Hello bwaslo,
Your explanation makes a very compelling and logical case for the seemingly overstated importance /relevance of the THD specification. It certainly is consistent with the not infrequent observation of relatively poor measuring components that sound exceptionally well. Stereophile reviews are a good example. A reviewer says a component sounds terrific, yet subsequent test bench results are average or even poor. Conversely there are examples of excellent measuring components that sound bad. Again, this is why Einstein’s quote regarding what can and can’t be measured is timeless in its profundity.
It is fair to say however that some specifications and measurements are more relevant than others. On the other hand THD may be less meaningful and predictive than is generally belived. Good post bwaslo! An isolated measurement under test conditions may have little correlation with actual music signal performance quality .
Charles,
Your explanation makes a very compelling and logical case for the seemingly overstated importance /relevance of the THD specification. It certainly is consistent with the not infrequent observation of relatively poor measuring components that sound exceptionally well. Stereophile reviews are a good example. A reviewer says a component sounds terrific, yet subsequent test bench results are average or even poor. Conversely there are examples of excellent measuring components that sound bad. Again, this is why Einstein’s quote regarding what can and can’t be measured is timeless in its profundity.
It is fair to say however that some specifications and measurements are more relevant than others. On the other hand THD may be less meaningful and predictive than is generally belived. Good post bwaslo! An isolated measurement under test conditions may have little correlation with actual music signal performance quality .
Charles,