2. amps-preamps
  3. 128392-32

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
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.

dave_b's avatar
dave_b
3,159 posts
 
I like to hear what triggers my "ear brain" into believing I'm listening to a live mic feed!
oldears
385 posts
 
IMHO, much of the brightness attributed to amps is actually due to the speakers. Speakers which are not time & phase aligned have the tweeter in early arrival, leading to an impression of detail, and, or brightness (YMMV). Almost all of the speakers measured by JA in The Stereophile exhibit this. That this is generally successful in the marketplace can be seen in the preceding remarks. Many persons try to attenuate this effect by playing with cables. (Just my $0.02)
erik_squires
15,744 posts
 
Thoughts:

Improper room treatment can make neutral speakers seem overly bright.

Ragged top ends are often mistaken for "high resolution" because they over-emphasize narrow parts of the audible spectrum. Several "high end" makers use this trick. Because you can hear certain details stand out, the average listener doesn’t realize what they are missing, or that it’s not very natural sounding.

Also, having speakers that can show differences between gear is not very useful in my mind. I want speakers that can reproduce music. The discernment of upstream gear is usually a sign of inferior design IMHO. A good speaker should sound great with a variety of amps.

There are exceptions when the nature of the speaker is such, it must be hard to drive. I’m thinking of Apogee type full bandwidth ribbons or electro-statics. Just no way to make them amp friendly.

Best,

E
erik_squires
15,744 posts
 
By the way, I completely disagree with the idea that lack of time alignment has anything to do with brightness.

Some of the brightest sounding speakers to my ears where old Thiels. Perfectly time aligned. Just like some garbage high-end speakers lately. No correlation between time-alignment and tonal balance.

The 2 pairs of speakers I listen to are smooth as butter and are NOT time co-incident and they do not sound bright, because that's how I designed them. 

Best,


E
More to discover