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Questions for specialists on “warmth”



I have heard sound from speakers that are more neutral and detailed in texture and focus the presence of all frequencies, sound that captured air resonance and produced a holographic image, but I doubt that’s what warmth is.

It seems to me that “warmth” is manipulated by engineering.
What is the purpose of “warmth”?
Does it actually exists or is it in imagination, or is it given a phony name (resonating warmer air?) in result I couldn’t link what I heard to “warmth”.

Sorry for the many questions below, without evidence of existence of this “warmth”, I get that feeling somebody is telling me the earth is flat whenever they mention “warmth”.

Maybe it is more psychological, is it then related to the release of a certain type of chemical in the body?

I had thought that maybe warmth means organic. If that’s true, is warmth created with possible ways to give the listener organic illusions? If that’s true, can the sound become too warm that it becomes hot; or too organic that it makes the actually sound we hear in our daily lives in comparison cold, is that good for one’s marriage?

What are the differences between warm and cold, can any expert give some generalization of the technical differences that sets them apart? Are the sound manipulated, how?

How can warmth be created from the play back perspective?
Cable
With what material, why
With what construction, why
Digital
Why and what done in digital processing; AD (analogy to digital) and DA
Speaker
Are they then best to be construction with organic material?
trackmango
philjolet's avatar
philjolet
2,262 posts
 
maybe a better term would be 'warmly balanced sound' because it is always a balancing act between high, mid and low frequencies. If speakers are too close to the wall, the lower frequencies will be louder and this would add warmth to the sound so the balance would be toward the warm side etc...

bottom line to me, warmth is a variation in frequency response with the region of approx. 100hz to 300hz being boosted in relation to the upper frequencis - nothing more.
tbg
5,263 posts
 
I have never understood the tight association many see between tubes and warm sound. I have heard more accurate tube amps and line stages and slow, thick tube equipment. I would never tolerate such tube equipment. I have never heard bright and edgy tube equipment, but have heard such solid state equipment. I would never tolerate it either.

Much to my surprise, my present system includes no tubes anywhere. With one brief two month period about 20 years ago when I had an all Krell system, I have not had all ss in 40 years. It is not at all bright and brittle. It has much greater power than I have had in years. I did not go this way to rid myself of warmth, NO.

I think that digital front end and poorly set up and bad equipped vinyl front ends can sound bright, but the solutions is to rid yourself of them not to expect slow tube electronics can somehow ameliorate this brightness and edge.
tvad
9,467 posts
 

10-15-06: Mrtennis
tvad, i think your partially correct in your definition of warmth. it is an attenuation of lower treble and upper midrange, with a boost in the lower midrange.

if the entire midrange is elevated, brightness may occur, because emphasizing the upper midrange can be a source of unplesantness.
Mrtennis (Threads | Answers)
Thank you. That indeed was what I intended. My post was imprecise.
restock
826 posts
 
I have never understood the tight association many see between tubes and warm sound.

I completely agree: In my experience there has been no correlation whatsoever with warm and the destinction between SS and tube equipment, at least not with respect to the definition of the term according to Tvad and Mrtennis.

The reason for me to go to tubes is the added realism that is more a result of better resolution, transparency, better transient response and better speaker-amp interaction. The simplicity of tube amps seems to play a big role too, in not destroying ambient information and details.

Finally for a simple clarification of terms since you are "new" here: Try the stereophile glossary before starting a thread:

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".

Of course you have a point, the term "warm" is used in all kind of ways, most not very accurate, the most prevelant being the one Tvad used, i.e. a tilded frequency response with attenuation of the upper midrange and highs.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
Tube amplification offers "soft" clipping, which contributes to a naturalness in amplified sound.

I agree about tubes offering better resolution, transparency, etc.

However, some tubes are less resolving than others, i.e. Brimar 12AU7 versus Amperex 12AU7, and therefore provide a "warmer" sound that is less detailed.

At least this has been my observation in my home.
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