Questions for specialists on “warmth”




I have heard sound from speakers that are more neutral and detailed in texture and focus the presence of all frequencies, sound that captured air resonance and produced a holographic image, but I doubt that’s what warmth is.

It seems to me that “warmth” is manipulated by engineering.
What is the purpose of “warmth”?
Does it actually exists or is it in imagination, or is it given a phony name (resonating warmer air?) in result I couldn’t link what I heard to “warmth”.

Sorry for the many questions below, without evidence of existence of this “warmth”, I get that feeling somebody is telling me the earth is flat whenever they mention “warmth”.

Maybe it is more psychological, is it then related to the release of a certain type of chemical in the body?

I had thought that maybe warmth means organic. If that’s true, is warmth created with possible ways to give the listener organic illusions? If that’s true, can the sound become too warm that it becomes hot; or too organic that it makes the actually sound we hear in our daily lives in comparison cold, is that good for one’s marriage?

What are the differences between warm and cold, can any expert give some generalization of the technical differences that sets them apart? Are the sound manipulated, how?

How can warmth be created from the play back perspective?
Cable
With what material, why
With what construction, why
Digital
Why and what done in digital processing; AD (analogy to digital) and DA
Speaker
Are they then best to be construction with organic material?
trackmango
Here is something I've been thinking about. Can the perception of warmth be less of a matter of frequency bending and more of the rise and decay of the electronic's.

I think a lot of equipment, especially SS stuff, is so fast, especially in damping that a lot of the natural decaying sounds are cut off prematurely and this contributes to a 'cold clinical sound' vs a tube unit which has slightly slower rise and decay time. This would also go to the issue some raise of 'resolution', 'what is too much'. Again, nothing to do with frequency so much as the naturalness of decay.

Just food for thought........
If you have a preamp with tone controls and turned the treble counterclockwise you could hear a warmer sound but most audiophiles know that this extra circuitry will degrade the sound to some degree and there will be some loss of transparency & fine detail, few exceptions do exist. You can still have a combination of warmth, transparency, and fine detail with high quality preamps/power amps without equalization and is accomplished in other ways. A component that sounds bright or warm has little to do with its overall sound quality, matching of components is critical here.

The final sound of any given component of course is engineered into the product by the mfg so that when matched with their line of components the desired outcome is achieved otherwise it is hit or miss. That is precisely why many quality components are designed by ear. When you buy a component you are agreeing that they, the manufacturer knows how to produce a product that sounds good to you whether it sounds bright or warm.

I was told by an electronic tech that he could change the sound of any preamp or power amp by swapping out resistors. Aside from a warm sound & resistors, the sound you hear with any component has just as much to do with other parts and their implementation. Although varying degree of quality in resistors do have a substantial impact on sound.

Some audiophiles prefer a more extended, revealing sound while others prefer a warmer sound. That is exactly why we have an amp/preamp game. I have had a combination of components in my system that produced a warm sound, got tired of that and went back to a more extended, revealing sound.
Newbee that does make sense, its cut short adding barriers that you hear as anylitical.. Something that sounds warmer seems to let notes decay with a slightly fuzzier tone or something, its not so cut and dry sounding, or very plastic. And then a lot of it comes down to the recording itself.
Choosing the types of capacitors used in the power supply and signal path of amp, preamp and source components can also add or subtract to the "warmth" factor. Just opening up a new can of worms here. I have been experimenting with different bipolar low-voltage caps on my tuner's MPX board and it has opened up my ears to new revelations in sonic adjustments. I'm having some fun hearing what Blackgate and Nichicon Muse ES caps are doing to the sonic portrait. This hobby can sure be fun and enlightening sometimes.