Learn Finnish: Rumpu kuulostaa paremmalta, kun kaiku tulee kauempaa. - The drum sounds better when the reverb comes from further away.

The verb kuulostaa (to sound) is a verb of perception. In Finnish, verbs describing how something looks, sounds, feels, or tastes require the following adjective to be in the ablative case (-lta or -ltä). So "sounds good" is kuulostaa hyvältä, and "sounds better" is kuulostaa paremmalta.

How do we get the stem paremma- to make paremmalta?

The base word is hyvä (good), which has the irregular comparative form parempi (better). When we add a case ending like the ablative -lta, the comparative ending -mpi changes to the weak grade stem -mma-. This turns parempi into the stem paremma-, giving us paremmalta.

How does the word kauempaa work to mean "from further away"?

It is the comparative form of the adverb kaukaa (from far away). For comparative adverbs of location showing movement away from a place (the "from" direction), we use the strong comparative stem -mpa- and add a partitive -a. This gives us kauempaa, meaning "from further away".

The word kaiku is translated as "reverb" here. What is its usual meaning?

In everyday Finnish, kaiku translates simply as "echo". However, in audio, acoustics, and music contexts, it is the standard word used for "reverb" (reverberation) as well.