sound quality
How music sounds
Sound quality refers to how good or faithful audio reproduction is, whether from speakers, headphones, recordings, or live performances.
It encompasses characteristics like clarity, fidelity, dynamic range, and the absence of distortion or unwanted noise.
Audiophiles obsess over sound quality when evaluating equipment, while casual listeners might simply note whether something sounds tinny or rich.
The term applies both to the inherent properties of a recording and to how well playback equipment reproduces it.
- timbreSound's distinctive character
- acousticsStudy of sound transmission
- equalizerWhat evens things out
- clarityState of being understandable
- crystal clearEntirely unambiguous, perfectly understood
brightness · tone · crispness · depth · resonance · speaker · transparency · warmth · frequency response · bitrate · amplifier · high fidelity · tinny · fidelity · richness · sibilance · imaging · coloration
- audioheadphones, audio track, volume control, noise, static
- soundechoes, acoustics, vibrations, audio, volume
- AV settingsvolume, brightness, contrast, resolution, sharpness
- luthieryluthier, luthiers, violin making, violin maker, bow making
- FM radioFM radio, FM tuner, FM receiver, FM band, FM stations
- music aestheticslyrical beauty, tone color, timbre, consonance, dissonance
sound qualitylo-fi
Imperfect audio quality, informally
low fidelity · distortion · noise · interference · static