"What HiFi" - can it be trusted?
 

"David" wrote in message
...

Btw - what thousand pound amplifiers have a several percent distortion?

Single-ended triode amps do - and they can cost a *lot* more than
that!

But what are we measuring? Valve "distotion" is viewed as a rosie glow.
Transistor x/over or switching distortion in a poorly designed (or
over-driven) solid state amp of only a few 10ths % is unbearable!

Not all distotions are created eaqual - but they are all deviations from
the
"straight wire with gain" model of the "ideal" amp.



Which doesn't exist or ever will - it's up to the individual to make the
necessary trade-offs between 'accurate' and 'pleasant' to listen to in terms
of 'distortion'.

My own view (surprise surprise) is that valves and analogue, while
supposedly less 'accurate', are *far* more pleasant (and a lot less tiring)
to listen to than SS/digital in any form (which is downright unpleasant by
comparison IMO). Where simple 'pure sound' is more important than
'musicality' (Saving Private Ryan for example) I find digital/SS is plenty
good enough - much the same way that the speed/convenience/economy of
digital photography outweighs the faff, hassle and expense of the 'wet'
process for me, these days.

(No-one in his right mind though is going to suggest that 'digital' will
ever match the sheer quality of a top notch Hasselblad/Zeiss T* or Leica B&W
bromide print though, despite that in terms of 'hue', if nothing else, it is
immediately a lot less 'accurate' than a colour digital photo from the
outset.....)

"What HiFi" - can it be trusted?
 

Oliver Keating wrote:

Amp is up to 40%, so in the limit of a very expensive sound system,
you would spend 40% on the Amp

And 60% on the speakers = 100% of the budget. How do the sources get paid
for?


--
Wally
www.art-gallery.myby.co.uk
On webcam: Black Cat In Coal Cellar

"What HiFi" - can it be trusted?
 

Oliver Keating wrote:

Amp is up to 40%, so in the limit of a very expensive sound system,
you would spend 40% on the Amp

And 60% on the speakers = 100% of the budget. How do the sources get paid
for?


--
Wally
www.art-gallery.myby.co.uk
On webcam: Black Cat In Coal Cellar

"What HiFi" - can it be trusted?
 

"Wally" wrote in message
...
Oliver Keating wrote:

Amp is up to 40%, so in the limit of a very expensive sound system,
you would spend 40% on the Amp

And 60% on the speakers = 100% of the budget. How do the sources get paid
for?



They don't - you put them on yer plastic.......

"What HiFi" - can it be trusted?
 

"Wally" wrote in message
...
Oliver Keating wrote:

Amp is up to 40%, so in the limit of a very expensive sound system,
you would spend 40% on the Amp

And 60% on the speakers = 100% of the budget. How do the sources get paid
for?



They don't - you put them on yer plastic.......

"What HiFi" - can it be trusted?
 

Keith G wrote:

And 60% on the speakers = 100% of the budget. How do the sources get
paid for?

They don't - you put them on yer plastic.......

Plugging vinyl again, eh, Keith? :-)


--
Wally
www.art-gallery.myby.co.uk
On webcam: Black Cat In Coal Cellar

"What HiFi" - can it be trusted?
 

Keith G wrote:

And 60% on the speakers = 100% of the budget. How do the sources get
paid for?

They don't - you put them on yer plastic.......

Plugging vinyl again, eh, Keith? :-)


--
Wally
www.art-gallery.myby.co.uk
On webcam: Black Cat In Coal Cellar

"What HiFi" - can it be trusted?
 

"Wally" wrote in message
...
Keith G wrote:

And 60% on the speakers = 100% of the budget. How do the sources get
paid for?

They don't - you put them on yer plastic.......

Plugging vinyl again, eh, Keith? :-)


:-)

"What HiFi" - can it be trusted?
 

"Wally" wrote in message
...
Keith G wrote:

And 60% on the speakers = 100% of the budget. How do the sources get
paid for?

They don't - you put them on yer plastic.......

Plugging vinyl again, eh, Keith? :-)


:-)

"What HiFi" - can it be trusted?
 

Laurence Payne wrote:

Pardon my hignorance.....What's an Aural exciter and what is it used
for?

The original Aural Exciter was a box made by Aphex several decades
ago. It was flavour-of-the-month for a time. I think at the
beginning you could only hire it, not buy it outright. It gave your
recordings special "magic" ;-) It was mostly even-order distortion, I
think. Probably some eq and compression as well.

ISTR to remember a 1970's Steely Dan album proudly announcing that the
sounds it contained had NOT been passed through the Aphex Aural Exciter :-)