Originally Posted by
Marco
It's always difficult trying to successfully put into words what you can hear
However, if you were to take two good quality 30W amplifiers, one valve and one SS, used with suitable speakers (being a good match for both), you can pretty much guarantee that the latter would a) subjectively sound less powerful or 'potent', and b) would need cranking up more, in order to make music 'come alive' - and because of that, the sound of the former seems superficially more 'dynamic', read as more 'open', 'crisper', etc.
That's essentially what Mike and I are getting at. And in terms of the earlier part of this discussion, why those of us with valve amps and 'easy to drive' and/or electrically compatible speakers, don't have to listen loudly, in order for recorded music to sound 'involving' and exactly as it should.
Marco.
No argument from me on that front. As to cause I wonder if it is because valve amps use output transformers?
Current Lash Up:
TEAC VRDS 701T > Sony TAE1000ESD > Krell KSA50S > JM Labs Focal Electra 926.