Tubes vs Solid State - Imaging, Soundstaging, 3D

... generally speaking, solid state amps tend to have less low level detail (the why of this is a topic for a different thread but in a nutshell has to do with how the human ear interacts with the noise floor of the amplifier; if anyone is interested I can go into that in greater detail, if you will pardon the expression).

Thanks, Ralph. When you get a chance, I for one would find that explanation to be of interest.

Best regards,
-- Al

Excellent explanation by Ralph; precisely what I hear when comparing the two, and especially in comparison to live. I am always somewhat amused by the comments by some listeners about "black backgrounds" and "black spaces between instruments" in recorded sound. Those things may be appealing to some, but are not heard in live music. This is not a minor point. In much music, especially classical and most acoustic music, much care is taken by the performers to blend ( and, as instrumentalists like to say: "get inside each other's sound") as a means of "ensemble" expression or to honor the composer's intent. Most of that information exists (or existed) in the "black spaces and backgrounds"; IOW the information is lost.

In my experience, there are no "black backgrounds" in live music presentation. Instead the soundfield is filled with multiple reflections from different points in the room, be it large or small.

I remember many years ago (decades actually) auditioning a new ML preamp owned by a friend. It offered a black background and each instrument stood out in relief. At first that was very impressive for such a level of detail. But after a brief listen it occurred to me that sounded unlike any live performance I'd ever heard.

Like everything in audio, it is a personal choice. But I'll guess my story tells where my preferences lie.

I suspect our ears "dynamic level response" characteristics are not linear and are not able to detect subtle loudness differences at very low volumes as well as at louder volumes in general, so higher volume levels on average in general associated with "higher noise floor" enables hearing more subtle details in teh lower volume portions of the music/signal.

"Loudness" controls that used to be quite common on audio gear were designed with this in mind, especially in regards to how our ears are less able to detect similar volume level differences in bass frequencies in particular at low levels compared to higher.

That would be an "enhancement" of sort that tweaks the music loudness level to map better to how the ear responds to similar loudness variations at different levels. Not necessarily a "natural" or "accurate" thing, but something that can have a lot of appeal to those seeking to hear subtle low level volumes differences, but probably also at the expense of hearing simialr differences at higher levels in that the overall dynamic range of our ears is fixed, only how it is used can change.

It would be similar to how various contrast stretch type algorithms, linear or otherwise, may be applied to imagery in order to better bring out different details in different brightness ranges in different ways.

I would expect that tube gear with higher noise floors in general would tend to "play better" with our ears based on this model as described. A "sonic enhancement" of sorts to better utilize the real non-linear dynamic range of our ears.

Whether or not this is more "accurate" or even whether that matters or not, is another story. Beauty is in the "ears" of the listener.

Ralph, Frogman and Pryso,
Goods points about differences in general with tubes and transistors. I
mentioned in an earlier post the relative artificial sound of some SS amps.
The over emphasized image outlined sharpness and precision along with
the ultra black/silent backgtound just doesn't sound natural to me. With live
music there is more blending and mixture of the different tones and
overtones which gives a more rounded sound that's very dimensional and
full rather than a razor sharp focus and 2 dimensional leaness(hifi). I
understand that some consider this a desirable audio attribute but it comes
off as a contrived, less realistic presentation It deviates from what you'd
actually hear with live musicians. Live acoustic instruments are so rich,
colorful and very vibrant, no way would I want to diminished this vital
musical information. To each their own as long as you're happy.