I can understand that and I think it is the same distortion characteristic as valves, those that like valves like transformers. Some early tranny amps like the Rogers had transformers and ? (forgotten the name, the big US company that makes expensive bling things and a ridiculous turntable that looks like record player with an amp front on it) put them in deliberately in solid state amps to get that distortion character. Some people also swear by using output caps like in the early germanium based tranny amps, different distortion. And IMO that is why you cannot get everything in any product, you have to prioritise / compromise. And that is why so many people go around the circle looking for niavana and end up back where they started.Originally Posted by pure sound
My priority would say that I don't like transformers they *block* what I am looking for from music, it is like the choice of a specific musical instrument, you look for its timbre, well as far as I am concerned hi-fi design is largely like musical instrument design, you have to compromise and prioritise a series of parameters, go for one and you normally diminish another, you create a timbre. A classic example is what Gromit is finding in the Naim. Big power supplies with overlarge caps and a DC amplifier as complex as the following AC amplifiers as regulation. Overkill PSU design, well it gives you an amp that gives you timing and presence to kill for, but irritates in equal proportion in lack of detail, lack of space, lack of colour. You pays yer money and you takes yer choice. Well IMO valves and transformers are just another compromise and choice. The problem is the sheep and bandwagon mentality of the audio fraternity, they don't want to make their own choice, they want others to do it for them. They want magazines and experts to tell them they have made a good choice or they fret and don't trust their own judgement. This has created the BIGGEST problem in the hi-fi industry, the bullshit rip off retailers, reviewers and marketing men all trying to compete to tell you they are / know best and everything else is crap. They need to be stood up to and told to shut up!
Well valve amps are just becoming the new flat earth, that was wrong (and right) and valves are right (and wrong). Earlier in my posting on this forum I talked about creating a clique of the open minded, is it possible I doubt it, all we get are sheep and camp followers with a few Gromits and Jerry's in between.
Rant over!
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The chap that's building my valve phono/line stage made the same comment, and yet I went against his advice and plumped for MM to go with my tranny. 
Will definately give this a go in the future though, with a continuous run of cable from headshell to active speakers.
- the biggest percentage of which are active, and that's not including the 100s of Guests we get looking in daily. It's not only members who read the forum. 
