Cjfrbw,
I agree with your last comment that one has to let one's
ears be the final guide.
All I'm saying, is that many tube amps when confronted with
the complex impedance dips of the Apogee ribbons will not
have the current reserves to drive enough current through
the ribbon so that the voltage is what it is supposed to be.
Once the amp can't put the required voltage on the speakers
input terminals - then all bets are off with respect to
accuracy.
Accuracy isn't a limiting concept. The music signal being
sent to the speakers is encoded as a voltage. If the amp
can't put the correct, and I do mean correct; voltage on
the speaker's terminals - then you are doing something
inaccurate to the music.
Now you may like what you hear - but if your amp is not
putting the proper voltage on the speaker's terminals -
then all the great qualities that you are ascribing to the
music - are not qualities of the music - because the
musical signal isn't being accurately represented to the
speaker. Once that inaccuracy creeps in - there's nothing
the speaker can do to correct it.
However, you may like what the speaker puts out - you just
have to accept that it, of necessity; it is something
different than what the musician intended; regardless of
how much you may like it.
Dr. Gregory Greenman
Physicist