Why negative reviews can be unethical and misleading: 10audio.com

[KPC]

...One reason i never read magazines any more is that they lack negative reviews.
People need a bit of drama.....

Perhaps create a publication BAD AUDIO - BEWARE!!
The first article "Yeegads! This Amp started The Fire!"
Second article "What's all this empty space inside? It seems I'm paying more but getting less"

 

[andromedaaudio]

Perhaps create a publication BAD AUDIO - BEWARE!!
The first article "Yeegads! This Amp started The Fire!"
Second article "What's all this empty space inside? It seems I'm paying more but getting less"

If its the case why not write about it .
Just stay true to the facts
Im simply talking some positive reviews mixed with some negative ones.

From a commercial standpoint i think pumping out best better best makes more sense probably

 

[adrianywu]

I was not there to promote our class D. I did mention class D though, in the context of explaining how the distortion signature of the amp is its sonic signature and there are now class D amps that sound very much like the best tube amps and unsurprisingly have a similar distortion spectrum.

The Lamm, being zero feedback, is not low distortion. It makes about 10% THD at clipping although the exact point of clipping, because of all the distortion, is a bit tricky to pin down. What I agreed to is that if you're going to use an amp like that, you have one of the best speakers for doing so, so to maximize the strengths of the amp and reduces its weaknesses. You'd do even better if you employed active subs and limited the bass that the amp sees. You'd hear the improvement immediately.

My criticism of SETs is based on engineering and experience. I've been designing and building them (I am a hobbyist as well as an engineer) and auditioning other examples since about 1991 when Joe Roberts (RIP) of Sound Practices first started promoting them. I've never seen one work as well as other tube amps if both amps were on a loudspeaker on which they were both comfortable. So that's the anecdotal side of it.

The engineering side is vast! Bass is a problem on several counts, starting with the fact that most SETs require a 'cut core' in the core of the output transformer to prevent the DC current of the output tube from saturating the core of the transformer- this to prevent distortion on that account.

The problem is in doing so the inductance of the transformer is reduced. You need inductance in the transformer to make bass. So what happens is the load line of the tube, which as you see at the link, which should be a straight line, becomes elliptical . When that happens distortion takes off and its hard on the power tube as in some points of the operating point thus created, the tube is trying to drive something that looks like a short.

This is why SETs sound a lot better with light jazz or chamber music, but fall apart if you put anything with deep bass into them. For that reason, the people who have the most success with SETs use a different amp to make the bass and often use a crossover to prevent bass getting into the SET. I can go into a number of other problems and have elsewhere as you pointed out: you get the point.

Two of some of the more vociferous advocates of SETs I know of both use this approach as they are very well aware of this problem. One is active on this forum. I have noticed that there's not a lot of engineering talent when I get into these conversations about SETs. Most people don't like to hear about the flaws of the technology in which they have invested! I'm sure this hasn't helped me.

I can't help but notice in writing this that I've not been taking my own advice regarding reviews. If I were I would just remain silent about SETs. So some might see that as hypocritical and perhaps it is. So I might have made a mistake. The thing is though, I'm not a reviewer, I'm an EE.

For all those who think bad reviews do have a place in high end audio, some of you who are on this thread and have given me some heat on this, what do you think I should do about my knowledge of SETs? Should I be honest about their failings or just be quiet?

So I tend to look at things differently. For one thing, I've noticed that the way amps make distortion affects how people perceive the amp; that quite literally the distortion spectrum of the amp and how that changes dynamically with power output (and to a limited degree the output impedance of the amp and how that interacts with the loudspeaker) is the 'sonic signature' of that amp.

Its the difference we hear between amps.

Once you understand that fact, as a designer that opens an access to designing equipment to be musical rather than just specs on paper. Its no longer about having to have a certain kind of amp to get a certain kind of sound. Of course, keeping distortion down is important if you want to hear greater detail; but what distortion you get should be of the kind to which the ear is the least sensitive, which are the lower ordered harmonics, the 2nd and 3rd.

