Bright High End Speakers = Bad Room?

Kenjit wrote: "a ruler flat response... is too bright for most folk." 

Floyd Toole, Bruel & Kjaer, and I all agree with Kenjit on that point.

Atdavid wrote: "I do not think overall that most people consider a ruler flat response too bright."

Toole conducted extensive double-blind listening tests and found that most listeners prefer a gently downward-sloping response trend, both for the first-arrival sound and for the early reflections. Most people perceive a "flat" response to be "bright", and a gently-downward-sloping response to be "flat".

But there was one group who consistently preferred a flat response: Recording engineers. To them, speakers are a tool, and in general the more revealing the better. 

Toole did find that, when listening strictly for pleasure, many recording engineers prefer the gently-downward-sloping trend. 

Microphone manufacturer Bruel and Kjaer identified this gently downward-sloping response as being desirable long before Toole confirmed it.

Duke

But there was one group who consistently preferred a flat response: Recording engineers. To them, speakers are a tool, and in general the more revealing the better.  

Do you have a link to the study that mentions this? Thanks

Toole conducted extensive double-blind listening tests and found that most listeners prefer a gently downward-sloping response trend,

what was the explanation?

" Do you have a link to the study that mentions this? Thanks "

He describes it in his book, don’t remember whether or not he included a reference. I’ll try to remember look for it this evening.

" what was the explanation? "

I don’t recall offhand what Toole said about it.

I have read that it may have to do with the absorption of high frequencies as sound travels significant distances through the air. At a live performance the distances involved would reduce the amount of high frequency energy reaching the audience, whereas the relatively short path lengths from instrument to microphone and later from speaker to listener do not attenuate the high frequencies significantly.

Duke

Chances are very good Toole’s test system was overly bright. Oh, well, back to the drawing boards. Shut the cave door and back to pigmy country!