Yeah, THD was the key spec back in the 1970s and 80s. Manufacturers were in a race to have the best numbers so to speak. Turns out Ottala demostrated that excessive feedback was detrimental to sound quality (smearing transient response). A new parameter called "TIM" or Transient Intermodulation Distortion, was discovered.
Some people forego feedback all together. I particularly find small amounts of feedback necessary for proper amplifier stability. Rather than super low THD, one should look for an amplifier that clips gracefully with plenty of clean power right up to the clipping point (generally measured at 1 kHz). I was going to recommend Audio Research tube amps, since Mr. Vandersteen uses them to demo his speakers but most models are out of the poster's budget. However, with some patience he can try to get something like a Classic 60 (60 strong tube watts) for $1K or so... Skunk;170004 Wrote: > Thanks for more than a curt 'specs don't tell the whole story' response, > I'll keep that in mind when looking at amp THD specs. > > Yeah I got a Mcintosh amp from them, but it's for car audio :p It has > the powergaurd feature and is built in Binghampton though. Combined > with their non-amplified dual 20 bit burr brown cd player (didn't > splurge for the external d/a converter but did get the 6 disc > transport) the utter lack of distortion is shocking, given the > environment. > > I've wan'tI wasn't bowled over by Mcintosh demos with > B&W or Paradigm at seperate shops, but for some reason had a lingering > meme regarding the compatibility of Vandy and Mcintosh, so I went out > on a limb with the suggestion- having never heard them together. -- crooner SB3 with Custom Linear Power Supply Lite Audio DAC-60 Tube DAC VPI Scout with Benz Micro Glider M2 Audio Research PH3, SP16L and VS110 Vandersteen 2Ce signatures, 2W subwoofer. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ crooner's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3379 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=31556 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
