General Asylum

RE: Probably not good enough to notice 0.0002% THD and IMD ;-)

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In Reply to: RE: Probably not good enough to notice 0.0002% THD and IMD ;-) posted by PaulF70 on March 10, 2025 at 17:33:05

"Ten years ago, no one knew how to measure gear at all. The worse-sounding solid-state amps "measured well" because nobody was measuring high-order THD on peaks and crossover distortion. "

That's not "entirely" true. While there probably are many designers who "know about it" and can probably measure it and design around it, many don't, simply because it's more expensive and requires a higher level of design talent. But the knowledge and the methods are out there.

Here are a couple of places where you can start to explore the history:

https://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/t.mpl?f=amp&m=208080

https://proaudiodesignforum.com/images/pdf/Leinonen_Otala_Curl_TIM_Measurement.pdf

John is adamant (rightly so) about high-order harmonic distortion, and has shown me some measurements on his test equipment. As a musician, I surmise that at least part of the audible issue is caused by the difference between natural harmonics and the musical scale of "equal temperament". He and I have not talked about this aspect in any depth, but we should, even if just to separate a little more chaff from the wheat, so to speak.

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We are inclusive and diverse, but dissent will not be tolerated.

Leinonen, Otala and Curl (Open in New Window)

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