I’ve heard it being used in several reviews and comments, most notably it’s column being removed from Crinacle’s database. I know it might generally deal with lower mids and higher bass, though I have no idea what it definitively is. I tried to find out what it is, but I couldn’t find any info other than mentions of it on several subreddits as well as Google. So what is note weight definitively, and why did Crinacle have a column for it in the first place, then neglect it and ultimately remove it?
If you haven’t read Crins post on this, you should.
https://crinacle.com/2020/04/19/the-big-breakdown-ranking-list-update/
As already demonstrated in this comment section, these kinds of audiophile terms really annoy some people because they aren’t super easy to define. While it is possible to find and pinpoint many subjective things in objective data, it’s bloody difficult and confusing. Plus, we all have different ear canals, taste, and levels of ear training. This isn’t to say that there’s a lot of confirmation bias going around. There definitely is. But these subjective terms are still useful tools for describing the subjective experience. The fact of the matter is that objectively captured data is also liable to being misinterpreted. So in my opinion, you need to learn how to evaluate both subjective and objective data points.
If you think of a drum kit, the tom-tom could be said to have more note weight than the snare. A fat smash on the tom will give a big bong! sound coming all the way from the bass and saturating the upper harmonics with vibrato. That’s heavy note weight. Listen to Pet Sounds and you’ll get the idea. On the other hand, the dink! of the rightmost keys on a piano could be considered a light note weight.
The Headphone Show on YT has done some videos about these audiophile terms. It’s worth a watch.
https://www.youtube.com/@TheHEADPHONEShow/search?query=terms