Warm????

[oddeoowphil38]

Ok people excuse me but would anyone mind explaining to me what "WARM" means when describing speakers. I know interpretations very quite a bit so there is not set STANDARD per se. But generally speaking, what are people referring to when using the term "WARM" to desribe the way a speaker sounds. My guess is it is a bit on the bright side. Who knows.......lol. Well thank you for your time.
Phil

[Wireworm5]

No, warm would not be a bright sounding speaker. Warm, is a soft smooth full sounding bass that's not over powering. When you hear a warm sounding speaker it kind of invites you to sit down and listen.

[dontbhatin01]

No, warm would not be a bright sounding speaker. Warm, is a soft smooth full sounding bass that's not over powering. When you hear a warm sounding speaker it kind of invites you to sit down and listen.

I totaly agree with that definition

[J*E*Cole]

Bright might be described as high ended, even shiny, but warm is full and mellow, but still with pronounced highs, mids, and lows...that are balanced and blend well, or something like that.

[Mr Peabody]

My perception of "warm" is on the duller side of neutral with bright going the other direction from neutral. "Warm" to me means the highs are rolled off , sometimes exaggerated or bloated bass, and designed to sound laid back or mellow. I tend to think of my Dynaudio as neutral, they are dynamic and have slam but do not give me any listening fatigue. Listening fatigue can also be caused by the electronics as well but let's focus on just the speaker. Vandersteen's and some Bose models come to mind for an example of "warm" where Infinity or Klipsch come to mind for "bright".

My understanding of "neutral" speaker is one that don't add any coloration or alteration to the signal it receives.

[akw]

Hi all!

I am a newbie and from your posts I have learnt what is "warm" mean.
Please let me ask some questions about warm speakers.
I am looking for a warm speakers (fronts ) for my Yamaha av receiver (I have learnt it is a bright receiver).
Are there any warm speakers you recommendfor hooking up the Yamaha av receiver?
Which speakers are warm speakers from the following list.
Paradigm,
Tannoy,
Moduant-Short, etc
which one is suitable combination with yamaha av receiver?

Thanks for any suggestions.

[jeskibuff]

"Warm" speakers could also be defined as ones that have exchanged hands a few too many times.

For instance, Robert goes to an audio shop and brings home a "cool" pair of B&W Nautilus speakers.

Two weeks later, Ramon breaks into Robert's house and steals the B&Ws.

Later in the day, Ramon sells the speakers to Gregory from the back of his white van in a K-Mart parking lot. At this point in time, the speakers had become "hot".

Several years later, Gregory sells the speakers to his friend Julie who later loses her job and sells them on eBay to Martin. The speakers are now "warm", but fully broken in - sounding better than they ever have before!

[shokhead]

Brite would be when you go to your receiver to see why the treble is all the way on the plus side only to find it at -2.
Warm would be if you go to the speakers and pull of the covers to see if it helps and it doesnt.

[oddeoowphil38]

Ok thank you very much people. It sounds like to me that a warm speaker is very mellow and balanced with nothing being overly pronouced thus inviting one to want to listen to it without resulting in listening fatigue. Thanks for the help. I will add this term to my list for future reference.
Phil

[Mr Peabody]

What gave you the impression that your Yamaha receiver was bright? Unless they have gone a different direction recently I have always found Yamaha to be warmer than most other receivers. Maybe others will give their impressions to see what they thought of Yamaha's presentation. I'm not familiar enough with the brands you listed to answer your question, I just didn't want you to make a mistake. I am somewhat familiar with Paradigm and would not describe them as warm nor do I find them unpleasing.

[oddeoowphil38]

Am I missing something here? I dont recall me ever describing my yammie as bright. In fact I have said on several occasions that it is very clean a lil bit on the laid back side of things. However, now that I know what more people refer to as warm sounding I would agree here that my yammie is just that. As for Paradigm, to me the studio 20's are very warm sounding and IMHO are also on the laid back side of the spectrum. We all have our own ideas as to what sounds we prefer and that is a good thing otherwise we all would own the same stuff. Think of how boring that would be. Anyways, have a great evening.
Phil

[Mr Peabody]

Yeah Phil, you missed something. Just kidding, I should have directed my comments. I was replying to AKW. He thought his Yamaha was bright, you don't, and I didn't find them bright. I think the Paradigm's I heard were the Studio 100's and didn't sound warm to me. Some speakers do have a signature sound they go for but a good speaker will just reflect the character of the electronics and more importantly the source content. The Paradigms's I heard were driven by an Anthem system and it sounded good. The system overall struck me as a little light on the bottom end but someone more familiar with Paradigm assured me that must have been the equipment.

[oddeoowphil38]

Mr. Peabody, I would have to agree that it must have been the eqipment because I have been very impressed with the low bass extension on most of the Paradigm speakers I have listened to especially the mini's and the studio 20's. However, i have not been too impressed with any of the towers that I have auditioned. I guess for one reason or another my preference is a bookshelf on a good stand. Generally speaking, imaging is much better and I am not overly concerned with low frequency extension because I have a sub. So I guess it boils down to personal taste and I will stick with bookshelfs. In fact, I am redoing my entire speaker set-up with the exception of my sub. I am still torn between Paradigm and Ascend-but am getting closer on my descision. Have a great day.
Phil

[thepogue]

Hi all!

I am a newbie and from your posts I have learnt what is "warm" mean.
Please let me ask some questions about warm speakers.
I am looking for a warm speakers (fronts ) for my Yamaha av receiver (I have learnt it is a bright receiver).
Are there any warm speakers you recommendfor hooking up the Yamaha av receiver?
Which speakers are warm speakers from the following list.
Paradigm,
Tannoy,
Moduant-Short, etc
which one is suitable combination with yamaha av receiver?

Thanks for any suggestions.

Paradigm is NOT normally though of as "warm"...for the most part the opposite is true in that quite a few think Paradigm is on the "bright" side...

Peace, Pogue

[squeegy200]

In my humble opinion--Attempting to describe hearing perceptions described in such terms as "warm" or "bright" is much like trying to describe to another person the color "Red"


Ultimately, How do you translate the experience?

[hermanv]

I've been reading this thread and trying to decide what I mean by warm (if speakers are to err, warm is my preference).

I thought about "Romantic" another term used more or less interchangeably with warm. This led me to think about the antonym of warm, I don't think "bright" is the opposite. I think "dry" would be a better opposite. Speakers that emphasize both bass and treble with a dip or hole in the middle seem to me to be the opposite of warm.

Also excess bass doesn't meet my perception of warm. A lower mid hump (upper bass) might be closer. A friend described my system as having a "big" sound.

I have electrostatic speakers, a passive pre and a Levinson D to A, nothing here suggests my treble would be rolled off. I do have a C-J amp and for a while C-J might have been the poster child for warm.