What is "PRAT"?

[donunus]

In addition to what I said earlier... prat is a loose subjective term related to musicality. mercbuggy explains it well on post 18. To those that relate it with speed. It is not 100% so because lots of fast transducers get to sound too technical and not become musical so they wont really have PRAT. Listening to a martin logan aerius years back vs a magnepan 1.6 clearly showed me that the magnepan had more PRAT but so far as speed? Dont know, both are fast. Electrostats might be a little faster though

 

[Happy Camper]

If the driver can't keep Pace, Rhythm, Attack or Timing, focus on the structure of the song will fall apart. Big drivers on a small amp will give you an example.

I would agree with earwicker that the response speed of the driver is what this term is addressing.

 

[mercbuggy]

Naim owners live for PRaT (me included):

The Naim Of The Game... Naim's CDSII CD Player by Bob Neil

to quote:

"A Note on PRAT -
"You Don't Know What You've Got 'til it's Gone:

Apparently Pace, Rhythm, and Timing (PRAT) has been in my system since 1998 when the Naim CDX/XPS arrived. The Naim Forum is full of talk about it where many components and whole systems are praised for having it. But we've never been able to identify it, isolate it as a sonic attribute. When I put a pair of Cyrus Chestnut CDs (his debut Cyrus Chestnut and most recent Soul Food, both on Atlantic) on the Accuphase and then on the CDSII, what PRAT is finally came clear. It is musical energy, life. It is the opposite of giving peace a chance, the life of Riley, and a sweet summer breeze. It is Cyrus as pretty cool and a fine pianist compared with Cyrus as kick-ass and foot stompin'. My five-year-old son's favorite CD is REM's Out of Time, in particular "Smiling Happy People." My son likes the Accuphase CD player because he loves its looks and the smooth operation of its drawer. But he prefers REM on the Naim.

PRAT is lift, lilt, rhythmic energy and drive. Most music depends on this to communicate. When you fail to feel enthusiasm for a piece of music or a system, lack of this vital quality is often the culprit. Naim discovered this fact years ago and, while it's been attributed to all of their electronics, it is especially evident in their cdp's. A brief but useful discussion of this fascinating subject, "Pace, Rhythm, & Dynamics," can be found in the Stereophile Archives under "Reference" (Vol. 9, No. 6, September, 1992)."

 

[Peter Pinna]

Pace, Rhythm, Articulation, Timing

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter Pinna /img/forum/go_quote.gif Pace, Rhythm, Articulation, Timing

There is no Articulation in the term definition, reason for a lower case for a as it's a conjunction.
Pace, Rhythm and Timing. Technical term that has nothing to do with "musicality" or any other subjective feeling for the sound, if driver is fast it's fast.

Chesky Demonstration Disk has a very good explanation and demo sound track of what PRaT means.

 

[donunus]

It seems like people want to make up their own definition of the A. One says Articulation and another said Attack. Guys its an old term thats been invented a while back. It can't be changed unless you make your own invented term for something else altogether hehehe

 

[Peter Pinna]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew_WOT /img/forum/go_quote.gif There is no Articulation in the term definition, reason for a lower case for a as it's a conjunction. Pace, Rhythm and Timing. Technical term that has nothing to do with "musicality" or any other subjective feeling for the sound, if driver is fast it's fast. Chesky Demonstration Disk has a very good explanation and demo sound track of what PRaT means.

Yes, I actually know that and I knew that almost everyone else knew it too. The word "articulation" instead of the word "and" was a suggestion to give seeds to inspiration for, perhaps, a better, more applicable definition. The reason I did not post this information previously was because I wanted to see what the initial reaction to my suggestion would be without any advanced information given.

 

[panda]

characteristic of moving the focus of a listener into the flow of the music. as in not a technical factor.

 

[Bilavideo]

This is Bill from the Future. PRaT, like SQ, is a bullsh*t term invented by pretentious audiophools in a vain effort to sound like wine tasters with headphones.

 

[Bigrock2150]

haha i have boxers hand... funny I was trying to find out what PRAT meant.

 

[plonter]

I also didn't know what that means until I listened to the grado RS1

 

[fishski13]

some gears can carry a tune better than others.

 

[AmanGeorge]

Quote:

Originally Posted by powertoold /img/forum/go_quote.gif Quickness is probably like the 0-60 of a car, while PRAT is the quickness AND the sound of the engine. You can have a good balance between the two. For headphones, I'd imagine PRAT is a balance between quickness and impact. For example, many stats have quickness but not much impact. On the other hand, dynamics usually have impact but not much quickness, so a headphone that has good PRAT is balanced between the two. This wasn't meant to make any sense, but I hope it helps

This is actually pretty spot on what I think of as PRAT. It's the speed and punchiness of impact. I think PRAT may be the most defining quality of my CD3K - if you ever get a chance to listen to something drum-heavy through these headphones, all PRAT questions will be answered .

One quick edit, related to bass impact, but PRAT is also a function of dynamic swing. It's that ability to have a big, quick, crunchy, and impactful sound rising sharply out of tonal blackness.

 

[Bilavideo]

Well, I know this much. When I'd listen to a piece of music through the SE530 and then hear the same piece of music through the UM3X, it would be like night and day. The SE530 hit the notes. The UM3X made the music.

 

[tvrboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bilavideo /img/forum/go_quote.gif This is Bill from the Future. PRaT, like SQ, is a bullsh*t term invented by pretentious audiophools in a vain effort to sound like wine tasters with headphones.

This