When a Reviewer "likes" something

Dear Lewm: +++++ " I would be the first to admit that modern SS amplifiers are probably not so guilty of these sins, and the gap between tube and SS has narrowed...." ++++++

I agree with the first part of your statement and can add that almost al SS amplifiers are designed using no FB, that high FB SS characterisitc on design is only history as you said. Btw, IMHO the First Wat amp is nothing that can make justice to today great SS amplifier designs: not recomended, the N.Pass other amp designs are way different and recomended.

Your second part where you think the gap between tube and SS has narrowed could be not in that way. IMHO that gap is bigger than ever and goes wider through the time. Lewm, tubes are at its limit there is no more hope about on amps designs and SS is stil improving day by day and I can't see limitations for growing up on this amp technology designs.

Today many of the SS myths as some of the ones you name it and other like: the SS are analythical, cooler sound, no natural music sound, etc, etc... are only myths. Today the SS techology as you posted improved a lot over the myths from the 70's-80's.

+++++ " The first Watt is the most important Watt. " +++++

well that's something that I too learned but that IMHO is not really true. Lewm, the most important watt(s) is/are those that are asked by the speakers and the amplifier can supply with accuracy in real time. Music is not " stady " but with huge dynamic demands over what you and me can imagine.

++++ " Isn't that a sign that Raul and I are after the same thing but by different methods? " ++++

way different methods because your source is lot less accurate and has higher distortions/colorations.

Anyway, I think each one target is to enjoy the music.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.

Dear Manitunc: +++++ " using a tube amp with most speakers will cause a varying frequency response not at all like the original recording, and therefore, because they didnt make that statement, their opinions are worthless. Now, that could have been said in one post, instead of 30 length posts denigrating anyone that disagrees.... " +++++

all those is your own interpretation or what you want to read but certainly not what I posted:

the tube amp subject was only an example on 3-4 examples I writed that coincide with the Syntax example on his posted thread. So, it is not true that beause the tube subject alone the reviewers work is worthless. This is your interpretation but I never said that. So, don't put words in my " mouth ".

" Denigrating any one that disagrees "??????

Please let me know where I denigrated any one. To have a different opinion is only this: different opinion but this is far away from denigrate any one.

" +++++ but reading Raul's posts make my head hurt. " ++++

come on, please do it a favor and don't punished your self and stop to read my posts. Simple as that.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.

Dear Lewm: ++++ " more nearly like live, more of the time. " +++++

when we attend to a classical music live event we normally are hearing acoustic instruments, the sound source are acoustic instruments and no amplified ones. This kind of experience is the best we can get as a reference to make comparisons.

The difference at home is that we can't hear through our each one system acoustic instrument "" sound " but always amplified one.

Regrads and enjoy the music,
R.

Yeah, I found the article....I will quote a few lines

Yes, on the Web everyone has a voice ... 90% of what is said is crap ... a magazine acts as both aglomerator and gatekeeper....

Well, in the first moment it sounds harsh, but he isn't so wrong. Audiogon is probably the exception but there are others out there where you have to be careful not to get eye cancer.But this can also happen with print media, ever read Tone Audio? Here the world is good, no, it is much better than good, everything, I mean really everything promoted there is a ultra-huge recommendation.

Free information tends to be worth exactly what you've paid for...it is not the same information you get from a magazine like Stereophile

Hm, indeed the "I like it" comment you will find everywhere but in a review it is simply the wrong one. What you won't find in forum discussions is indeed the professional Product Placement, here we have facts, comments, enthusiastic and critical comments, sometimes supportive comments from hidden dealers and we have ... religion.
And Tequila :-)

Sam Tellig and Larry Greenhill made their Stereophile debuts in 1984, Michel Fremer, John Marks, Robert Baird (the one with the Beetles reissue recommendation, the essential one), and Art dudley also made their debuts around that time though not in this magazine. Wes Phillips, Bobs Reina and Deutsch, Brian Damkroger, Jon Iverson and Kalman Rubinson first appeard in Stereophile in the 1990's

Aha. Plenty of time to hear differences and to think about why something is different. 20 wasted years? 20 years cheating subscribers with recommendations which are based on "I like it" or to quote Mrs. Fremer while listening to the Caliburn: "That's better than Sex" (see in Class A recommendation, turntables)

Stereophile has an online Archive of records to die for, and reviews and measurements ...

ok, the records to die for is the answer to HP Super disc list but honestly, HP list is something totally different, those records are really top, and Stereophile didn't discover all the years the wrong typo in their Headline, correct is Records to die from...
6Moons has everything online, so what? Measurements are ok, but sometimes the tests are shortened because a unit does not survive it, but that is not written later in the recommendation list (see the Momentum amp "review" from D'Agostino..but Agostino has a huge ad in that mag...) Never saw measurements from Turntables about correct speed, about quality or parts,wow and flutter, correct geometry about tonearms (a lot of the longer ones are wrong), the discussion about Arm materials, distortion datas in the inner grooves or what's the reason for gold coils in cartridges....or the difference from Phono cables to regular RCA cables...

Summary: Where is the advantage?

Raul,
I have stopped. Head feels better already