Amplifiers?

From: David V. Corbin <dvcorbin_at_optonline.net>
Date: Thu Jul 15 06:00:38 2004

>>> And now I come to think of it: it should be possible to
>>> record a CD, feeding the ADC with a signal from a tube amp,
>>> and have that "nice" sound out of a "perfect" transistor amp.


Well, NO.....

The "issue" is that the differences in on-linearities ("color") are also a
function of volume.

While this is a very subjective matter, it is quite real.

As the sound enginer for a band, I did a number of tests on the frequency
analysis (including phase, attack, distortion, etc) on a number of
performances. Given the same material being played at different venues, the
profiles were quite distinct.

In recent years, a number of audio equipment manufacturers have released DSP
based products that mimic the behaviour of specific tube based amplifiers.
While some purists disagree, the majority of blind sound tests have
confirmed that these are indistinguasible from the originals to the human
(trained) ear.

So a "perfect" amplifier is not really what is desired in most conditions.
Received on Thu Jul 15 2004 - 06:00:38 BST