Your vote: Most Useless Audio Adjective


From what I've seen in online audio discussion forums such as Audiogon, words like warm, taut, wooly, and forward can upset even died in the wool audiophiles. While some may have a hard time getting their arms around them, most of the terms seem quite appropriate to me. You have to develop some list of terms in order to convey a description of a component's sonics, or to delineate it from another component.

However, I have noticed the description "self effacing" creeping into more and more reviews, and it flat out boggles my mind. Initially, it seemed to fit into the context it was being used - affordable or downright cheap gear, that was fun and lively. However, now that I've read the term being used to describe quite a serious piece of high end kit, the time has come to point out how ridiculous things are getting.

I had to laugh out loud thinking of the snootiest, most condescending audio dealer I know who was carrying this brand. Using the term "self effacing" with anything had to do with this guy was akin to describing Phyllis Diller a young, hot sex symbol.

What is your most useless audio adjective???
trelja
I'd vote for 'tubelike' in ads and 'musical' in general comments. Both are misleading at best and far to vague for usefulness.
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Further to "PRaT", this expression is used mainly by the UK audio press, and a bit of fluency in UK vs American English may give an important clue to the origin of this audio expression.

In UK English, a "prat" is a self aggrandizing, pompous "delusionally arrogant" person who "acts against logic".

Hmmmm.....maybe the folks who figured out how to put Naim and Linn electronics in weird boxes and charge huge prices decided that all of there customers were "PRATS" while laughing all the way from the demo room to the bank?