relder said:
I have to ask, what were you expecting?
I recommended Self on Audio because it was the first book I'd seen that rigorously analyzed the sources of measurable distortion - and their telltale signatures on the distortion plots - in the conventional "op-amp" power amp topology. Now Self definitely shies away from subjectivism and the "tweak of the week", so if you were expecting something trendy, you may have been wasting your money.
But if you really are a student of power amp design, I think there's a lot to be learned from Self's work. And there are a lot of commercial amps that aren't as good as his "Blameless" designs.
You may disagree with his design philosophy, but I think you need to understand it to be able to judge what might be an improvement - and why.
Self, Sloan, Leach, et al, clearly have some favorite design choices,
but they all make it clear that there ARE choices, and a lot of them. They examined the trade-offs and selected designs that
worked well for them, and there's still plenty of choices left to experiment with.
Keep reading those books! I've waded partways through their materials and learned quite a bit, but I've still got a LOT to learn.
And I'm still slogging my way through my basic electronics textbooks:
Electronics Fundamentals, by Thomas L. Floyd
Electronic Principles, by Albert Malvino
The Art of LInear Electronics, by John Linsley Hood
and various other odd sources
One thing I do need is better source material on negative feedback principles that aren't too math-intensive. As firmly
entrenched as the basic Lin amplifier configuration is, there may
still be room left to play with zero and very low feedback amplifiers.
but they all make it clear that there ARE choices, and a lot of them. They examined the trade-offs and selected designs that
worked well for them, and there's still plenty of choices left to experiment with.
Keep reading those books! I've waded partways through their materials and learned quite a bit, but I've still got a LOT to learn.
And I'm still slogging my way through my basic electronics textbooks:
Electronics Fundamentals, by Thomas L. Floyd
Electronic Principles, by Albert Malvino
The Art of LInear Electronics, by John Linsley Hood
and various other odd sources
One thing I do need is better source material on negative feedback principles that aren't too math-intensive. As firmly
entrenched as the basic Lin amplifier configuration is, there may
still be room left to play with zero and very low feedback amplifiers.
Dear Relder,
I'm afraid that Doug's Blameless Amp is a very competent design but it is far from blameless. It is a level 2 design. The good news for you is that the distortion measurements he makes are not the whole story. In fact you will find many amps that meet these THDs and so on but sound crummy. And herein lies both the opportunity for you and the challenge: you must use your brain and, most importantly, your ears to deduce what matters, what doesn't and what Doug hasn't figured out yet. Don't be depressed...it isn't really that complicated, but it isn't always easy to see the wood from the trees. Being a little mad and obsessive would also serve you well in this quest!
I'm afraid that Doug's Blameless Amp is a very competent design but it is far from blameless. It is a level 2 design. The good news for you is that the distortion measurements he makes are not the whole story. In fact you will find many amps that meet these THDs and so on but sound crummy. And herein lies both the opportunity for you and the challenge: you must use your brain and, most importantly, your ears to deduce what matters, what doesn't and what Doug hasn't figured out yet. Don't be depressed...it isn't really that complicated, but it isn't always easy to see the wood from the trees. Being a little mad and obsessive would also serve you well in this quest!
Keep in mind that with ultra-low distorion amps it is not the amp that sounds crummy... your speakers and source units are creating 99% of the coloration and distortion at this point... the amp is not adding any "crummy" sound. Doug Self has figured out more than ANYONE about the inner workings of solid state amps, and from reading his books it is clear he will never advocate valve amps and is very clear about it. It isn't that he hasn't figured it out yet, he has and that is where he firmly stands. Give the man a break!
traderbam said:Dear Relder,
I'm afraid that Doug's Blameless Amp is a very competent design but it is far from blameless. It is a level 2 design. The good news for you is that the distortion measurements he makes are not the whole story. In fact you will find many amps that meet these THDs and so on but sound crummy. And herein lies both the opportunity for you and the challenge: you must use your brain and, most importantly, your ears to deduce what matters, what doesn't and what Doug hasn't figured out yet. Don't be depressed...it isn't really that complicated, but it isn't always easy to see the wood from the trees. Being a little mad and obsessive would also serve you well in this quest!
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