I’m shocked, shocked I tell you, that we’re arguing over PRaT.
Look if you can’t grok what PRaT is then maybe consider your room and how it’s messing up what you think is the sound of your amazing system.
What exactly is PRaT???
Ok, it’s like this thing and is associated with “toe tapping” and such. I confess, I don’t get it. Apparently companies like Linn and Naim get it, and I don’t and find it a bit frustrating. What am I missing? I’m a drummer and am as sensitive as anyone to timing and beats, so why don’t I perceive this PRaT thing that many of you obviously do and prize as it occurs in stereo systems? When I read many Brit reviews a lot of attention goes to “rhythm” and “timing” and it’s useless to me and I just don’t get it. If someone can give me a concrete example of what the hell I’m not getting I’d sincerely be most appreciative. To be clear, enough people I greatly respect consider it a thing so objectively speaking it’s either something I can’t hear or maybe just don’t care about — or both. Can someone finally define this “thing” for me cause I seriously wanna learn something I clearly don’t know or understand.
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Speakers from Joseph Audio, Magico, Audio Physic, Vandersteen, Totem, Marten, Thiel, get imaging and soundstage. Simple in your face speakers like JBL or Klipsch speakers, not so much. They are in your face and can’t capture the beauty and Grace of better recordings. They do what they do. They’re in your face hit you with slam speakers and good on them for what they do. But they’re just rock n roll speakers for head bangers cause that’s what they do and they’re limited and can’t do the finer points of music. They just can’t. They ain’t built that way, and that’s ok for people who want that “sound.” |
Perhaps it should be "Pulse, Rhythm and Timing." I have often wondered whether musical timing is governed however subtly by the heart rate of the musician which must vary according to the demands the music is making on the performer and the demands the performer is making on the music. The heart can be likened to a metronome residing in the chest, and its interaction with music making could be creating a very subtle poly-rhythm in the musical performance that sometimes urges the musician into altered and sublime states that are both familiar and novel at the same time and which strike the listeners the same way. |
Paul McGowan: "What is PRaT and do the British do it Better?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YGgMpX3XII FWIW, he says, regarding pace, rhythm and timing, "I think it’s one of those things that, if you haven’t ever experienced them, it’s hard to describe". He asserts that, although PRaT is not a top priority for him, he's found it can and does vary, depending upon the gear used. This is my experience as well, although I’m in no way suggesting I’m in a remotely similar category when it comes to experience/knowledge as P. M. To me, it’s best described as a "propulsive quality" that cannot be defined solely in terms of BPM. Scientifically, this sounds ridiculous but for some of us, at least, it’s palpable. Perhaps there’s an as-yet-unexplored physiological aspect to this that comes into play. |
PRaT, propulsion and speed overlap so much as to render a venn diagram a fuzzy circle. Can't have one without the other two (to some degree) if you want realism. It's part of the completion of the illusion of realism. Until my present system, I never quite got there. I've said before that it must be partially due to serendipity as it all came together so quickly and so convincingly. People I've had over all had the same reaction: "this is one fast system". One even said it twice in the space of a minute with a shocked look on his face. It wasn't until my present system that I caught myself swinging my foot or leg for long periods of time and not getting fatigued by it. The body motions and the tempo of the music were as one, varying as the timing changed. I was bemused by it and yet enjoyed it to no end. Maybe it's why I just stopped looking for anything else, and find myself, at times, bemused by some of the responses on these threads. All the best, |
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