"Keith G" wrote in message
...
"Trevor Wilson" wrote
**Delusion is the explanation. The idea of building something tends to
convey a feeling that the builder has constructed the finest sounding
product possible. Normal human emotion, but often has no relation to
reality.
I really love this one - simply being able to trot this ******** out
conveys to me that the writer is getting carried away by his own
prejudices.
**Nope. I deal in facts, not delusions.
I know of *no* DIYer who isn't dubious/unsure about his own products or
who doesn't elicit opinions from others.
**Well, I'm here to tell you that I meet them all the time. Here's ONE
example which sticks in my mind:
I sold a properly manufactured, Zero Global NFB, full complementary preamp
to a client. The product specc'd out at around 0.05% THD (20Hz - 20kHz) and
similar levels of IMD. Frequency response is 0.5dB from DC to 150kHz. S/N is
in excess of 100dB. IOW: No serious objective flaws. Sonically, it is
enjoyed by many. The client is a technical person, who fancied himself as a
person who could make improvements. He called me and asked me to pop over,
so I could judge his latest 'improvement', in view of selling it to the
manufacturer. I sat down, ready to carefully listen. He had built a much
more sophisticated and very large power supply for his preamp. He had
managed to inject a hum level of what I judged to be around -50dB and, as
near as I could tell, he had completely screwed the soundstage, such that it
was now artificially broad and shallow. Sheesh! Just the hum was annoying,
yet he kept claiming that the thing sound great. Typical.
I've got a million of them.
Another client brought his homemade gear (along with his wife) over to
demonstrate. We sat down and listened. I hear dproblems, but decided not to
embarrass him in front of his wife. Then I played my reference equipment
(not expensive, BTW). His wife exclaimed: "That's it darling. That's the
sound I like."
I *am* aware that many DIYers spend
endless amounts of time tweaking their creations until they're happy with
them and I suspect some are *never* truly happy with them.....
**And in many cases, rightly so. I do not want to suggest that DIYers cannot
get it right. Many can and do. It's just that they have zero objectivity.
Do try to keep it real....
**That's just it. I DO keep it real. I deal in facts, not fantasy.
Their imaging is just part of their attraction and
probably just a function of their great speed,dynamics and
clarity-traits often attributed to SETs.
**Speed, clarity, dynamics? Attributed to SETs? Not in this universe.
SETs wash out detail and lack clarity. That is what makes them so
popular.
So popular?
**Sure. Lots of people (in the enthusiast community) have owned them.
Make your mind up - next you'll be telling us how *few* people
use them....
**Sure.
But what a stupid, ****ing remark that was - I for one doubt you have ever
heard a SET amplifier.**
**Doubt all you wish. I've heard many. In some cases, in the same system.
The reality is that different SET amps sound fundamentally different to each
other. They can't all be right. OTOH, they all could be wrong.
Clarity and detail is the very reason I use SET amps and I got there by
trying just about everything else....!!
**You did not try EVERYTHING else. You just tried some stuff which was
easy/cheap for you to lay your hands on.
Coupled with hopelessly engineered recordings, a SET amp can mask all the
rubbish inserted by engineers and musicians.
I think you're ready for a career change.....
**What? Just because I deal in the truth?
--
Trevor Wilson
www.rageaudio.com.au
--
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