I only intended to make the one post but now I've started the thread might-as-well keep it going. I was sent this link from my audiophile mate Dave, the man with a million dollar system. It doesn't sound like a million dollar system, though very good but it has probably cost him that much over the years. Interestingly the link has a crack at tube amps, especially SETs then goes ahead with what appears to be an excellent tutorial tube amps.
I feel I have posted these comments somewhere else. If I have forgive me. I haven't read the tutorial but did scan through the pages.
The comment is made that tube amps are not true hifi devices because they
alter the original signal coming from the CD player (or whatever source). In a way I suppose they are right. If any component alters the sound then it is not faithful to the original signal. I think that covers every piece of hifi gear ever made. All hifi gear alters the original sound in some way therefore we must start to qualify the term "hifi" by saying just how faithful our reproduction is to the original signal. This is where analytical testing comes in. And we test what we know we can test and make a statement about the degree of fidelity based on those test. Of course this may have little bearing on how a piece of gear or a whole system sounds and that's because or testing is incomplete.
I read the chemical analysis of a glass of wine. It told me nothing of how the wine would taste in
my mouth which would taste different in another person's mouth. We look at test charts and graphs of hifi gear and have no idea how it will sound. I'm sure I couldn't pick the difference between 0.5% distortion and 1% but I could tell you whether I liked the sound or not. SET amps, especially highlighted in the link, are suppose to be the least respected of the hifi clan. I love the sound of SET amps, have built a dozen or so and will build more. Not because they are hifi devices or not, just because I like how they sound.
No gear will ever come close to reproducing the original performance but lots and lots of gear will continue to give us the sound we like in our listening environment. This "altering" gear whether SS, tube or electromagnetic will entertain us for years, provide us with an excellent and exciting hobby and rewards us for or endeavors. So please Mr SET amp - Alter my mood and keep giving me pleasure. Hifi or not, how it all sounds to me is what is important, not some test chart of an electrical signal proclaiming my gear is not hifi. And others telling me, based on graphs, my gear is not hifi.
http://lenardaudio.com/education/14_valve_amps.html
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