The Dictionary of Sound

If we are going to talk about sound, we have to agree on what the words mean. When I describe how a headphone sounds, I'm not just making up adjectives. These words describe actual, physical movements of the speaker drivers. Here is what I am actually feeling when I use these words:

• Punch / Slam: This is a physical impact. It’s when the bass doesn't just rumble in the background, but actually hits fast and stops instantly. Imagine a boxer jabbing a heavy bag. When a kick drum has "punch," you feel a momentary spike in air pressure against the side of your head. The DT 770 is the king of Slam.

• Warmth: This means the lower-mid frequencies are slightly elevated, making everything sound thicker, heavier, and more comforting. It’s the opposite of sharp or clinical. A "warm" headphone makes a male voice sound like it's speaking directly into your chest. This is the magic of Tube Amps - The Fire.

• Mud / Muddy: The enemy. This happens when the bass is too slow or too loose, and it bleeds upward into the singers' voices. Imagine someone painting with watercolors and letting the dark brown paint run directly into the bright yellow paint. It ruins the clarity.

• Air / Airy: This describes the absolute highest frequencies—the sound of a cymbal decaying, or the breath a singer takes before a word. When a headphone has "air," it feels like the room you are sitting in has no ceiling. The HD 650 breathes air perfectly.

• Sibilance: The painful hiss. When a singer hits an "S" or "T" sound and it physically pierces your eardrums like an icepick. Good gear tames sibilance; bad gear makes it bleed.

• Distortion: This is any time the original soundwave is altered or bent. Distortion isn't always a bad thing in fact, it's the entire point of heavy electric guitars and the warm, glowing magic of Tube Amps - The Fire. Good distortion (often called "harmonic distortion") sounds like a thick, musical buzz or a pleasant fuzz that adds texture and weight to the music. But bad distortion sounds grating, like a cheap car speaker rattling itself apart.

• Clipping: This is a specific, ugly kind of distortion. It happens when an audio signal is pushed so loud that the gear physically runs out of power to reproduce the peak of the soundwave. The top of the soundwave gets violently chopped (or "clipped") off into a flat, harsh square. You physically feel it as a sudden, sharp, crackling pop, a burst of static, or the sound of paper tearing right against your eardrum. If you hear clipping, it means the Amplifier or the headphone driver is literally screaming in pain.