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"Phil Allison" wrote in
: Stewart, one often overlooked item is that transistors are by their nature non-linear, so surrounding them with oggles of negative feedback, is responsible for their low THD scores on a meter. But maybe doesn't really reduce their inherent distortion - those distortions of a non-harmonic nature... time related distortions and other types. So who is really so sure that tube amps are inherently more distorted ? Of course, those few tube amps which lack an output transformer, do seem to be more transistor like sounding in some ways, but are too few and far in between to make up another category. Perhaps we need to have output transformered transistor amps for making a rightious comparison ? Interesting that among vintage amps, those amps known for unusually good sound often had an "interstage" transformer, both expensive tube ones like the $100K. lunatic fringe stuff and the transistor ones (like the old gold faced AR Integrated Amp) which probably sounded better than its ancient 2N3054 Drivers and 2N3055 output transistors would otherwise have allowed, simply because it had a huge interstage tranny in there. So really maybe my speaker also has some of that euphoric even harmonics stuff too, but really I don't rely on a meter to tell me what sounds more like music and what sounds like SH^T. I've done the tube amp / transistor amp comparison here and had others doing the listening. They all think bottles and silicon sound different, and in general, the non-linearities of the transistor stuff is quite audibly apparent. Also, similar transistor amps sound different too - worse as the level of complexity goes up. Adding a single differential input stage might make the THD meter go down to .005% from .05% for a single-ended input stage, but the amp with the differential input stage, being several transistors more complicated, sounds decidedly WORSE on real world speakers. Truth be told, all amps are "audibly distorting" just maybe in ways your ear knows, but which would elude a THD Meter, that is why there are half a dozen types of distortion, not "just" THD. Stewart, why is it that the tube amp sounds more like "music" ? Could it be that the artifacts of the transistor amp are the result of the feedback, which are subtractive to the music ? If the nonlinearities are in fact removing some harmonics that SHOULD be in there, the resulting transistor amp sounds thin, unlike real music ? So maybe tube amps DON'T produce Euphoric or Euphonic Effects, transistor amps just LOSE the existing harmonics that should be in there, and that shows up as low THD results, but the ear knows which sounds like music. So who is to say which amp is more distorted, a THD Meter, or your ears Stewart ??? -Steven L. Bender ** This article effectively and concisely debunks all the above crap - as preached by demented lunatics like Bender. http://www.dself.dsl.pipex.com/ampin...o/subjectv.htm Note fig 3 - the Baxandall cancellation test. Audiophools shy away from it like Zombies from garlic cloves in old horror movies !!! ............ Phil A well put article. I like it. |
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