There is much hype about vacuum tube amplifier equipment "sounding better" than solid state equipment. What if one were to present a scientific paper on why this is, if it has not been done already?
I agree very much that tube amplifiers generally sound better than transistor units. My own perception tells me so. From here until now, I bought too much into the subjectivity and emotional appeals that go with the audiophile world 😱. At the end of the day, perception may be reality, but it still is credulous.
So how does one go about confirming the so called "better sound" scientifically? I have done some limited research and have a rough, general idea about what goes on electrically.
Part of the exercise should involve studying human psychology, into how harmonic distortion is perceived, etc. This portion is beyond me, and would need help.
I agree very much that tube amplifiers generally sound better than transistor units. My own perception tells me so. From here until now, I bought too much into the subjectivity and emotional appeals that go with the audiophile world 😱. At the end of the day, perception may be reality, but it still is credulous.
So how does one go about confirming the so called "better sound" scientifically? I have done some limited research and have a rough, general idea about what goes on electrically.
Part of the exercise should involve studying human psychology, into how harmonic distortion is perceived, etc. This portion is beyond me, and would need help.
As with everything execution is an overwhelming contributor to the end product. I have heard good & bad tube amps, and good & bad SS amps.
Also it is hard to judge an amplifier without the speaker (and the connection) it will be used with… they are a system.
dave
Also it is hard to judge an amplifier without the speaker (and the connection) it will be used with… they are a system.
dave
That was done in the USA in the 1920s and 30s. And again in Japan in the 1970s. Probably repeated elsewhere in other decades.
This isn't a subject that you'll get much consensus on. It will just spiral down into the same silliness that all threads like this do.
Precisely. It is the failure to distinguish between "I prefer A" and "A is better" that lies at the heart of many threads on here. Combine this with a generous helping of Fourier denial, Shannon denial, Nyquist denial etc. (and sometimes even Kirchoff denial!) and you have the confusion we often find here.billshurv said:
I built an SS amp and I could never get it stable. I built a valve amp and, with a bit of fiddling, it works. I therefore listen to music using the valve amp. It's as simple as that.
The thing with KISS is that a KISS design does not produce a KISS output-vs-input behavior.
Even expensive vs. not is called into question, let alone ss vs, rube.
Matrix HiFi --> Blind testing high end full equipments
Matrix HiFi --> Blind testing high end full equipments
Subjectively better. Like, for me, durian tastes better than watermelon. This is a very simple issue actually.
It's a taste (preference). Scientifically, you need to be able to define the various tastes. Then you need to be able to relate these tastes with electronics...
You need to have good "ears" to be able to recognize these tastes. And you need to have both good ears and good electronics knowledge to relate the tastes with electronics...
You don't need that.
All depends if one's digestive system is able to handle durian. Not aware (other than super LF weapons grade subwoofers) of any amplifier technology that gives you the runs for 24 hours despite being delicious.
The Mythbusters handled that it turned out myth. IIRC one of them sat in front of 180dB @10Hz (or something suitably stupid) in an adult diaper. I like durian too but also watermelon and have no preference to either all of the time.
I was worried as I started reading that they'd made someone eat 2 whole durians and sat him in a nappy!
Leaving it at that?? Just like that?? 😀
He obviously wants to understand more. First, he must list all the preferences, group them based on the similarity of the cause. Second, he must list the electrical differences. Last, correlate them. No voodoo here.
Easier is when this is done by one person, because otherwise there will be loss of information when the preference is communicated to a different person...
Start with the "audiophile terminologies/dictionary" (I think Stereophile has them) to find out how people describe their preference. This would be a hard work 😀
Been looking for an excuse to post this link AES Headphone Technology Conference: How Researchers Go About Making the Subjective Experience Objectively Meaningful | InnerFidelity
Personally I see this as how to confuse the issue further, but its an attempt.
Personally I see this as how to confuse the issue further, but its an attempt.
Agree that it will just confuse the issue. I think people should not try very hard, but just leave it at that 😱 Seriously, look at the result of JonB driver test, look at the result of Klippel distortion test, how can you tell the difference between green and blue to blind men?? Why there has to be extraordinary evidence, when the claim is only extraordinary to the blind men?
Everytime this discussion resurfaces, it feels a bit like the last remake of Battlestar Gallactica - " this has all happened before, and will again"
Yes. Now it starts to make sense what Bill said. Why not just leave it at that... if it is so hard to make efforts.
I think it will be better if the OP simplify the scope. Put one of a few of his general ideas about what goes on electrically into "test". I believe that some experts know something about it... At the end, it requires experiment not just guess.
I think it will be better if the OP simplify the scope. Put one of a few of his general ideas about what goes on electrically into "test". I believe that some experts know something about it... At the end, it requires experiment not just guess.
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