Grannyring, OK- I have to admit that I run into engineers that rely entirely on specs. Decades ago I used to work at Sperry Corporation on something called the Eagle Project. What I saw there is borne out in my own experience- that an engineer that does not go down to the test floor, see how things are going, talk to the technicians and the like working on the thing is also an incompetent engineer.
There are just simply things you have to take into account! So a competent engineer will always monitor the actual product rather than sit behind his desk. In audio that means you have to listen to it. And yes, components make a difference; I think my point is you start with the circuit, and the specs which should provide 99% of the sound of the unit.
In my work, I never rely on 'synergies' which is what we could well talking about here- using components to shut down a brightness, or to brighten up something that sounds dull. I've played with a lot of high end caps and resistors and in particular with the caps I've not found that many that had problems- most of them sound fine. But I *have* seen a few that were problematic- and when you delved into the construction details and specs, it was easy to see why.
It may well be that what I do is called 'voicing' by others but I've yet to *have* to use a particular cap or resistor to make something sound right, although I avoid cheap parts in that regard (for example Xicon caps can sound quite bright). Usually the higher end parts are simply adding nuance and almost never anything tonal.
Am I the only one that sees the contradiction in this paragraph (compare 1st sentence against the rest of the paragraph). Audiozen, you are completely mistaken about specs in this paragraph, for example 'damping factor' mostly has a basis in mythology. There are speakers that need a damping factor of 1:10 and others that need 10:1. There are no speakers that need more than 20:1. So why would an amp with 1000:1 be better? The simple answer is it probably isn't.
What is going on, just on that subject alone has to do with how the amp interfaces with the speaker. For example the fact that tubes are still around 60 years after becoming obsolete should tell you that the audio industry does not have a good answer for that. For more look here:
http://www.atma-sphere.com/Resources/Paradigms_in_Amplifier_Design.php
The distortion thing is also counter-intuitive. Ultra-low distortion, IME indicates that while the unit may measure well, its highly unlikely that it will get complements on its sound. This is because what distortion it does make will likely be elevated amounts of odd-ordered harmonics which the ear finds unpleasant and depends on so heavily to determine sound pressure. So we can hear trace amounts that are almost impossible to measure.
There are just simply things you have to take into account! So a competent engineer will always monitor the actual product rather than sit behind his desk. In audio that means you have to listen to it. And yes, components make a difference; I think my point is you start with the circuit, and the specs which should provide 99% of the sound of the unit.
In my work, I never rely on 'synergies' which is what we could well talking about here- using components to shut down a brightness, or to brighten up something that sounds dull. I've played with a lot of high end caps and resistors and in particular with the caps I've not found that many that had problems- most of them sound fine. But I *have* seen a few that were problematic- and when you delved into the construction details and specs, it was easy to see why.
It may well be that what I do is called 'voicing' by others but I've yet to *have* to use a particular cap or resistor to make something sound right, although I avoid cheap parts in that regard (for example Xicon caps can sound quite bright). Usually the higher end parts are simply adding nuance and almost never anything tonal.
I do not just rely on specs to determine the musical
quality of an Amp or Preamp. If that were the case, I'd buy my separates through a mail order catalog without listening. The point I made is that the most expensive and most musical separates globally that sell in the $15K to $100K range, brands that are well recognized and have outstanding international reviews for years, all have specs that are in common with each other. Higher S/N ratio's, ultra low distortion, and wider bandwidth's and higher damping factor's.
Am I the only one that sees the contradiction in this paragraph (compare 1st sentence against the rest of the paragraph). Audiozen, you are completely mistaken about specs in this paragraph, for example 'damping factor' mostly has a basis in mythology. There are speakers that need a damping factor of 1:10 and others that need 10:1. There are no speakers that need more than 20:1. So why would an amp with 1000:1 be better? The simple answer is it probably isn't.
What is going on, just on that subject alone has to do with how the amp interfaces with the speaker. For example the fact that tubes are still around 60 years after becoming obsolete should tell you that the audio industry does not have a good answer for that. For more look here:
http://www.atma-sphere.com/Resources/Paradigms_in_Amplifier_Design.php
The distortion thing is also counter-intuitive. Ultra-low distortion, IME indicates that while the unit may measure well, its highly unlikely that it will get complements on its sound. This is because what distortion it does make will likely be elevated amounts of odd-ordered harmonics which the ear finds unpleasant and depends on so heavily to determine sound pressure. So we can hear trace amounts that are almost impossible to measure.