John Curl's Blowtorch preamplifier part III

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Hint low frequencies can mask higher frequencies.

True, and people can learn to overcome the masking. In music listening there is also a tendency to notice the highest frequency present, with intermediate chordal frequencies being masked. Music majors that have to take a course in transcription of live orchestral performances find it very difficult at first, but eventually they develop skill at overcoming the masking and are able to transcribe intermediate pitched instruments in even in rather dense orchestration.
 
The CD example only makes clear than one particular effect has been demonstrated and accepted as non-controversial. Doesn't prove anything beyond what it says. It does illustrate at least one kind of correlated high order distortion can be audible at low levels.

I see no protocols or detailed repeatable process laid out to verify any claims of audibility. I don't mean to be contentious but I spent weeks when selling amplifiers to the major cell phone manufacturers listening to reference designs and frankly never heard anything except different earbuds/headphones.
 
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Bonsai, I read your paper and I don't necessarily agree with you. You have made many assumptions, including the definitions of TIM and SID. I know better since I worked with both parties on this issue back in the 1970's. You don't know as much as you think you do.

Ha ha. Classic JC.

You do know this 2019 and not 1970?

:D
 
Well, I worked personally with Matti Otala at his lab in Finland, and also later at Harmon Kardon. I even co-authored a paper with him. I think that I know what Matti Otala thought TIM was, and it wasn't slew rate limiting.
I have personally known Walt Jung since 1974. He wanted me to work with him on SID, but Matti had contacted me first. Later, I got both Walt Jung and Matti Otala together at an AES to agree that SID is TIM. So there!
 
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Further, I was reading a review of the latest greatest dac yet at ASR and the guy that does the measurements said the dac distortion came at around -130dB, IIRC, and since the limit of audibility is -116dB the dac distortion is therefore inaudible.
Needless to say I was surprised at the number -116dB, not -117dB and not -115dB, but exactly -116dB! None of the other objectivist guys jumped in to complain either.

Did you ask where the 116dB figure came from? Perhaps it makes sense, perhaps not. It's an open forum though, you can ask.
For me that's not so important, I don't doubt that -130dB is well below the threshold of hearing, certainly I've never seen anything to make me doubt that.
But, if there's any decent evidence, happy to be convinced.
 
Did you ask where the 116dB figure came from? Perhaps it makes sense, perhaps not. It's an open forum though, you can ask.
For me that's not so important, I don't doubt that -130dB is well below the threshold of hearing, certainly I've never seen anything to make me doubt that.
But, if there's any decent evidence, happy to be convinced.

I have no idea where that number came from, but it sounds a bit extreme to me.

How many devices have input switches and volume controls that don't have -116 dB of "offness"?
 
This reminds me of an incident that happened at Harmon Kardon about 40 years ago. I was at a tech meeting with several engineers and managers, including Matti Otala. Well this on 'engineer' got up and tried to tell us what TIM was. Now, Matti and I did a paper together on TIM, and Matti invented the term, TIM, so this was almost laughable. Well, I interrupted this guy, to keep him from making a fool out of himself, and he got real mad at me, and threatened physical violence. He is long gone from the scene.
 
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