Laid back integrated amp for stereo

[hydra]

What do folks here mean when they say "laid back"? I am bit confused and would be real glad to be enlightened.

Is it:
1) sound stage well to the rear of the speakers? as opposed to the sound stage being forward?
2) low highs as opposed to shouty highs?
3) something that's not too resolving of details?
4) something else?

Please enlighten.

I've always used "laid-back" to mean the following:

Relaxed, warm sound with rolled-off highs, even at the cost of a bit of top-end detail. Also called sound that tends to be a bit 'dark'. Not at all 'shouty' or harsh or hard. The direct opposite of "bright".

"Laid-back" (as I use it, and as I understood it meant) has nothing to do with the sound stage or the style of presentation of the sound. It has only to do with the colour and tonality of the sound.

 

[aashish351]

I take laid back as less emphasis on higher frequencies and forward as more emphasis on highs. However all these terms are relative and subjective.

Not only the source/speaker/amp play a role in character of sound but it is the source material as well.

e.g. Himesh Reshamiya's most of the songs were forward but those from 'Tere Naam" were not so.

A.R. Rehman's most songs are well balanced but I find Taal to be bit too bright.


So whether a song /piece of music is laid back depends on preference of the musician, recording engineer, the type and quality of the monitor that they use while mastering the music (depending on which they are going to make the recording as neutral which in reality may not be so).
So there are too many other factors involved .

What we do on HFV is almost always speak about the characteristics of "sound reproduction equipment" without talking much about sound production.

I hope we have some members on HFV who aree involved in recording studios and can shed some light on this issue.

You have made a very good point. The quality and sound character of the recorded material is probably the most important...

Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk 2

 

[GCE]

For me laid back sound can be achieved with amps not too fast
and not too bright and harsh in sound, something like Quad pre34 + pw306
combo (50 W), that I owned for the last 20 years.
Good substitute, but with more attack: Marantz 6004
Only my impressions with my old B&W and B&W 684 in store (rock and Jazz):
Yam AS 500: very open sound , great horizontal image stage, but with too present high freq., for me; bass good only with loudness in, not very ergonomic remote and front commands; very, very easy to mark with fingers on the front (incredible!);
Nad 316: good bass, but not at low volume; medium-high freq. a little bit confuse; very ergonomic and nice.
Marantz 6004: more liquid and natural medium freq.; bass enough, but you can add something at low volume with loudness, not possible with Nad;
built like a tank in Japan, with golden input/output, smart and nice remote, that I found can drive my 20 years old CD Philips too!
some reviews:

http://www.audiophilefr.com/Site/ecoutes/affichage-amplis-MARANTZ_-_PM_6004.html

http://www.audiophilefr.com/Site/ecoutes/index.php

I'd like to hear others impressions about Nad 326 and Marantz 6004 differences, thanks.

To tame brightness:
If your spk have biwire connectors, you can try to connect cable from amp to bass connectors and then bridge these with a resistor ( 0,5 Ohm, or so- you have to try) to the connectors for the highs... crazy and original idea!

 

[audiodelic]

Nad + psb is a great combo for laid back sound, hard to better.

 

[jls001]

It would be real nice to hear what the gentleman who started the thread has to say about "laid back" as there seem to be differing understandings of what laid back means to various people.

 

[samsailo]

Thanks a lot fellas.

Same goes as Hydra had mentioned, thats what i mean by laid back and nothing bout the sound stage.
Well, according to me a laid back sound is something just the opposite of bright. No forwardness, not harsh, high frequency roll off and of course a soft and non fatiguing listen.

One query is ... Whats the sound signature of the PSBs, i knew NAD to be laid back but nothing bout the PSB.

 

[Flash]

Thanks a lot fellas.

One query is ... Whats the sound signature of the PSBs, i knew NAD to be laid back but nothing bout the PSB.

Detailed and some may call it bright or brightish. However I find PSB balanced with a fluidic midrange.with High frequencies neither harsh nor fatiguing but just enough to make its presence felt without a hint of being overbearing or elevated. "
Brightness should not be confused with Detailed""

However all the speakers I have heard so far had been paired with the NAD 326 or the NAD 375.
So the overall sound signature could be direct result of NAD amplification.

Amplification plays a very important part with the overall sound signature, the same speakers with Creek, Krell, Rotel, Naim etc could sound completely different

 

[ronypune]

the proac studio 110 is the best speaker around. Check the reviews on the net. Laid bacck . Silky higs and mids. Clean bass response upto 33hz . Awesum speakers !!! A tiny bookshelf Tat beats the floorstanders easily...

 

[samsailo]

Has anyone ever auditioned the Spendor A6 or 8. I heard that spendors are very neutral and have a class leading mids...