I've long suggested this be a "sticky" here on Audiogon:
Sounds Like? An Audio Glossary | Stereophile.com
"bright, brilliant The most often misused used terms in audio, these describe the degree to which reproduced sound has a hard, crisp edge to it. Brightness relates to energy content in the 4kHz-8kHz band. It is not related to output in the extreme-high-frequency range. All live sound has brightness; it is only a problem when it is excessive."
Sounds Like? An Audio Glossary | Stereophile.com
"bright, brilliant The most often misused used terms in audio, these describe the degree to which reproduced sound has a hard, crisp edge to it. Brightness relates to energy content in the 4kHz-8kHz band. It is not related to output in the extreme-high-frequency range. All live sound has brightness; it is only a problem when it is excessive."