Flat?

Hello techie guys out there. Can you please help me understand something about this term I often read in magazines and even here in this forum?
I believe this refers to something about the measurement of a components frequency or something about this. But what is this really?

Thanks

regards

 

Aha..... this could take a while. The term flat here is not so much used in terms of frequency response, which is usually a mags most common use of the word, meaning that they can detect no undue emphasis to any part of the sound.

Sometimes it is used to describe soundstage, flat, i.e. no depth, exists in a line across the front of the speakers.

I use flat in terms of dynamics, i.e. flat being there aren't any.

Wm uses flat as in terms of organic richness and presence, flat and lifeless. I tend to use the term monochromatic and / or emaciated for this. i.e listening to a Pioneer A400 is a bit like listening in "black and white" (IMHO of course).

And then there is flat a'la "Flat Earth" which is the most commonly applied use of flat here, i.e. flat as opposed to round, and the remainder of my life is too precious to me to get involved in trying to explain the it here. Needless to say though that all flat earthers are mad, and as far as actual music is concerned, often the madder the better.

Cheers

(Closet flat earther)

 

Thanks timpy. That's quite a simple but clear enough explanation about flat stuffs in hi-fi.

I believe you're referring to naimites when you mentioned flat earthers


regards

 

Like a red rag to a bull.

Not just Naimies though, some of the Flat Earthers like music too, hence the proliferation of Densen, Exposure, Linn etc.

Cheers

 

sucks teeth, clucks tongue, shakes head.....

without wanting to start another f vs r war. flat earth is a description of what you listen for in music rather than the kit you listen to it on (although some kit can emphasise these things) you could be a flat earth listener and own krell kit. the actual definition of what flat earthers listen for and how it differs from what round earthers listen for is where the pain and conflict happens so i'm not going to go there.

another alternate way of looking at the flat earth ethos is defined by tonyl's pfm site. this espouses the concept of free hi-fi in that you can buy certain brands of hi-fi 2nd hand listen to it for a few years and then sell it on for practically the same money as you bought it for. the archetypal system here is probably something like a linn lp12, nait 2 and linn kans. that said, as timpy pointed out other brands like avondale, dynavector and densen are making inroads into this area too.

cheers

julian

 

Not sure what you mean by this - my mate has one, seems to sound alright, so what do you mean when you say this?

 

Hi Paul

I can explain, but better to ask MonkeyPhonix over at HFC. I had said the same to him, and after he'd heard one, he said he realised what I was driving at, although the trait did not disturb him as much.

In essence it's the anithesis of things like the Cambridge DAC you've got, they both have drive, but where the DAC has a tangible body and decent organicness and tonal richness, the A400 is a bit like watching your favourite film on a black and white tele. It's all a bit grey and emaciated sounding, all a bit bleached and subject to the same sort of colouration.

Tonal colour is diluted and the contrast between different sounds reduced to my ears, just like turning the contrast and colour down. It does a lot right though, and by no means is it rubbish, a pair of Tannoy's on the end usually allows to regain some ground in this area whilst preserving it's strengths in tact.

Cheers

 

Hey Tim,

I think I *might* know what you are getting at a little bit, it doesnt (as you say) seem to sound all that "natural", perhaps something of a "this is it" presentation to it. I cant quite put my finger on it, but when I've heard it next to my Rotel, I seem to prefer the Rotel, it seems a bit more hard hitting and "euphoric". Maybe thats just me though....

Havent you heard though Tim? The DAC3 left Birkett's boombox today, I now am using a Terratec EWX24/96 soundcard to play my music, which sounds simply incredible for a soundcard. I recognise the DAC performed way beyond its expectations for the price, but this thing has got to be on par with many £500+ CD players, and thats no joke. I wouldnt have believed it myself if I hadnt heard it....

Cheers

 

Hi Paul

No sorry, I hadn't heard, I've not been around much for the last few weeks.

Good luck with the PC converter. Does it really sound any good?

Cheers

 

Hi Tim,

Yes it does sound THAT good. I could scarcely believe my own ears when my friend brought his PC down to mine to do a head to head comparison with the DAC3. The EWX beats it in all areas, and thats not a joke - hell, the damn thing even sounds bouncy and musical too.

Basically, its got more bass (depth and slam), more detail, treble extends further, and is more refined, but does not lose any excitement in the process.

I am not only pleased with it, I am amazed :JOEL:

Cheers