I get the charm of an SET. Its very much like hopping on a 1940 Indian 741 Scout and making your way down some quiet country roads. Who cares that you can go a lot faster, take the turns with less worry, use less gas and oil doing it and make less noise with greater comfort on a modern motorbike? Its all about the charm of the older tech doing its thing. But let's be clear: in the motorbike world no-one would consider making a flat head motor these days like what's in the Indian 741. SETs made a comeback for a reason (an engineering reason). I find it really peculiarly human that the people that are the most critical of my views of SETs seem at the same time seem the least interested in what that reason is.

I had known Tim de Paravacini for 35 years until his passing, and he was highly critical of SETs during the whole time. He was also not fond of DHTs, which he considered technologically backward. He was very vocal and pulled no punches, and he didn’t care if he rubbed people the wrong way. But he designed a single ended transistor amp !
My late friend Allen Wright was also not keen on SETs, but he designed a balanced differential 300B amp.
My friend Jean Hiraga is credited for bringing DHTs and SETs into the Western audiophile consciousness. When I visited him last year, he used a pair of Manley 300B push pull amps briefly, but played his own “Le Monstre” transistor amp most of the time. There was no SET in sight. He used an old Hafler transistor amp as his reference when he was the editor of La Nouvelle Revue de Son”.
It seems engineers are far less dogmatic than audiophiles !

 

[bonzo75]

I had known Tim de Paravacini for 35 years until his passing, and he was highly critical of SETs during the whole time. He was also not fond of DHTs, which he considered technologically backward. He was very vocal and pulled no punches, and he didn’t care if he rubbed people the wrong way. But he designed a single ended transistor amp !
My late friend Allen Wright was also not keen on SETs, but he designed a balanced differential 300B amp.
My friend Jean Hiraga is credited for bringing DHTs and SETs into the Western audiophile consciousness. When I visited him last year, he used a pair of Manley 300B push pull amps briefly, but played his own “Le Monstre” transistor amp most of the time. There was no SET in sight. He used an old Hafler transistor amp as his reference when he was the editor of La Nouvelle Revue de Son”.
It seems engineers are far less dogmatic than audiophiles !

Sorry, in Jean Hiraga’s place, his Le Monstre plays on his WE because he finds it a better fit there and he plays VAC 300b (not a set) on his Altecs because he finds it a better fit there to the Le Monstre. His friend plays a 211 on a telefunken set up by Hiraga

 

[andromedaaudio]

There was no SET in sight.

Lol , its called live and learn

 

[adrianywu]

Sorry, in Jean Hiraga’s place, his Le Monstre plays on his WE because he finds it a better fit there and he plays VAC 300b (not a set) on his Altecs because he finds it a better fit there to the Le Monstre. His friend plays a 211 on a telefunken set up by Hiraga

We were switching amps around with the WE15a and the Altecs. Interesting evaluations. He was using original WE555 on the 15a at the time but has since changed to custom compression drivers.

 

[PeterA]

The reviews do not tell you what is best. You have to figure that out on your own.

 

[Ron Resnick]

The Modern Audio Police are going to have pry my unbalanced interconnects and my SET amplifiers out of my cold, dead outlets.

 

[mtemur]

It seems engineers are far less dogmatic than audiophiles !

Maybe it’s because sound engineers aren’t audiophiles. How many car technicians and designers have you seen who are also the fastest drivers on the track?

Sound engineers are part of the music production process, while audiophiles are on the consuming side. It’s not the sound engineer’s job to set up a home audio system for optimal enjoyment, just like it’s not a car designer’s job to drive the car on the track. An engineer might drive a Toyota Corolla home, but that doesn’t make the engine he designed for Ferrari irrelevant, useless, or bad.

