I like the way this discussion is shaping up. Not too much sniping from either party (if there are parties).
Someone is having a party?
I think Ken is horribly confused....again.
Unfortunately its never quite that simple. There is much more to excellent amplification than power bandwidth. Risetime, slew rate, damping factor, intermodulation distortion, signal to noise and so forth all come into play. I have yet to see a receiver amp that compares favourable on all those points compared to a capable separate amp let alone address concerns regarding RF and the deleterious effects of heat on the circuit topology, noise and linearity.
All technical jargon which means little when any unit is played within its specs so yes, it is that simple.
A frequency response graph is what humans hear as measured by devices more accurate than the human ear. If a frequency sweep is measured as ruler flat, wherein do all your listed variables make any difference?
They don't, unless as i iterated to, there is something out of spec such as playing the unit too loud and into a clipping zone.
Tube amps can be an exellent addition to any system. In the midrange in particular their additional harmonics are much closer to replicating the sound of musical instruments and voices than solid state amps. Most are as linear in term of frequency response as solid state amps.
No comment.
A whole other can of worms.
When you have had time to properly assess separates and amps through long listening sessions please post your impressions.
I have many times in the past, years before you came onboard.
But thanks for playing.
