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RE: And...

> that still doesn't clarify my inability to reconcile what you said about
> loudspeaker measurements indicating that poor measurements invariably (or
> almost invariably) leads to poor sound but poor measurements for
> amplifiers doesn't.

With loudspeakers, the criteria for listeners finding the sound to be "good"
are well-established. While it is still possible for a listener to prefer
a loudspeaker that is demonstrably poor, I have found this to be rare.

With amplifiers, the criteria are uncertain. However, where a listener
prefers the sound of an amplifier that in my opinion is poorly engineered,
this is because either:

a) there is a relatively high level of second-harmonic distortion, which,
as long as it is not accompanied by excessive intermodulation distortion,
many listeners will prefer; or

b) the amplifier's output impedance is sufficiently high that the tonal
changes this introduces with a specific loudspeaker compensate for that
speaker's own departures from neutrality.

And as I have repeatedly written in Stereophile, the question is left
begging as to whether the listener likes the sound of a poorly engineered
amplifier because of what it does wrong or despite it. To resolve that
question requires resources beyond the reach of a monthly magazine.

John Atkinson
Technical Editor, Stereophile

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