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What exactly is PRaT???

Ok, it’s like this thing and is associated with “toe tapping” and such.  I confess, I don’t get it.  Apparently companies like Linn and Naim get it, and I don’t and find it a bit frustrating.  What am I missing?  I’m a drummer and am as sensitive as anyone to timing and beats, so why don’t I perceive this PRaT thing that many of you obviously do and prize as it occurs in stereo systems?  When I read many Brit reviews a lot of attention goes to “rhythm” and “timing” and it’s useless to me and I just don’t get it.  If someone can give me a concrete example of what the hell I’m not getting I’d sincerely be most appreciative.  To be clear, enough people I greatly respect consider it a thing so objectively speaking it’s either something I can’t hear or maybe just don’t care about — or both.  Can someone finally define this “thing” for me cause I seriously wanna learn something I clearly don’t know or understand.  

soix
immatthewj
1,996 posts
 

The first time I ever heard of it was right here on A'gon, and I didn't get it either.

I mean, it seems to me that "pace, rhythm and tempo" is what the band either did or didn't do during the recording session, and if they did do it, the rest was up to the guys and/or gals doing the recording and mastering.  I would have never thought that this was the function of the consumer's playback gear.

However, one of the upgrades I made that most grabbed my attention was in '99 when I replaced a B&K digital HT preamp with a secondhand Carp SLP 90.  My initial reaction was, "So this is what "musical" means."  But I was never able to put what I heard into words that I could use to describe it.

mashif
244 posts
 

@soix 

As a drummer, you know you can push the beat or play more relaxed and still be "on time". It's a feel thing. I notice it most on plucked strings. Acoustic guitar, mandolin, pizz strings. 

I think it's mostly about transient response on the high end and maybe damping on the low end to respond accurately to the speed of the waveform. 

soix OP
9,456 posts
 

One question: do you experience some systems as more rhythmically engaging than others?

@stuartk No. I do not. A system either plays music the way I perceive it or it does not. If a system truncates highs, sounds bleached or lacking in tone, or sounds two dimensional I get that. Timing? Pace? No. These things are not in my audiophile vocabulary. A system either plays music in a believable way or it does not. I’ve never heard a system that sounds “slow” or lacks ”pace” or whatever the hell that is. I just don’t get it.  I will say this though, I was at an audio show and I knew 10 yards out from a Linn room that it was Linn speakers because it sounded bleached and nasally.  If that’s pace and rhythm you can have it. 

immatthewj
1,996 posts
 

One question: do you experience some systems as more rhythmically engaging  than others?

Some are definitely more engaging for me than others are; however I never attributed it to having to do with "rhythmically".

stuartk
2,798 posts
 

@soix

No. I do not. A system either plays music the way I perceive it or it does not.

Well, that’s pretty definitive! Considering the fact that you are a drummer and (I presume) very familiar with how rhythms "feel" in your body, I don’t feel qualified to challenge you on this.

I have noticed over the years that reviews by Brits seem to often mention PRaT. It would be interesting to ask Tarun (A British Audiophile) what it means to him.

 

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