Audio Terminology

[Nikhil]

Its been an enjoyable few months since I've been back on the forum. Have been fortunate to meet with a lot of forum members and audition some great systems up close thanks to the forum. I am still at a loss for words when it comes to describing sound after I hear a system. Is there a reference audio dictionary for what the different words mean?

What does laid back mean? Dark? Air? Dynamic? You know what I am saying. I think this would be a great topic at a audio meet where we can all hear and agree on what exactly these words mean. I've heard people describe their sound a certain way and I am not sure now if we are talking about the same thing.

I hope this is a topic of interest. Will be glad to hear what others have to say on this.

 

[Shivam]

As per J Gordon Holt of Stereophile in an article published in 1983-

laid-back - Recessed, distant-sounding, having exaggerated depth, usually because of a dished midrange.

This was in contrast to 'forward' sounding-
forward, forwardness - A quality of reproduction which seems to place sound sources closer than they were recorded. Usually the result of a humped midrange, plus a narrow horizontal dispersion pattern from the loudspeaker.

Please see this for the full glossary as published then -
Sounds Like? An Audio Glossary | Stereophile.com

Apart from what laid back meant in 1980s, this terminology has now come to include pleasant upper range with not too much harshness (as can be understood from NAD, Wharfedale, PSB and mostly old British brands reviews).

 

[Nikhil]

Shivam that's a great article! Some great info in there.

... , we need words to attach to these effects. Those words are what we call subjective terminology.

The language of subjectivity has been around since before Edison. Musicians have long been familiar with terms like "mellow," "strident," "rich," and "euphonic," but the advent of reproduced music introduced new kinds of sonic qualities for which new descriptive terms were needed. The 1953 Radiotron Designer's Handbook---for its time, the "bible" of electronics design---listed more than 70 terms, most of which are still in use today.

 

[Shivam]

There was another list of similar terms as well as a dictionary meant for audio related things which was authored by G A Briggs of Wharfedale. You can try searching for that too. This was more related to real things rather than terms used to express the music perception.

 

[Nikhil]

Just googled Briggs and a ton of material showed up!
The guy was a prolific writer apart from his work with his speaker company.

 

[Shivam]

Just googled Briggs and a ton of material showed up!
The guy was a prolific writer apart from his work with his speaker company.

Yes, he was. I made my first DIY speakers using his guidelines many years back.

The book I was talking about is - A to Z in Audio.
A to Z In Audio: G. A. Briggs: Amazon.com: Books
This has some good explainations of some of the commonly used terms though the J Gordon Holt's list is more informative since Holt was a reviewer himself.