Simple Explanation

How smoothly and naturally the different parts of a sound system blend together to form one clear, unified sound.

Concise Technical Definition

The perceptual or measurable integration of frequency, phase, and spatial cues in an audio system, contributing to the perception of a unified and seamless sonic image.

Layman-Friendly Analogy

Like a choir singing in perfect harmony—each voice adds to the whole without standing out awkwardly.

Industry Usage Summary

Used in critical listening, system tuning, and speaker design to assess how well a system presents a singular, cohesive soundstage. Poor coherence may be caused by misaligned drivers, crossover issues, phase anomalies, or room acoustics.

Engineering Shortcut

Coherence ≈ consistent phase + aligned timing + balanced output across drivers = unified sound.

Full Technical Explanation

In audio engineering, coherence describes how well the various sound elements from multiple sources (e.g., tweeter, woofer, subwoofer) or reflections combine into a single, intelligible, and musically satisfying output. High coherence means accurate phase alignment, minimal timing smear, and balanced crossover integration. Coherence also refers to measurement tools (like magnitude-squared coherence) to assess the correlation between input and output signals in system analysis.