Tubes, tone, and old age.

I've been playing this game a long time, like back when Vandersteen had only two models....really one, but officially two.  Anyway, my hearing back then was stellar, but after a lifetime of live sound, shooting sports, and other high SPL events, I have light tinnitus, and a definite disparity between right and left ears.  So I realize I have ultimate limitations, but I also realize that my lifetime of critical listening has helped to overcome some of the actual loss.  I still hear new things in familiar recordings.  

Concentrate and enjoy the moments, they're still there.

....and 'whipping the dead horse' becomes more 'ritual' than real.....

Esp. when the carcass has been long gone, beaten into dust...😏

Just being the devils' advocate....after reading a post commenting:

"....there is no devil, it's just god when he's drunk..."

Had a certain appeal to me....;)

Carlsbad2

@llg98ljk Keep whipping that dead horse repeated by ss fans ad nauseum.

Maybe you didn't pay attention to my post. I'm whipping no horse, dead or alive. My point is simply that audio perfection would mimic the source. The technology is irrelevant to the discussion. Many people spend inordinate amounts of money and time chasing a sound using a very imperfect instrument. Their ears. 

atmaspher

12-07-2023 at 02:09pm 

And on a related note, what measurements - if there are any - show the difference in sound between SS and tubes?

Could one see this on a frequency chart?

Yes. Look at distortion vs frequency- if it begins rising much below about 10KHz you will have a brightness problem since higher ordered harmonics will be higher than the THD suggests.

The other thing to look at is the distortion profile. Smoother sounding amps have a greater degree of 2nd and 3rd harmonic than amps that tend to sound bright and harsh. This is simply because the 2nd and 3rd in the latter amps is insufficient to mask the higher orders. Our ears interpret the higher orders as harsh and bright using the same metrics that cause tone color in musical instruments.

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Thanks that's very interesting.   So we can sort of measure these subtle differences but not really.  And is the binaural nature of hearing ever part of it?  The subtle phase differences of stereo?

The scientific method requires a theory followed by testing, with reliable results to prove the theory.  Without testing, measurements are not necessarily significant.  You need a real life A/B comparison.