Why no threads on OTL amps?

I say to-MAY-to, you say to-MAH-to. Every time there's a discussion of OTL amps and the Berning comes up, the thread eventually evolves into a debate (to put it politely) over whether the Berning is 'really' an OTL. Who cares? Obviously, some people do, or the issue would never arise. But why SHOULD anybody care? Isn't the issue whether the amplifier, OTL or not, does its job well--namely, accurately amplifying an audio signal? What additional value--financial, 'bragging rights', whatever- would a Berning amp gain from being a 'true' OTL, or lose from NOT being a true 'OTL'? "A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet", said some famous poet.
By the way, I own a Berning 270, and love it with my Merlin Milleniums, whether it's an OTL or not.

Jtinn, just for the record it is not my goal to invalidate your comments entirely and perhaps my statement of being "quite closed minded" was going a bit far. My intent is not to create personal conflict in this forum, as I do not feel its necessary in order to make a point. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and interpretation of the design in question. Like many around here often state, "let your own ears decide".

Best Regards,
Chris

So let me understand. The idea of a OTL amp is that there is no transformer between the tubes and the speakers, right? So, here we have a transformer that's not a transformer because we don't want it to be a transformer, so the amp is OTL because we want it to be an OTL and be included in that class of amps.

Other than a desire to argue, what's the point of the debate?

Best wishes,

Bill E.
Owner of Tenor's

Without trying to be argumentative, I agree that if one wants to call the amp non-OTL because of the "coupling transformer", this gives one an ostensibly good reason. On the other hand if one wants to call it an OTL, one can use my reasoning in the above post. I've already posted my reasons. I think that the main point is that it addresses the inherent difficulties in circlotronic OTL circuits, without resorting to a "conventional"(is that alright?) output transformer for impedance matching. Does so with considerably fewer tubes, with lower heat, lower energy consumption, and excellent reliability. I mean absolutely no disrespect to the Tenor people, Atma-Sphere people, Graaf, or anyone else. So now there is a design that provides(apparently arguably) the benefits of both OTL and traditional output transformer amps with neither of their typical weaknesses(although not perfect). I say that this can only be considered a historic event, much like the circlotron before it. Regardless of how one categorizes it, as several mentioned above, it exists and cannot be ignored. How it will fare in the marketplace is up to the performance level that users feel it posesses, at the various price points. Just like any other product.

Bill E., I made the same point in my post preceding yours, but since people obviously do care about whether an amp is an OTL or not, let me propose a theory (I should say that I'm an experimental psychologist by training, so explaining why people do things is what I'm supposed to be good at, although most days I wonder about that!:). High-end audio is a social group, a club if you will, and a fairly exclusive one. Within the club, there are 'levels of exclusiveness', kind of like becoming a 32nd degree Mason, or something like that. OTL amps have a certain 'mystique' about them, like they are the 'holy grail' of tube amplification. Being 'recognized' as an OTL confers this mystique upon the amp, and by extension those who own it. OTL owners are serious audiophiles in search of ultimate accuracy in amplifier sound reproduction; everybody else is just playing around.
Now, before anybody who might read this tells me I'm full of crap, I already know that--my wife and kids tell me that all the time.