What amps do Electrical Engineers own...why?

BTW, Almarg, I know you to be the most informed and knowledgeable person on the 'gon, So you know exactly what my statement / question / challenge was about. Bringing up tubes is avoiding the issue. :)
Cheers

Thanks, Rok2id. I wasn't intending to avoid the issue.

If we restrict the question to solid state amps, offhand I can't think of any having really poor specs that nevertheless provide top-notch sonics, but there are many renowned high quality amps whose THD and damping factor specs are not **as good** as those of many inexpensive mass market-oriented receivers and amplifiers. Ayre and Pass Labs are just a couple of the many such manufacturers that could be named. Those amplifiers typically use minimal or no feedback, and are able to avoid the use of greater amounts of feedback as a result of the use of high quality parts, and design approaches that are less constrained by cost considerations than in the case of the inexpensive equipment I referred to.

Regards,
-- Al

Almarg,
Thanks for your well written lucid explication. You have sent me back to the books. :) I am beginning to understand the downside of negative feedback. I always knew it was required to control distortion, but there seems to be a better (more expensive) way. I have found some good internet sites that go into detail as to why lesser amounts of feedback is desirable.
Your post is one of the few that has explained WHY high-end amps cost more and should sound better. Now all I need to do is find an 'affordable' amp that meets that criteria.
Thanks for the reply.
As pertains to all my previous posts: never mind.
Cheers

Almarg,
You and Atmasphere do a very good job of expalining the potenial detrimental effects of NFB and superfluous damping factor.I don`t have the engineering back ground to discuss this as you two, but I sure can hear it often enough.I realize there`re those with equal knowledge and training as you two who will disagree.In reality I don`t find their stance(advocating NFB and very high damping factor as positives) as compelling if you acually rely on listening.
Regards,

A lot of people would like to think so. Reason being, The Mona Lisa is art, so is some guy throwing buckets of paint at a canvas in NYC. Some people feel comfortable with that situation. Everything is Valid.

The term "everything is valid" could easily be substituted with "everything is subjective" and opinion based, which it is in art and as we see quite often in this hobby. Where I think things tend to get confused is when some of the creative marketing of audio products (not to mention that in other industries) foresakes the very obvious technical and engineering explanations in favor of "audiophile approved" superlatives, adjectives, and general marketing spin.

We saw a good example of this earlier in the thread when transformers were positioned to create a tube like sound. Turns out there was a very good technical explanation of this. However, would that technical explanation be considered a good marketing move when promoting a product?

I'll get to the negative feedback thing later. Suffice it to say I think there is a place for it and it does show up in tube designs as well from some very reputable manufacturers.