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RE: SO ... HOW do we measure soundstage???

Tubes do depth better but that doesn't mean no SS can properly display good soundstage and image properties.

As to the measurement, It is probably somehow related to distortion and phase. High order distortion components have the effect of making things sound louder. Loudness at different frequencies is one of the main ways that distance is judged from sonics. What this means is that if you have more high order harmonics relative to the low order harmonics it will make those upper frequencies sound a bit louder than they should (the Topping D90se was described as being some what "bright" in some of the reviews) and this would have the effect of bringing things further forward in the soundstage. The drummer's high hat and snare, which should be towards the back are now being brought forward, truncating the soundstage. It will also flatten the images. Given the phase relationships needed for the stereo perception, I would guess that there is somethign there but it I don't really have a hypothesis on that.

As to warmth, I think you mean natural tone or rather tone more like you would hear with a live acoustic instrument. I think it is more that many components make things "cold" because they have exposed higher order harmonics, which have a "cold" or "metallic" effect on the sound. Of course some components have excessive low order harmonics that are audible but to say the ones without low order harmonics are "neutral" is also incorrect...they are colored in a differert, and IMO more pernicious way.


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