Posted by akhilesh [ 204.97.214.168 ] on September 17, 2004 at 18:17:49:
In Reply to: Re: Initial Listening Impressions of Yamaha ca-1010 posted by manualblock on September 17, 2004 at 08:37:53:
HI John,
>what is your reference to distinguish between neutral and non->neutral?
To me neutral is: a) flat frequency response, b) low distortion.
Most good SS amps have this in spades. Most SET amps do not! SET amps emphatically emphasize different frequencies (like the modrange) and introduce audioble even order distortion. Most PP tube amps are more neutral.
>How do THD distortion figures equate to a particular tonal quality >and how does that tonal quality influence the concept of "neutral" >sound.
Even order distortion makes the tone fatter and richer than a neutral tone...the instruments sounds fuller and ewarmer...guitarists love this, and so do listeners like me.
Odd order distortion makes the music sound thin and a little garbled.
>Since most recordings made in a studio have some kind of processing >installed, are they neccessarily nuetral?
You are right. Hence when comparing amps, we should use the same recording, to remove the effects of the recording. If it sounds richer & fuller on one amp versus another, it's the amp.
>SS amps by definition require huge amounts of negative feedback >which we know compromises the source signal by introducing phase >anomalie's, is that still neutral?
John, IMHO negative feedback in amps that are well engineered is inaudible. I fear it has been used as a marketing tool more than anything else. I say this after having heard amps with feedback and without. My favorite amps that I own are:
(i) A SET 45 with no feedback
(ii) An ASUSA SET el84 ap with feedback
(iii) The zen amp with no feedback
(iv) The ASL K-502 kit 11bm8 PP tube amp with negative feedback.
>Could these effects derive from impedance mis-matches rather than >circuit design
Yes John, they could. My speakers are SET friendly, so they really should be SS friendly. However, and i may be wrong on this, most speakers are not SET friendly but only SS friendly. And then therer are those that are just plain unfriendly.. ;-)
Hope this helps.
-akhilesh
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