I have a theory/hypothesis..
[admins please feel free to move this to another thread, e.g.
Measurements are everything…]
First there is my assertion that the sound signature that the majority of tube amp fans enjoy is the sense of a more palpable, “in the room” sound. Where the soundstage seems to take on a more visceral, three dimensional feeling compared to a typical SS amp, and where a voice or instrument has a sense of individual tonal character. The same assertion applies also to vinyl replay, and we know that vinyl and valves often go hand in hand. This sound signature is not accurate, but an “enhancement” or more fairly, a caricature compared to accurate reproduction.
So what might cause this. We’ve all heard the sound of vinyl pops and clicks, amplifiers sending thumps and cracks to the speakers when switched on or off. Or the sound sent to the speakers of an interconnect or speaker cable being connected/disconnected whilst the system is on.
These are all very “real” visceral sounds. Absolute there. In the room. These sounds have not come via microphones, pre-amps, tapes, mixers, etc during the recording process. Distortion from an amp or cartridge could be argued to be a similarly visceral and immediate because it comes from the system itself, not the recording.
Now, if an amplifier or cartridge superimposes these visceral distortions onto all sounds coming through the system, then could we argue that the original sound is modified in a way such that it becomes more visceral? More real? Because a percentage of every sound heard contains an element of the very real self-sound from the system itself.
I’m not sure if any of that makes sense even on a psychological level, let alone a scientific one. So apologies if anyone is baffled.
Does anyone know if any studies have been made regarding amplifier preference for DUTs that have audible distortion?
I am an objectivist and have an engineering background. In my past I very much enjoyed playing vinyl because the sound seemed to be more in-the-room compared to CD, despite clearly having audible distortion and other shortcomings. I’ve always wondered why.