Yeah Fred, don't take subjective impressions about mysterious qualities of certain units seriously. Amplifiers just amplify, and if they cover the 20-20KHz audible range with audibly flat frequency response and with inaudibly low noise and distortion(which is the norm these days, available at quite low cost), that's all that can be done. Of course terms such as "rhythm", "pace", "detail", "imaging", "soundstage", etc., which have nothing to do with amplification, pop up in some reviews when there's really nothing to say. You can be confident that the Yamahas and similar units from the other manufacturers amplify transparently without adding or subtracting anything of audible significance.
