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Smooth treble

What is in fact a "smooth and refined treble"? Is that synonymous with treble roll off? Psycho acoustically an extreme smooth and refined treble can present itself like if there is less high frequency extension paradoxically. This is what one actually hears in the concert hall! In the concert hall one hears less "treble" than in the home (with your super high end rig). How can one get this smooth and refined high frequencies without severe treble roll off?
In my experience the older and more mature an audiophile gets, the more he/she wants a very natural sounding (overly refined) treble (not the bright, brilliant and super transparent treble many people want when they are making the transition from "mid fi" to "high end" audio) . Do you agree with this?

Chris
dazzdax
opus88
530 posts
 
Though I'm very pleased with my existing components, here is something I failed to mention, but should have. If you have tried a number of component changes but are still somewhat dissatisfied, you might want to re-examine your room's acoustics. I was able to get some assistance from a friend who brought in a spectrum analyzer, which revealed some sound related issues associated with the location of my seating and speaker positions. Making corrections with these as well as dealing with some wall and door reflections in areas of the room I was not previously aware of made a very significant overall change with regard to treble presentation. What I'm hearing now is smoother and more like the kind of sound I enjoy in a nice concert hall.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,844 posts
 
Opus88, its all about the rules of human hearing. Most people think about 20hz to 20KHz as the most important, but the most important is the ability to tell how loud a sound is. We use odd-ordered harmonic content to do that.

When electronics do not take this into account, they sound harsh...
rleff
1,065 posts
 
Ralph;is the ability to pass odd-ordered harmonics handled better by tubes over solid state or is it just design?
When the House of High Fidelity was in St.Paul this was one topic that was heavily talked about.
dazzdax OP
599 posts
 
Ralph, please elucidate: odd order harmonics? I thought these were the harmonics that should be avoided as the plague?

Chris
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,844 posts
 
Hi Chris, yes, that's right. FWIW tubes in general make less odd-ordered harmonics so its a lot easier to build a smooth sounding system by using them.

Tubes are so linear that it is possible to build circuits that use zero amounts of loop negative feedback. Although feedback reduces distortion, it will actually increase the odd orders that our ears use as loudness cues. This gives the equipment that uses negative feedback a sheen or harshness that it would not have otherwise, although with most transistor designs, not using feedback is not an option.

Rleff, does that answer your question?
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