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Your vote: Most Useless Audio Adjective

From what I've seen in online audio discussion forums such as Audiogon, words like warm, taut, wooly, and forward can upset even died in the wool audiophiles. While some may have a hard time getting their arms around them, most of the terms seem quite appropriate to me. You have to develop some list of terms in order to convey a description of a component's sonics, or to delineate it from another component.

However, I have noticed the description "self effacing" creeping into more and more reviews, and it flat out boggles my mind. Initially, it seemed to fit into the context it was being used - affordable or downright cheap gear, that was fun and lively. However, now that I've read the term being used to describe quite a serious piece of high end kit, the time has come to point out how ridiculous things are getting.

I had to laugh out loud thinking of the snootiest, most condescending audio dealer I know who was carrying this brand. Using the term "self effacing" with anything had to do with this guy was akin to describing Phyllis Diller a young, hot sex symbol.

What is your most useless audio adjective???
trelja
mechans
3,048 posts
 
I was with Trelja when we auditioned the newer Quads that won the Stereophile product of the year. In fact Joe you used Pipe and Slippers as well as very "Polite", and we did hear it with A CJ pre which we kept adjusting much to the salesmans annoyance ( or was it the new LS-17?0 . I would add velvet Smoking Jacket to the pipe and slipper as well as fireplace burning away while reading some endless russian novel.
trelja OP
3,224 posts
 
Ah, if we keep this up, we will be the bane of the audiophile community. I mean, how will reviewers cope with no longer being able to use the terms tubelike and electrostatic-like to convey describing amps that sound slow, dark, and easy or speakers that sound fast and revealing???

Yes, Doctor, your memory is correct. It was CJ gear with the Quad ESL988. We listened with CJ Premier 140 monos and CJ ART II. Then, we later tried a big Classe power amp. Neither would allow one to us to remove our smoking jackets or put down the Dostoevksky, "I say, old Rex, be a good dog and fetch daddy's slippers."

No worries Grant, I'm buying...
jax2
3,031 posts
 
You "Pipe and Slippers" lot ought'a write yourself a manifesto to clarify your mission to the world. You'll need to come up with some additional categories to define other qualities of sound...maybe group them into classes...publish a regular journal of some sort to enlighten the rest of us. Here are a few suggestions of more adjective substitutes: Evil Klown (note the "K" substitution). Afro Pick, Close-N'-Play, Flying Monkeys, Good Humor Truck, Used Condom, Burma Shave, Crack Whore. Just give it a few years and you'll see the cover story in Stereophile picking up on the trend: "...this performance yet again puts the $30K Tri-Vista solidly in our Crack Whore category. If it weren't for the lack of pipe and slippers in the highest octave (it was my dog who had to key me in about this), it would go into the coveted Crack Whore riding the Good Humor Truck category (Buying that double-page spread ad in this months issue might have helped them achieve that status as well)." In the same issue you might see the iPod (generation XVII) go from hobo camp to used condom status. Personally, I recommend burma shave stuff for the best bang for the buck.

...Tristan Tzara would be proud.

Marco
zaikesman
3,017 posts
 
Marco: Well, it's quite obvious we can't consider seriously anything you have to say about expanding the Pipe'n'Slippers program. To imply that it will take Stereophile as long as "a few years" to feature another Musical Fidelity product on their cover just totally destroys any credibility you may have had with your Flying Monkeys and your Close'n'Play ;^)
jax2
3,031 posts
 
To imply that it will take Stereophile as long as "a few years"

Ah, Zaikes, you obviously missed the operative preface in the headline: "yet again". Let me further predict that the follow-up issue will see a B&W speaker gracing the cover (AGAIN) declaring it has established a new plateau of performance worthy of the subcategory "rollerderby crack whore"

Marco
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