Are future improvements in Amp/PreAmps slowing to a crawl?

kosst,

I seriously doubt anybody honestly wants a stack of truly zero distortion electronics

If you had a preference when it comes to watching TV would you reject the newer 4K resolution TV (as opposed to standard / HD) because it is too revealing? If your [home theater] had several boxes that once you replace them with higher quality gear - would you not appreciate a picture that was much clearer and allowing you to enjoy movies etc. with no [visual] distortion? 

With most gear you are stuck with some distortion. People are treating this distortion like it was cholesterol (having good and bad versions).

In my mind there are no "good" harmonics.  To me they don't belong there and you certainly don't get that mixture at the live concert hall.
The only good harmonics if you will are the rich natural occurring harmonics the come out of the musical instruments as part of their sound.
Otherwise just get yourself an Aphex Aural Exciter and be done with it. I think that would fall into the category of "art".

Believe me when you hear what music sounds like with no distortion - you are forever hooked.

The only thing harder than trying to develop this technology in the first place is the ability of a listener to describe it to someone who has not heard it.

teo_audio

As for zero distortion electronics, not possible

Too late. Been there - done that.

One of the biggest problems that exists in communication is mixing or confusing facts with opinions. Everybody is entitled to their own opinion - not to their own facts.

You speak as if you are certain of this.
Its not possible (in your opinion) because......why?

@roger_paul
Funny you bring up TV’s because I do have a strong opinion on those. In particular, I HATE Samsung’s big hyper-real, crazy-fast refresh rate, artificially focused, images. It’s like watching TV on drugs. Reality doesn’t look anything like a modern Samsung TV. So yeah, I suppose there is such a thing as too much contrast, smoothness, and focus.
Sound actually has it’s counterpart in the guise of movie soundtracks that don’t sound anything like real life. And those soundtracks are encouraging an entire segment of home audio gear specifically designed to replicate surreal sounds in surreal ways.
If I watched TV I'd want one that replicated looking through a window, not a portal to a different reality where everything pops and moves in hyper-smooth action. I prefer my stereo to be as realistic. If that means I must willfully inject distortion into it, so be it.

@atmasphere 

  I ask simply because in the past you've not indicated that you have any means of quantifying this timing thing you talk about. Just so you know, that's a bit of Red Flag.

Thanks, I appreciate your letting me know what I'm doing wrong. I don't want anyone to think that there is actual snake oil under the hood.

I'm really sorry that there is so much difficulty trying to explain this concept. Even the owners of H-CAT still can't describe what they hear to someone who hasn't heard it. Mostly because all the good adjectives used to describe the sound of a system have been wasted on "good" sounding gear.

When the real deal comes along - people are left speechless.They literally cannot find words to describe it.

kosst,

If I watched TV I'd want one that replicated looking through a window, not a portal to a different reality where everything pops and moves in hyper-smooth action. I prefer my stereo to be as realistic.

Ironically there is one term that comes close to describing the experience - realistic (or real).

Reality doesn’t look anything like a modern Samsung TV

This statement tells me which TV NOT to buy.