Liquid? as an adjective

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Mr Peabody

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I've heard liquid used as an adjective to describe audio gear but don't understand what it means. In context I assume liquid is a good thing, however, in listening to gear that has been said to be liquid, I sort of hear like a glare or shimmer, I don't really like that quality, I've gravitated to cables not so.

Than I got to wondering if this "glare" or sort of illumination, is what is being called liquid? And, if so, do others like that?
 
Liquid is a sound that has body and the notes just have a natural flow to them with a slight decay which allows the notes to just flow beautifully.

In my books:

VAC amp = liquid
Pass XA.5 = liquid
McIntosh 2301’s/601’s = liquid
Gryphon Colosseum = liquid
Constellation = liquid
MSB 204 amps = liquid

Spectral = not liquid
Audionet = not liquid
...a few others, but I don’t want to offend anyone.



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I have this old link showing Gorden Holts audio meanings and he noted Liquid

liquid Textureless sound.

texture, texturing A perceptible pattern or structure in reproduced sound, even if random in nature. Texturing gives the impression that the energy continuum of the sound is composed of discrete particles, like the grain of a photograph.

And you mentioned glare ; glare An unpleasant quality of hardness or brightness, due to excessive low- or mid-treble energy.

grainy A moderate texturing of reproduced sound. The sonic equivalent of grain in a photograph. Coarser than dry but finer than gritty.

gritty A harsh, coarse-grained texturing of reproduced sound. The continuum of energy seems to be composed of discrete, sharp-edged particles.

I say it all depends on a personal definition.

http://www.integracoustics.com/MUG/MUG/bbs/stereophile_audio-glossary.html

https://www.head-fi.org/articles/describing-sound-a-glossary.12328/

 
Mike,

I think this is a meaningful discussion. Would “organic” be interchangeable for “liquid” or do you feel it has another meaning? For the record, I’ve never taken organic or liquid to mean lacking texture. To me they also mean an ease or natural flow to the music.

Ken

Mike said:
Liquid is a sound that has body and the notes just have a natural flow to them with a slight decay which allows the notes to just flow beautifully.

In my books:

VAC amp = liquid
Pass XA.5 = liquid
McIntosh 2301’s/601’s = liquid
Gryphon Colosseum = liquid
Constellation = liquid
MSB 204 amps = liquid

Spectral = not liquid
Audionet = not liquid
...a few others, but I don’t want to offend anyone.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
 
After numerous recent online threads about the meaning of words used in the audiophile vocabulary, I have come to the conclusion that audiophiles basically don't agree on the meaning of words that we use to describe what we hear. Everybody has their own definitions for the words they use. This shouldn't be a surprise because audiophiles seldom agree on anything related to audio.
 
Sounds like liquid is something I like and I was on the right track to avoid glare.

Texture, surprises me, I thought that was a good thing, assigning the term to those cues that make the sound more believable, like tones from horns or woody on stand up bass. Maybe that's all under macro/micro dynamics.

LOL, maybe we need a standard glossary, like Webster is to dictionary.
 
I've always thought of "organic" as "natural", being able to believe it's more real than electronically reproduced.

Alpinist said:
Mike,

I think this is a meaningful discussion. Would “organic” be interchangeable for “liquid” or do you feel it has another meaning? For the record, I’ve never taken organic or liquid to mean lacking texture. To me they also mean an ease or natural flow to the music.

Ken
Click to expand...
 
Mr Peabody said:
Sounds like liquid is something I like and I was on the right track to avoid glare.

Texture, surprises me, I thought that was a good thing, assigning the term to those cues that make the sound more believable, like tones from horns or woody on stand up bass. Maybe that's all under macro/micro dynamics.

LOL, maybe we need a standard glossary, like Webster is to dictionary.
Click to expand...

Depending on which audiophile you are talking to, texture is a good thing for the reasons you describe. We will never have an accepted standard glossary of audiophile words even though it has been attempted simply because audiophiles would never come to a consensus.
 
mep said:
Depending on which audiophile you are talking to, texture is a good thing for the reasons you describe. We will never have an accepted standard glossary of audiophile words even though it has been attempted simply because audiophiles would never come to a consensus.
Click to expand...

yep , ya got the Subjective and Objective folks, and most of the time it never works.
 
Alpinist said:
Mike,

I think this is a meaningful discussion. Would “organic” be interchangeable for “liquid” or do you feel it has another meaning? For the record, I’ve never taken organic or liquid to mean lacking texture. To me they also mean an ease or natural flow to the music.

Ken
Click to expand...

To me organic is how a system or a piece of gear gets the TONE right. Like when I compare the S2 to other DAC’s, you are immediately struck by the tonal accuracy of the instruments. I find myself saying “now THAT sounds like a trumpet!” Ditto for say a Martin D-28 guitar. If you have actually heard those instruments in life multiple times, you know what they sound like or should sound like - meaning - getting the TONE spot on.


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I've always thought of liquid (as the word implies) as a "wet" sound where everything flows and feels connected, as opposed to a dry sound where there's too much space between and too much emphasis to individual notes giving an analytical sound. Decay contributes to this. I think a somewhat full, fleshed out sound is part of it as well.
 
jbtrio said:
To me liquid means grain free with a smooth and natural sound.
Click to expand...

I would define organic as grain free with a smooth and natural sound and liquid as a the natural effortless flow of music. I wouldn't have understood the last part until I heard it.

Dave
 
Here's my take on a the two audio related words used as adjectives.

Liquid: A sound that is as natural and true to the original source as the sound of water flowing over rocks in a stream. There is a three dimensional aspect to the complete combination of sounds that is captivating, mesmerizing, unpredictable, and soothing all at the same time. It touches your soul. Liquid is the essence of a sigh, a release of tension, a submission to the performance that goes beyond simply hearing sound. Liquid is immersion of one's consciousness into the event.

Organic: A sound or combination of sounds that accurately recreate multi-frequency tones of instruments that vibrate their bodies in harmony with their strings, instruments such as double bass, acoustic guitar, violin, piano, and many other instruments offering multi-frequency tone combinations with each note. When reproduced sound approaches the reality of these instrument I sense its texture and depth to be organic, a living thing. Human voices also have these multi-frequency tone combinations that emanate from the vocal chords, breath, chest resonance, and vibrato. Again, when it is delivered by a sound system such that it becomes wholly realistic and believable it strikes me as organic, in other words, true to life timbre, dynamics, resonance, and sustain.
 
I think the term ‘liquid’ has as much to do with the music as it does the gear playing it. Using Joe’s synonyms in the prior post, liquid music is grain free, smooth, and natural. There’s a lot of music out there that cannot be liquified not matter what system it’s playing on.
 
AJ Soundfield said:
Liquid is neither a gaseous nor solid type sound
Click to expand...

I disagree, we all have had a wet fart at one point in our lives or you just have not lived long enough.

Sorry, I could not resist.:P


Liquid to me is smooth, flowing, easy going sound. Based upon the responses here, I think that we are all on the same page.
 
Lots of definitions of liquid and organic, both words to me are positive traits in describing the music that plays on a system...so what does everyone describe as the opposite?


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