"Wylie Williams"

... What is the conflict with euphonic (sounding good) and accurate, anyway?
What is our definition of "accurate" that makes it conflict with
"enjoyable"??


There have been many amplifiers in the past that had very good
specifications, yet didn't sound very good. People assumed that the
amplifier with good specifications was "accurate", and the one that
sounded good (but had less good specifications) was more "euphonic".

In the audio industry, equipment is tested using methods that go back
to the 1940's. With these old test methods, such as "THD", etc, it is
possible to have equipment that has very good specifications, yet in
reality it is not very accurate.

Until the audio industry updates the way equipment (amplifiers, CD
players, CD systems) is tested, don't put much stock in the published
numbers. If an amplifier or CD system (such as SACD) sounds better, it
probably is better (more accurate). The equipment you considered more
euphonic, may have in fact been simply more accurate.

Bob Stanton