What exactly is PRaT???

I've posted that in my opinion PRaT relates to the time domain, not the frequency domain that we usually talk about.  To the person that never listens to symphonic music, I would ask if that extends to films which use such music to underscore the drama?

Classical music almost always does have a beat, it is just not as in-your-face as some other genres and can be very complex and rewarding if you get it.  A big orchestra faces a big timing problem though - the visual clues from the conductor travel at the speed of light (near instantaneous) but sound is much slower.  It takes almost 1/10th of a second to travel 30-meters.  The Sydney Opera House Concert Hall stage is about 19-meters wide and is small for a major concert venue, because of the concrete shell surrounding it, although it is comparable with the Berliner Phiharmoniker  I pity the organist sitting high towards the roof looking in his rear-vision mirror down at the conductor in the distance!

Nevertheless conductors like John Wilson can make a good orchestra rock ...

@bolong ...Re Cha-cha cha...."Fascinating, but you can't dance to it..."

Dense....dwarf star alloy level, if speed read you will bruise one's brain...

MHO, and I'm stuck with it. ;)

@immatthewj ... It's been and will continue for quite awhile, an Experience.
Can't say recommended....but the Pause to look about you and consider....😔

Yes, back to PRaT falls... ;)

Hey, if what you listen to doesn't make you 'move' in some fashion, physically and/or emotionally, in yet another mho, you're listening to the wrong stuff.

Ultimately, the means that you apply to create that grand illusion for as long as you love or tolerate it despite the bugs ignored to do so....

...IS the Point.

*blink*

PRaTically guaranteed .... ;)

'ciao, J

PRAT is Brat.

@soix have you ever listened to a Naim system from source to speakers?  Or Naim electronics with ATC speakers?

I got back into the hifi hobby about 20 years ago.  I was traveling for work at the time and would visit brick and mortar stores all across the US, and I listened to all kinds of systems from budget to quite exotic.  There were surprisingly few setups that actually moved me.  One that did was a Naim CD player and Nait XS integrated amplifier with Naim floor standing speakers.  Not the last word in detail or power, but it just sounded so incredibly “right”.  The music had momentum and flow, and yes it made me want to tap my toe.  I later decided that is what people are talking about when they say “PRAT”, and wondered what engineering trick or emphasis was employed to achieve it.  I could have listened to that system all day.  I had an opportunity to hear some very high end Naim gear at the time, and while the detail, lack of distortion, spatial representation and power of the music were clearly better, the music seemed a bit more sterile compared to their more entry level gear.  (Naim’s newest higher end gear has it all however.)

I have thought about what I consider to be “PRAT” a lot since then, and have been chasing it in my systems, while also trying to achieve what I consider convincing imaging, dynamics and tone.  If you don’t “hear” PRAT in yours or others systems, but you are enjoying what you’re hearing, I wouldn’t worry about it.  I enjoyed listening to recorded music immensely for years before becoming aware of PRAT, but now I can’t un-hear it.

Someone mentioned Tony Rice previously.  I find his work with David Grisman’s Quintet and Grisman’s dawg music in general from the late 70s and early 80s to really swing and be loaded with PRAT.  The recording by MOKAVE called Afrique is another great recording to test your system’s PRAT capabilities.

YMMV

kn

@panzrwagn "Overall, I believe PRaT is fundamentally about controlling and minimizing stored energy within a system. It is the release of that stored energy that smears the sound, robbing the music of PRaT."

I think you’re right on the mark based on my listening experiences. Two categories of components that seem to inhibit PRaT from my perspective are:

1. High mass turntables
2. High powered Class AB amplifiers

Both store a good amount of energy from what I know: high mass turntables are slow to release vibration and higher power amplifiers need larger power supplies to handle the bigger current demands.

@bolong Agreed with your statement that "It requires a clean start and stop of a transient". I agree that I don't think it has anything to do with timing per se, but rather having sharp leading and trailing edges for when a sound wave starts and stops.

@calvinandhobbes 

I think you’re right on the mark based on my listening experiences. Two categories of components that seem to inhibit PRaT from my perspective are:

1. High mass turntables
2. High powered Class AB amplifiers

I never experienced PRaT until I acquired my Hegel H390 (Class A/B rated at 250 watts @8 ohms).