New Visitor Confused Over Upgrade


I found this website hoping to compare technical specifications between my Carver receiver and a newer model by Bang & Olufson. As the quoted total harmonic distortion and signal to noise ratio of the Carver is very low, I didn't think that new equipment would add any discernible benefit, at least not enough to justify the considerable difference in price. I am finding a lot of your posts more confusing than informative. As a professional person (not to brag but I make six figures) who has completed post graduate level correspondance courses in EE and knows how to solder, a lot of your posts about tube amps (obselete!) and wires (commodity?) etc. just don't really make sense. In addition to the Carver, I am using a Sony Disc Jockey and I have JBl speakers which are very accurate (used as monitors in many recording studios) and very revealing about associated components. You guys should really learn a little more about how electronics really work before posting such definitive opinions which could mislead new people looking for guidance.
peter_everington9f8b
Peter, You need to go to a high end store and listen to some tube amps. Bring your Carver unit with you and compare. Then come back here and tell us what you think.
Peter if indeed your post is sincere which at this point is suspect, you need to throw out your preconceived notions of what is obsolete, wire is a commody, what is accurate and what you think you know about how things sound based on your EE degree and take Jsbail's advice and do some serious listening at a Hi-End shop. Discovering well-reproduced audio for the first time can be an enlightening experience. It appears that to date you haven't.
Please don't bash EE's just because of this guy. I was into audiophile listening long before I became an EE. I'm not a tube guy, but I don't diss anyone for their preference, just because I prefer solid state (no tube maintenance to take away from listening time). You might try a gentler tack with this guy to show him the error of his ways. He hasn't responded since his initial post. Contrary to popular belief, EE's don't have ears removed at graduation. Thanks, Ben
Wait - you're telling folks they have alot to learn, then citing thd and s/n for your audio barometers? Hmmmmmmmm. Let me try to be helpful - go ask your questions on rec.audio.opinion. You are just the kind of person they are set up to help. It would be best for you to introduce yourself there in the same way as you did here, so they'll know they're corresponding with a "peer". Many of them also are professional 6 figure postgrad ee's with an audio jones. You'll get along swell. chas chas
"You guys should really learn a little more about how electronics really work before posting such definitive opinions which could mislead new people looking for guidance." First of all Ben, not everyone posts definitive opinions. But we certainly all have our own individual taste in what we are each attempting to achieve. The purpose of this forum is to trade ideas and experiences with different gear among other things. I agree, Peter doesn't need to be bashed but he does need to be educated himself before making statements like the above. The issue isn't tube vs. solid state Ben, it is the tenor of his comments which to me and many of the above shows an arrogance not to mention ignorance that is unnecessary and ironically may itself be misleading to the newbies. I don't know how long Peter has been working on his system or how important well-reproduced audio is to him. His comments didn't reveal these facts. Maybe he just feels that his system is good enough and he is not committed to find out how much better it can be by experimenting and listening instead of just measuring, which I would assume by his comments is the basis of his beliefs. So far as EE's go, I would certainly rather purchase an electronic component designed by a competent experienced EE. Most of those guys would be the first to admit that they do not understand all the dynamics that go into converting an electrical signal into realistic music and that all the measurements that could quantify the sonic differences heard have yet to be discovered. I have made this observation over the years and it gets truer each day I live, the more an individual knows about a subject, the more he/she realizes there is to learn.