What is PRaT

Something that is attributable to real music and the ability of an audio system to reproduce it. An audio system can't have PRaT on its own. It is amusing to me to see a system described as having PRaT, how could this be?

Some components appear to have better PRAT than others because of the aspect of the note that you are hearing. As a drummer, I time the music on the edge of the notes. And I guarantee that you hear/assess PRAT in the same way.

If a player opens up the middle of the note more than another, it may sound fantastic for vocals, but appear to have less PRAT--or even to sound too laid back--than another player that accentuates more the edge of the tone. This is often the reason that one player has you tapping your foot to the music, and another not. Or that you might conclude that a particular component is great for rock but not for jazz.

My Sony XA7ES, for example, appeared to have much better PRAT than our Audio Aero Prima, simply because it had better definition in the tones where we listen for PRAT. It did not play any faster, though it actually might appear to be doing so. So as Pbb suggests, it may be a subjectivist fiction. However, the term does help one audiophile to communicate to another on a specific arrangement of the sound one can expect to hear from a particular component.
Hope that helps,

Howard

pbb wow have I missed you and your insiteful comments. Thanks for clearing that up for the rest of us that thought it might be something useful.

In my younger days I used to get alot of prat. It had nothing whatsoever to do with audio.

PRaT is the kind of comedic "trip and fall" that Chevy Chase excels at. But seriously, Boa2's comments are very interesting and might explain why I prefer listening to, say, Mahler and Strauss songs through my tube CD player while appreciating foot-tapable stuff better when it's played on a good SS system.