valve amp?

[Gert van Santen]

Op 19-10-2011 23:39, Tom Adam schreef:
> Guys,
>
> A friend of mine asked me a music related question I know nothing
> about.
>
> He listens to blues and jazz all the time. Some time ago he was
> at a place where they were playing a CD he sais he knows by
> heart. He said that he was very impressed with the sound. It
> souned way better than at his place.
> Now he is convinced that the only reason for the superb sound is
> that it was played through a valve amp. Room accoustics and such,
> he claims, is not the issue.
> I now have a friend, apparently with lots of money, who's looking
> for a valve amp.
> So does anybody have any pointers to this kind of stuff?
>
> I got him at least convinced to first try out the amp (and
> probably speakers) before buying ;-)

Personally I feel the benefits of listening your music through a 
valve amp, are, firstly, highly overrated; secondly, only audible 
through really good speakers (and other A-level components); and, 
thirdly, heavily dependent on the ears of the listener, the 
placement of the speakers and the listener, and the room where 
he/she is listening.

I'm quite sure that for most people, listening music through a 
valve amp has no real world benefits. I have personally heard a 
couple of valve amps used for playing CD's and my own music, and 
I have listened to extremely expensive valve gear during 
mastering sessions, and although I can definitely hear the added 
openness and definition during A/B-ing, it's really a subtle 
difference.

Of course a real audiofile might definitely think it's worth the 
money to get those extra 3% of quality out of his music system :-)
-- 
Gert
-------------
gert van santen
www.gertvansanten.nl