The terms used in reviews/reviews to describe the sound of headphones can leave many readers or viewers (audio and video) confused. The reason for this is that this understanding of the adjectives used by audio equipment reviewers/analysts is usually only understood by listening to different models of headphones combined with reading the product description by hobbyists or companies on internet sites, as well as videos on Youtube.
To make it easier for you to understand the adjectives used to describe sound in headphone reviews, we created this series. In each part, we will present the main terms used in product audio reviews. In this way, I hope that you, the reader, have a more in-depth experience when consuming headphone reviews.
Understanding terms that describe sound in headphones
Check below the first part of our journey to better understand the terms used in the description of the sound of headphones in reviews / reviews.
Aggressiveness
When we say that certain headphones have an aggressive sound, we usually mean that the high-mids and highs are more advanced. As the brightness of the sound is concentrated in the high mids (2.5Khz to 5Khz), if the sound has excessive activity (peaks) in the 3Khz range, the user may experience hearing fatigue. Instruments that can show this are: cymbals, trumpet, flute, viola, violin, electric guitar.
Ambience
When listening to headphones, you notice that there is a “space” where sounds are being reproduced. This location can be bigger or smaller. This is called ambience and can be influenced by where the recording was made (stage, room, theater, studio) or by the speaker (driver) of the headphones. It is possible to delimit the size of the ambience by observing the extension of the sounds, where they begin, end or reverberate.
Aeration
The feeling of airiness is when there is an ambience big enough to give the impression of a certain space between the sounds of the instruments and/or voices. In this way, it is possible to better understand the positioning of instruments and/or voices, as well as details in the sound of each of the sound-producing elements.
Attack
When we analyze the attack of the sound reproduced by the headset, we observe how long the loudspeaker (driver) will reproduce the maximum peak of a certain sound. Imagine the driver receiving the analog signal to produce a certain tone from the instrument and observe the maximum volume that this sound will reach. This is the maximum SPL, the main characteristic that must be observed to notice the attack.
To differentiate a fast attack from a slow attack, you will have to observe the time it takes for a certain tone of an instrument to reach its maximum height and decay until it disappears. If the sound stays at maximum SPL for a long time, the sound will be congested, confused. But if the tone plays and fades out more quickly, you get a sense of more definition in the sounds.
Shine
The sound brightness of a headphone is in the high-mid region in the sound spectrum (2.5Khz to 5Khz). If the sound has any excessive prominence (peaks) in the 3Khz range, it can cause hearing fatigue. Examples of instruments that sparkle in music: cymbals, trumpet, flute, viola, violin, electric guitar. If the sound has excessive activity (peaks) in the 3Khz range, the user may experience hearing fatigue. Instruments that can show this are: cymbals, trumpet, flute, viola, violin, electric guitar.
Colorful
We usually say that the sound of a headphone is colored when there is some characteristic that deviates from what is considered “neutral”. An example of this is when there is an elevation of the bass beyond what is considered natural, creating a “darker” sound for the reproduced sound. There are also cases where we have an abnormal rise in the treble, bringing a “bright tone” to the music presentation.
Having a headset with “colorful” sound is not bad. Sometimes, depending on the musical style, a more “rich” sound in the bass can bring that weight in the low frequencies that can bring more involvement when listening to certain albums. In the highs, we have a different effect, when there is greater activity in this region, you generally gain a sense of clarity in the sounds produced by the instruments, in addition to the impression of having more “air” (aeration).
Body
When we say that there is a greater or lesser body in the sound of headphones, we are referring to the region where the timbre of a certain instrument stands out the most, it is evident. For example, when activating the bass drum, we will have a greater emphasis on the sound produced if the speaker (driver) presents a greater activity in the mid-bass (250Hz to 640Hz) greater.
Definition
When we say that a certain sound reproduced by the headphones presented a lot of definition, it means that the smallest details of the sound produced by a certain instrument or voice were better reproduced. There are speakers (drivers) capable of reproducing the musician’s breathing, the strumming on the guitar strings or a sneeze in the background of the recording. It is also possible to use this adjective to describe the perception of the space occupied by the instrument in the environment through the observation of the extension of its sounds and its reflections (reverberations).
Dynamics
The dynamics in the sound of a headphone is characterized by how well the attack of the sounds of instruments or vocals is performed. When there is a good speed in the attack of the sounds, there is a better dynamics and it is easier to notice the sounds of each instrument or voice.
Some reviewers/analysts still separate dynamics and macrodynamics and microdynamics, where microdynamics would be the details of differences between volume gradations (nuances) and macrodynamics the difference in gradation comparing longer ranges of sound.
tonal balance
The tonal balance is mentioned to refer to the way in which the activity of the bass, midrange and treble is worked during the reproduction of sounds by the driver (loudspeaker) of the headphones. If a headphone has some excess in some region of the sound spectrum, for example, in the bass or in the treble, a “dark tone” or a “bright tone” is created. If there is a minimum balance between frequencies and a faster attack, the bass, mids and highs of instruments and voices do not usually contaminate each other, generating a more “clean” presentation.
