Please help me understand

"have what audiophiles might describe as a "tonal signature". In other words, how is it possible for an amp to have a perceived "warm" or "bright" sound, if it's accurately reproducing the input signal?"

for amps it is easier to understand - different components/circuit/design to PROCESS the signal...

but what i dont get it is how power cables, fuses, IC have "tonal signature" also ??? thats a lot bigger mystery...

I understand what you're saying Hakuchosan. One piece of 10 foot, 12 gauge copper (Cu) wire sounds "warm", yet another piece of 10 foot, 12 gauge copper (Cu) wire sounds "harsh". Go figure. And, thank you guys for your replies to my question.

Some good comments above. And wonder of wonders, not one comment claiming that they DO sound the same if they measure the same. I would just like to add that not only don't we yet know how to measure everything that might affect the signal passing through an amplifier, but we also underestimate how little the deviation from perfect has to be for the human ear to hear it. The human ear is more sensitive than any measuring tool.

PRetty much everything in the signal path makes a difference to some extent, some more audible than others. Add it all up and there is good chance two amps will not sound exactly the same.

There's a lot more to it than the minimal measurements and specs that are typically made available if you are lucky.

wire is wire, it should all sound the same. bits are bits, all cdp's should sound the same. distortion is distortion, all amps should sound the same. this is what scientists would have you believe.

in the real world, distortion numbers are a very poor measurement for how an amp sounds since you can lower distortion numbers by increasing feedback. Most amp designers today realize that eliminating feedback is more important than lowering distortion numbers for an amps sound. That's why when you look at the price tag of many amps, the price goes up as the distortion levels go up. Scientists that buy amps by distortion levels can do so on the cheap.

whatever floats your boat.