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RE: I respectfully disagree

Posted by morricab on October 17, 2010 at 15:08:26:
" on one hand we should accept a less than optimal (and variable with different speaker types) frequency response because distortion products are a supposed 'lower source of coloration',"

In todays audio landscape it is a relatively straightforward operation to fix frequency response. A decent digital equalizer will take care of this nicely (The Behringer DEQ2496 is a good choice that can be inserted between transport and DAC)

It has also been long apparent to me that listeners are far more tolerant of linear distortions (i.e. frequency response) than they are of non-linear distortions (cone flex and breakup, cabinet resonances etc.) and the same holds true for electronics. People mistakenly make a big deal out of 1 db FR variations (potentially depending on the speaker impedance curve) from a SET amp not but the bigger damage to real natural sound, NON-linear distortions and in particular high order non-linear distortions. This is what negative feedback brings to the party and its effect on the sound can be readily heard (even 2db worth according to the initial poster).

I have been experiencing the best sound of my life once I removed all negative feedback from my system. My amps don't have it, my DAC doesn't have it and my phono stage doesn't have it.

In fact, the total number of active stages has been minimized as well. There is only one active stage in the DAC (the tube output is taken directly from the DAC chip output) and three active stages the integrated amp (one JFET, one MOSFET and one big output tube). The whole system runs in Class A. The phono stage adds 1 more active gain stage but still no feedback. As a result it is about as harmonically complete and dynamically lively as I have heard from any system. I use digital equalization in limited amounts and this gives a FR accurate room response.