like warm, taut, wooly, and forward can upset even died in the wool audiophiles. While some may have a hard time getting their arms around them, most of the terms seem quite appropriate to me. You have to develop some list of terms in order to convey a description of a component's sonics, or to delineate it from another component.

However, I have noticed the description "self effacing" creeping into more and more reviews, and it flat out boggles my mind. Initially, it seemed to fit into the context it was being used - affordable or downright cheap gear, that was fun and lively. However, now that I've read the term being used to describe quite a serious piece of high end kit, the time has come to point out how ridiculous things are getting.

I had to laugh out loud thinking of the snootiest, most condescending audio dealer I know who was carrying this brand. Using the term "self effacing" with anything had to do with this guy was akin to describing Phyllis Diller a young, hot sex symbol.

What is your most useless audio adjective???
trelja
golden_ears
220 posts
 
So what's wrong with the term "musical"? A large portion of the Audiofool population sits and listens for tiny little details in the music, thinking that this is the Hallmark of Audio reproduciton. (Gawd, did you hear that? I heard one of the musicians move his foot! Oh, did you hear that? The clarinetist's in-breath whistles because she hasn't trimmed her nose hairs! Wow!)
Meanwhile, the soundstage is narrow and flat, harmonics are virtually absent, the overall balance is off and it is not a very "musical" reproduction!
If used for the right reasons, "musical" is very important descriptive word.
sherod
1,681 posts
 
Would someone tell me what the term " fleshing out" means? I have an idea, but I'd like to get some opinions. Used in a sentence, " As the days and hours passed, the midrange slowly began to flesh out."
gregm
3,021 posts
 
"Ruthlessly revealing". Tsk, tsk. Better still, "ruthlessly revealing, not for the faint-hearted".
nuguy
195 posts
 
"groovy"....unless referring to an album.
newmanoc
295 posts
 
"Liquid" and "organic" are equally bad offenders for me, but I absolutely don't get the tube gear I've heard so that is not a big surprise.

On the other hand, I know what I mean when I use the term PRaT, though it has a dodgy marketing background from what I gather and so I understand the visceral response in brings out in some.
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