When a Reviewer "likes" something

Dear Raul,
You wrote, "Why many audiophiles are running their systems with tube electronics? because is the best audio technology? certainly not but because was what the magazynes taught us in the past and we believe it in that way and trhough the time our ears are already equalized to that kind of electronics and it does not matters the damage level to the audio signal can do."

I like to think we are friends, but you must stop repeating this BS. Do you actually think that what you wrote is universally true? Do you think that none of us who favor tube equipment have the capacity to make an independent judgement? If you do think that way, then arguing is hopeless. I would argue that the movement toward tube gear over the last 10 or 20 years was motivated by end users who established their preferences by actually listening, after decades of having solid state foisted upon us by the mainstream audio press (just like "perfect sound forever" digital). The audio press followed the audiophiles toward tubes, not vice-versa. They saw where the trend was tending and got in front of it, not the other way around. But they still do push megabuck solid state stuff, as well, some of which may be excellent so far as I know. I try to keep an open mind. Unlike yourself. But can you admit that you may be biased because you sell an expensive solid state phonolinepreamp?

Sorry, this is off-topic, except for the part about the actions of the mainstream audio press. Were it not for independent publications like the late lamented Glass Audio and Sound Practices, tube-based equipment might have a much smaller share of the market.

I first learned about Jim Smith by reading one of the ads for his book "Get Better Sound" in either TAS or Stereophile. I'm glad I did. I bought the book and hired Jim to voice my system. I suppose I might have eventually heard about Jim some other way, but it was these magazines that I credit.

This thread started being about reviewers but many of the posts are about the magazines. Are they one and the same? I think not. There's lots of information in the magazines that is not a review of some equipment.

What each of us decides to do with the reviews is up to each of us. I am happy to subscribe to and read the magazines. They are very cheap and sometimes have some useful information in them. I have even narrowed down a short list of equipment to audition based on reviews I've read. And some of the articles are quite entertaining.

I never take magazine reviews with anything more than a pinch of salt.
On the other hand, it's user reviews of a product which interest me, and it's those I try to take on board when evaluating a potential purchase.

Dear Lewm: IMHO you are wrong. I used tube electronics for many years and time to time I try it to know if something really improved down there, unfortunatelly that kind of electronic technology can't grow up due to so many limitations of the technology it self.

This is not the place to discuss/argue about, I respect your opinion but that you like to live " in the error " does not menas is the technology to go because it is not.

For the whole audio needs that thechnology is heavy faulty and you can't do nothing for support it.

Forgeret about SS technology, problem is that as you we have to learn about you need to learn about and not only been there because " I like it ". Lewm, I learned.

I only put one simple example of that faulty technology: we need a very low output impedance in amplifiers to handle any speaker. This is to handle the complex speaker impedance curve and phase because this speaker impedance curve is exactly this a " curve " with deeps and tips all over the frequency range. To handle in near perfect condition and to have an accurate frequency response from that speaker first than all we need low very low amplifier output impedance and in this regards there is no single amplifier with tube electronics that can match that low very low output impedance ( lower than 0.1 ohm better if: 0.05 ohms. ). by " nature " that technmol.ogy at amplifier level has a high output impedance so the SPL at different frequencies goes down and up according not what is in the recording but according to that speaker impedance curve given to the sound a coloration/distortions that don't came in the recording.
When we have a very low output impedance amplifier working with the same speaker we achieve flat response we add nothing to that signal because the speaker impedance curve.

That is only one of several real facts on tube electronics and the really subject that we have to worried about is that all those reviewers that are proponents on that technology never told us what is happening they as you only writed: " I like it ".

That's why I posted about reviewers corruption because they don't report nothing about and the problem is not only at reviewers level but even at manufacturer speaker level when they don't specify in the speaker manual information the impedance/phase curve of each one of their speakers designs. Why no one do it? maybe because no one asked.

Dera Lewm and friends, there are speaker manufacturers that recomended their low and complex impedance speakers to been handle by tube electronics with high output impedances in the amplifiers.
Look that I said: " handle ", one thing is " handle " where any amplifier can handle almost any thing and other one serious one thing is that can works in the right way on that speaker impedance regards.

I don't care what you, other or even me like it what I care is how to achieve how to have in an audio system the nearest quality performance level on what is in the recording adding the less and losting the less.

The relationship between speaker impedance curve and amplifier output impedance is not only a critical subject but one that makes a paromount difference when is right/matched against when is not right/matched as with tube technology.

Sorry to take that technology as an example but this example confirm, IMHO , the kind of corruption I'M talking about on reviewers.

I don't want to open any window here about electronics technologies, this is for other thread. Please, we have to stay on topic.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.

Unfortunatelly the real speaker frequency range impedance is not a flat line and unfortunatelly too we can't do nothing against the Ohm's Law but more unfortunate is that reviewers knew and know it and never mentioned. Only through the J.Atkinson speaker measurements we can attest about.

SS technology is not perfect too but IMHO makes less harm to the recorded audio signal.

This is how the AHEE works.

R.