# What does "a laid back sound" mean?



## Juice75 (Sep 18, 2010)

I've been reading a lot of reviews, and many say certain speakers have a "laid back sound." What does that mean? Does it mean that when listening the rock, the guitars won't have as much force/impact to the sound?

Just trying to figure out some terminology.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Juice75 said:


> I've been reading a lot of reviews, and many say certain speakers have a "laid back sound." What does that mean? Does it mean that when listening the rock, the guitars won't have as much force/impact to the sound?
> 
> Just trying to figure out some terminology.


A lot of these descriptions are subjective, but typically, you are right in that laid back is equated with less impact and less brightness. The term laid back is usually applied to a tweeter that is silk or some other type of soft dome that isn't bright, compared to a metal or other type of tweeter that may be referred to as bright or harsh. Personally, I aim to recreate a live concert experience based on my listening preferences. None of my installs are "laid back."


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## sqshoestring (Jun 19, 2007)

It usually means they don't scream at you, the vocals and low treble are not strong. They might have a lower tweeter level, or a response that sounds that way. A lot of people get fatigue listening to strong vocal ranges. Guitar also can operate in those ranges.


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## Juice75 (Sep 18, 2010)

Thanks guys. Right now I have a set of Focal 165VR for my front stage, but was thinking about getting the 165v30. When I read Focal's site, it says the V30 is a more laid back version of the VR. Since I listen to a lot of rock, that might not be the way to go for me.


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## sqshoestring (Jun 19, 2007)

It depends, I can play a laid back type system louder. Loud sharp vocals are piercing to me, cheap hard dome tweeters are brutal or 500w cheap coax for example with 4 tweeters in them. It does not mean the highs don't go up high, to me its about the lower end of the treble range or high mid. Most ears are most sensitive to this range, hearing loss in this range is not fun either another reason I don't like bright. If you put a system in an open boat however, you want bright because you lose it. Part of it could be the reflections in a car. I still prefer soft dome tweeters best like silk domes, not that other tweeters can't work some do.


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