2. amps-preamps
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Is it too bright or is it high resolution?

It has been said in the forums that one mans bright sounding amp is another mans high resolution amp. Some amps and preamp combinations can deliver a high resolution presentation and to others this may be considered too bright sounding. Is there a fine line that can distinguish between the two? Personally I like very revealing & the fine details delivered but the wife says it sounds a tad bit too bright.
phd

Showing 2 responses by bondmanp

bondmanp
1,789 posts
 

IIRC, J Gordon Holt used to refer to bright as a proper attribute in audio reproduction.  It was excessive brightness that was an issue.


Beyond that, the OP's question is like asking:  Do apples taste good, or are they too sweet?  It is indeed a matter of personal taste.  Many peoople enjoy sound that I find excessively bright, etched and grainy.  I value smooth, liquid sound with well-proportioned detail and transients that are there, but not over-emphasized.  YMMV.

bondmanp
1,789 posts
 
Ah, male hearing.  I will never forget the Twilight Zone episode in which a babbling wife never stopped talking.  Her long suffering husband just suffered in silence (he dared not interrupt).  Then, one day, while in the car, he rubbed his right ear, and discovered that tugging on his ear lobe shut off the hearing in that ear (the wife was seated to his right) until he tugged it a second time.  The episode ended with the two of them cruising down the road, the wife rambling on about who-knows-what, and, having tugged his right ear lobe, a smiling, oblivious husband.  I'd like to see someone try to air something like that these days!  
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