Charles, when someone gets a "ball rolling" my tendency is to want to pick it up and demolish it so that it can never roll again. Be that as it may, the reference to the Stereo Review amplifier blind listening tests in Mr. Russell's linked article justifies again(after about ten times previously here)linking it here . The results are still unchallenged(i.e., unchallenged by solid evidence to the contrary, not simply by stubborn disagreement)and include the fact that the $12,000 pair of tube amplifiers which were correctly designed so as not to exhibit a flawed "tube sound" were able to match the performance of the $220 Pioneer receiver and were audibly indistinguishable. Also worth noting are the somewhat flowery descriptions of the "sound" of the amplifiers in open listening before the tests(and even of the "believer" in the Futterman/Hafler test after the tests, who was about to learn that his score was 7/16)contrasted to the actual random results.

This is the only way that the incessant mantra "Just trust your ears" can actually be put into effect, but there's about as much enthusiasm for this among most "believers" as a vampire has for sunlight.


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Enjoy the music, not the equipment.