Did it really sound that bad?Yeah, to give a visual comparison, it was like looking through frosted glass.
I remember sound from that era well, SS either tore your head off with sibilance usually from the US, or so truncated the opposite, usually from the UK, it sounded like a thick Blancmange. No wonder tube were the preferred choice by all.
Owsley wanted the Dead not only to be clearly heard but also in stereoBut this counters that if you look at the writing above each unit stack, as the same muso/instrument was in both left and right, giving basically a mono wall of sound.
https://marketingtowin.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/dead-soundii.jpg
Cheers George