In this hobby, SET amps and DHT tubes are like supercars—you can’t expect to find them around every corner, just as you can’t expect people to use a 911 Turbo to drop their kids off at school.

I’m surprised how often people use sound engineers’ home audio choices as a benchmark, as if it’s relevant. It’s surprising that some still don’t understand that the home audio hobby is like driving a car fast on the track—the better you drive, the quicker you finish. Similarly, in the audio hobby, every little thing you learn, every small tweak you make, or even a tiny adjustment to speaker placement can improve the final result.

BTW sound engineers generalization excludes Jean Hiraga

 

[andromedaaudio]

In this hobby, SET amps and DHT tubes are like supercars—you can’t expect to find them around every corner, just as you can’t expect people to use a 911 Turbo to drop their kids off at school.

Supercars from.the 1950 s .
Low power simple circuit .

Set lovers are stuck in the past / nostalgia

 

[PeterA]

The Modern Audio Police are going to have pry my unbalanced interconnects and my SET amplifiers out of my cold, dead outlets.

Did Charleston Heston and Nova find them in the cave next to the talking doll with Cornelius?

 

[PeterA]

Supercars from.the 1950 s .
Low power simple circuit .

Set lovers are stuck in the past / nostalgia

Often, simpler is better. And some SETs allow you to experience the performance captured on the recording as though you are there and now.

 

[mtemur]

Supercars from.the 1950 s .
Low power simple circuit .

Set lovers are stuck in the past / nostalgia

Ah yes, spoken like a true aficionado of cutting-edge innovation—the guy who swears by the revolutionary marvel of century-old paper cones for mids, proudly flaunts his bike powered by the ancient sorcery of internal combustion, and serenades us all with videos of his setup playing vintage classics instead of today’s cultural pinnacle: hip-hop.

Bravo! Clearly, this isn’t about logic; it’s about setting speed records on the keyboard, right?

 

[andromedaaudio]

Ah yes, spoken like a true aficionado of cutting-edge innovation—the guy who swears by the revolutionary marvel of century-old paper cones for mids, proudly flaunts his bike powered by the ancient sorcery of internal combustion, and serenades us all with videos of his setup playing vintage classics instead of today’s cultural pinnacle: hip-hop.

Bravo! Clearly, this isn’t about logic; it’s about setting speed records on the keyboard, right?

Indeed im killing some time at addis abbaba airport .

I try to take the good from all ages and SET isnt one of them.
But to each his own

 

[SoundMann]

Set lovers are stuck in the past / nostalgia

I have to strongly disagree here. Those who love tranformer-coupled SET amps do so for their true-to-life timbre and harmonics as well as their uniquely musical properties.

However, it is interesting to note that OTL SET's lack this extra musical magic, producing the recording exactly as it sounds.

 

[mtemur]

I try to take the good from all ages and SET isnt one of them.

Appreciating SET amplifiers requires a certain level in this hobby. Perhaps you haven’t heard the best examples yet or haven’t reached that point in your journey.

 

[andromedaaudio]

Appreciating SET amplifiers requires a certain level in this hobby. Perhaps you haven’t heard the best examples yet or haven’t reached that point in your journey.

Lol , this false sense of superiority is the reason i keep replying as it triggers me every time it comes up

" Certain level " in this hobby what a joke

 

[mtemur]

Lol , this false sense of superiority is the reason i keep replying as it triggers me every time it comes up

" Certain level " in this hobby what a joke

Did you say "false sense of superiority" ? First read your own words.

I try to take the good from all ages and SET isnt one of them

Who are you, Audio Authority, decides what's best for all ages? If this isn't false sense of superiority I don't know what it is.

I should admit reading your posts has always been fun but hardly contains any wisdom.

 

[Al M.]

or haven’t reached that point in your journey.

Too funny.

Merry Christmas!

 

[andromedaaudio]

Too funny.

Merry Christmas!

Merry X mas .
It seems Al and i understand each other