@luisma31 Yes.
The loudness cues to which I was referring are the higher ordered harmonics- the 5th and above. The human ear uses these harmonics to sense sound pressure. But it also assigns a tonality to any distortion- the higher orders cause brightness and harshness even in tiny amounts, since the ear has to be keenly sensitive to them in order to gauge sound pressure over a 130dB range.
If you know these facts then that gives you a good idea of how to approach amplifier design. Since the ear is arguably more sensitive to the higher ordered harmonics than **anything** else, it follows that for electronics to sound natural that is the kind of distortion that should be minimized (BTW it is this type of distortion that characterizes most solid state designs). When this is done, you can run much higher power levels and yet the system will not sound loud as all those loudness cues aren't being generated by the stereo.
The result is to naturally turn the volume up to get a realistic sound pressure. IMO, this is at the heart of the shortcomings of SETs, since they don't make much power and these harmonics are audible at any power level over about 20% of full power (which is why so many SETs are described as 'far more dynamic than their low power would suggest- its simply distortion that the ear interprets as loudness, showing up on transients that have the most power). The result is that even at relatively low sound pressure levels they sound loud. IMO/IME it is the mark of a good system that it always sound relaxed and never sounds loud until it really is (+95dB). The only way to get around this limitation with SETs is to use really high efficiency loudspeakers, which from what I've seen over the years doesn't happen that often- so many people are not experiencing the best that SETs have to offer.
The loudness cues to which I was referring are the higher ordered harmonics- the 5th and above. The human ear uses these harmonics to sense sound pressure. But it also assigns a tonality to any distortion- the higher orders cause brightness and harshness even in tiny amounts, since the ear has to be keenly sensitive to them in order to gauge sound pressure over a 130dB range.
If you know these facts then that gives you a good idea of how to approach amplifier design. Since the ear is arguably more sensitive to the higher ordered harmonics than **anything** else, it follows that for electronics to sound natural that is the kind of distortion that should be minimized (BTW it is this type of distortion that characterizes most solid state designs). When this is done, you can run much higher power levels and yet the system will not sound loud as all those loudness cues aren't being generated by the stereo.
The result is to naturally turn the volume up to get a realistic sound pressure. IMO, this is at the heart of the shortcomings of SETs, since they don't make much power and these harmonics are audible at any power level over about 20% of full power (which is why so many SETs are described as 'far more dynamic than their low power would suggest- its simply distortion that the ear interprets as loudness, showing up on transients that have the most power). The result is that even at relatively low sound pressure levels they sound loud. IMO/IME it is the mark of a good system that it always sound relaxed and never sounds loud until it really is (+95dB). The only way to get around this limitation with SETs is to use really high efficiency loudspeakers, which from what I've seen over the years doesn't happen that often- so many people are not experiencing the best that SETs have to offer.