Tube Amp Suggestions

NO I do not put the Cary amp in the same catagory with ATI. They have too much distortion to qualify. I am trying to get distortion out of my system so I can hear the music instead.

Since discovering do not have to settle for distortion in an amp, I have no incentive to characterize it various poetic terms: 'sweet', 'warm', 'bloom', 'smooth', etc.

Your anchor analogy does fit the album producers. Not much we can do about the inferior sonic quality of so many recordings. Except become selective, which is easy once you actually hear the recording when it is not masked by the system/room setup distortions. That could put some demand on producers to go easy on the mixing console, and require more of incompetant engineering.

Did you know it is more difficult to design ss amps to lower distortion levels than tubes. Makes you wonder, doesn't it. I mean what the market really is for tube equipment. It appears the 'connoisseures of coloration' have it there.

Oh, well. Any discernable difference between the same low distortion in tubes vs ss would be very subtle indeed. Though I would prefer it, if it were availble (with enough power to drive my main panels at least --40w min).

You might want to look into a pair of Quicksilver V4's. They can be had for 2,000-2,500 used in excellent shape. Very solid design. You can tube roll if you wish. Plenty of power. Just a gorgeous sounding mid-range. Great amps at a reasonable price and built to last.

Distortion is measurable, as well as audible: just listen to the poetic terms the 'connoissers of coloration' use to describe it :-)

Those specs are a major conveniece in the auditioning process (when it is low enough that the mfgr will publish it for public scrutiny, that is).

Imagine a component with 'no' distortion. Whats to audition? Whats to listen to in order to discern and choose? It makes no sound to hear. Your choices then are size, price, build quality, or perhaps aesthetics. And Bob's your uncle, as they say.

I have been there: auditioning, creating terms to express what I hear, even though I find myself saying verbatim what everybody else says, about every product: even the component isolation device and the power cord.

Trading componets, over, and over again. Trying this, then that. Never satisfied. The absurdity which is mixing and matching distortion qualities. One to compensate for another. As though all that were rational, reasonale, and necessary. Or the worse, superior.

To those still in it, who have not found their way out, or who beleive and perhaps do no want out, mentioning'spec's has the same affect as light to Darcula. Or, the notion of 'blind test' as well.

You know what I am saying.

That is an amplifier spec. I guess what you want from speakers is transparency. It can be evaluated by using reference earphones (Shure ER2: $100, tested and reviewed at www.linkwitzlab.com Reference Earphones link.

Listen to the recording, then compare what you hear in the room through your system. It can be disapointing, even discouaging, but like Dr Phil says, 'you cannot change what you do not acknowlege'.

Of course the first thing may be to work on setup. Making sure you are getting the most of what the speakers have to offer. You can just check the specs for the amp: to see if it is the culpret, or a participant.

But once you get those right, you will find the 'live' like quality of the music so involving, that there is little incentive to be so concerned about the top end components, cables, or tweaks.

If you have measurable amounts of distortion in your system, especially audible amounts, which get described in poetic terms by the 'connoisseurs of coloration', you will not hear the music. Even as much as actually got recorded on the source material. That is the whole point.

Reference earphones (Sure ER2: $100, tested and reviewed at www.linkwitzlab.com Reference Earphones link) can be used to hear the recording. THen compare to what you hear in the room, through your system.

Of course there is not much to be done about how the recording was produced, except be selective in purchases. If more were, perhaps the labels would restrain the overuse of those 1/4 million dollar, room size, mixing consoles, and requrire more of the engineers, in capturing more of what the artists create on their instruments.

BTW there is a list of tested and proven sonically superior reference quality CD's in a variety of musical genres at the MUSIC link at www.linkwitzlab.com