Opinion: The Art of Assessing Sound

Posted on 30th July, 2024
Opinion: The Art of Assessing Sound

Nigel Ng shares his experience of how to evaluate the success or failure of any given hi-fi system…

I might have to go into hiding after saying this, but more expensive hi-fi does not necessarily mean better sound. That isn't to say that price is completely irrelevant, but when you're in the market for a new component – be it a pair of loudspeakers, an amplifier, cables or whatever – you should choose based on what matters to you most.

The problem you run into is that listening is subjective. And often, the choice you make boils down to subtle differences. That's why over the years I've carved out a simple model for judging sound quality. One that even the most inexperienced enthusiast can use – and one that accounts for the subjective nature of listening.

This is born out of hundreds of demonstrations in the showroom where I've had to walk people with varying hi-fi experience through quantifying what they're hearing – arming them to make well-informed decisions and appreciate the experience in full resolution. What I will tell you will empower you to do the same. It might even help you enjoy your existing setup even more.

Before I get into it, there's one thing you must keep in mind. You are never listening to one product; it's always the combined effort of everything in the system - the speakers, power amplifier, preamplifier, DAC, the cables that connect everything, and more. This includes the acoustic properties of the room as well. I firmly believe acoustics are the most under-considered factor and deserve a conversation of their own. For now, though, remember that the room inevitably affects the sound that hits your ears.

This may make it seem like a hopeless endeavour to demo a product in a showroom. Don't worry. As long as the system – including the considered product – sounds great to you, you know that it can sound good as long as the rest of the system is up to par. On the showroom floor, we try to take some of the subjectivity out of this with A/B comparisons. Most people struggle with absolute judgements, but can make excellent relative judgements. Having a frame of reference changes everything.

For example, if I gave you some curry and asked, "how spicy is that?", the best I can hope for is something vague like "very spicy", "not spicy at all", or "mild". But if I gave you two different curries side-by-side, it would be far easier for you to perceive specific differences and make a more detailed judgement. The same applies to hi-fi systems – rather than just sitting you down, turning on the system and asking, "did that sound good?", we offer a frame of reference so you can see the differences more clearly.

The only thing that can spoil the effect at home is a bottleneck in your existing system. And that bottleneck is there regardless – if an upgrade reveals it, consider that a win. Building a great hi-fi system is usually a process. You start with gear that suits your budget and upgrade when it makes sense.

Onward. This guide to judging sound quality is based on four simple points – bass, treble, imaging and emotion. And with each, there are two things you should consider…

First, when judging bass, think about extension and grip. Extension means "how low does the bass go?" A song can have low frequencies on the recording, but a system can trim them out. This is actually a good thing. For instance, if a speaker struggles to produce clean bass notes, it's the engineer's job to use crossovers to make sure it only plays the frequencies it can handle. If not, you get distortion.

Grip means, "is the bass under control?" You can have deep bass coming out of a system, so it extends low, but it can sound boomy and monotone if it's not tight. This is sometimes referred to as "speed," because the driver's ability to return to neutral quickly plays a big part. A deep, tight bass response is one of the most intoxicating traits a system can have, and it doesn't always require a subwoofer.

For treble – sounds like higher range vocals and percussion – you'll look for extension again, but also smoothness. Extension, in this case, means "how high does this treble go?" Like lows, systems often roll off higher frequencies to avoid making shrill, distorted sounds. A recording can have singing that extends way up into high pitched territory, and a system can try to play that for you but do a terrible job. So, a certain amount of roll-off can be good.

Roll-off can also remove details from the recording, especially with vocals, cymbals, and synthesisers. This is where smoothness comes in. A set of super-sensitive tweeters backed by a clean, accurate signal can extend right up into the highs, while tracking close to the signal, producing a realistic and smooth sound. If your budget is tighter, consider high-frequency roll off your friend. It's often better for a system to cut the super highs than do a poor job of them. And if your budget is more flexible, look for something that goes right up without sounding harsh or fake.

Next is imaging. Here, you're considering soundstaging and separation. As you listen, consider whether different instruments seem to be coming from different locations in the room - what we call the 'soundstage'. The magic of stereo recording is that two speakers can place sounds based on their balance between each channel. However, this can be more or less audible, depending on the system's fidelity.

Not only should you look for sounds to be placed around the room, but you should look for a sense that different instruments are actually separate objects in the room. This is separation. Imagine two instruments seem to come from the same spot in the room, but you're perceiving two separate sources from that one spot. This can be subtle – and is something that really stands out with higher-end systems.

Finally, let's talk about emotion. This one is different from the others in that it's more personal. There are two qualities of emotion in this model, and you may prefer one over the other. We'll call these warmth versus realism. In the showroom, most listeners prefer one over the other.

The rocker who loves AC/DC and Dire Straits often wants a rich, room-filling sound that mimics the acoustic feel of a live performance. Contrast that to the pensive listener who prefers jazz and classical performances. They often want a quiet backdrop, with only the performance's crystal-clear sound coming through. And, of course, some people enjoy both.

Systems in the lower budget category almost always lean one way or the other. They sound warm yet soft, or revealing yet clinical. That applies to speakers, amps, DACs and more. That doesn't mean you can't find a system that satisfies your need for both qualities of emotion. But usually it takes a higher end system to be really rich and full for the rockers, and clean and polite for the pensive lot.

So that's it. Next time you're testing hi-fi, you can quantify what you're listening to by paying attention to bass extension and grip, treble extension and smoothness, soundstage and separation, and warmth and realism.

Oh, and while we're on the topic of emotion, once you've judged the quality of a system, there's one final question to ask yourself. Do I feel the emotions that the artist intended? Great music is an art form made for humans, by humans. It's always an expression of emotion. When you surrender to what you're hearing, do your lips motion for a smile? Do your shoulders sway with euphoria? Do you feel bold, confident, victorious? Does your heart ache? Do your eyes well up with tears? That's what it's all about. Good luck!

For more information visit Audio Connection

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nigelng

Having started in the industry at the young age of 14, Nigel has had experience across almost all sectors of the AV industry, nationally and internationally. As Managing Director of Sydney’s Audio Connection, his outlook on life is that “he just wants to do cool stuff with good people”, and “a high tide raises all ships.”

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