What does 'cold' mean? What does 'warm' mean?

Cold = Increase in upper bass/lower mid range frequencies. Mid range and high frequencies can seem to be emphasized, seen by some as an increase in transparency/detail. 

Warm = increase in upper bass/lower mid range frequencies.  Tends to diminish mid-range  seen by some as a loss of some transparency.

You should also see the subtle color of the music. Cooler colors like chromium, silver, grey, tinges of blue through warmer colors with tinges of green, iridescent purple, yellow, gold, cabernet, tan, brown.

Subjective description of a complex audio event for the ears, which is most of the times ascribed to a cause that is the wrong culprit...Too much warm or too much cold for example are perceived and submit to an analysis of the reasons why this is so?



Genrerally people accuse one of these 2 couples....

Analog/digital recording, Tube/S.S., Turntable/dac etc

A naturalness of timbre instrument CANNOT be warm nor cold, except through a defective audio mechanical, electrical and acoustical embeddings...Timbre is neutral neither cold nor warm...Some instrument are subectively perceived colder or warmer compared to each other but their specific TIMBRE is neither cold nor warm by definition of what the timbre objectively is ( go to wikipedia)

Any one of these couples, Analog/digital,Tube/S.S. or turntable/dac, if they are rightly embedded can give a natural timbre rendition...

The only exception is a very bad design in amplifier, speakers or dac or turntable...