Amp/Preamp Asylum

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RE: Yes but some devices are a lot more linear than others

Posted by 13th Duke of Wymbourne on May 20, 2025 at 18:40:26:
I think a fundamental question an amplifier designer has to ask is 'what am I trying to achieve'. Minimizing distortion is a valid approach, IMHO, and if so, that is the bath water the baby will enter. Does that approach sound better or does it rob the sound of some 'flavor' even if it is more accurate because some color is preferred? Low feedback circuits produce high harmonics too but they usually have much more low harmonic content and are they preferred because the low harmonics mask the high harmonics or does the larger harmonic content simply provide that flavor?
I firmly believe that people should choose what they like. If you don't want to bathe the baby at all that is just as valid and, probably, easier to achieve. The trouble comes when people can't just enjoy what they like for its own sake but must pronounce it objectively superior for some reason.