PS audio hca 2 feedback...

Zt000, these tests & specs have little to do with sound quality since most quality amps are designed by ear, not by laboratory measurements & specifications. I always thought the HCA-2 was one of the best efforts as far as producing a digital amp that created the least amount of noise. If there is any audible noise I can't hear it.

most quality amps are designed by ear, not by laboratory measurements & specifications

They are?

Drubin, tube gear has horrible specs/measurements when compared to solid state but there are alot audiophiles that prefer the tube sound. Engineering a product & applying large amounts of negative feedback (a common practice on cheap gear) results in a product that reguires less attention to circuit design and they always have better specs however they fall short on sound quality. I'm sure when Stereophile evaluated this amp, their conclusions were soley based on sound quality & not lab measurements. Forget the specs/measurements, believe your ears.

I was shocked when I had this amp home. It sounds harsh and muffled. I was not surprised when I read the reviews detailing its poor (measured) performance. The unit is also grossly overpriced given its parts count/quality.

Nightdoggy, my findings & others as well as Stereophile are the dead opposite to yours as you can tell but I recognize the fact that not everyone is going to like the same product (system compatibility). What preamp, power cord, & interconnects did you use with it? The HCA-2 has only two gain stages with the output stage being digital. For that reason you can't expect a big parts count. Besides, the more parts a signal travels through the more it is degraded. When a straight wire with gain is invented that is where I want to be.