Does "Fast" = "Detailed"?

A friend that had the Audio research VLT200 said my JOR was more detailed/refined/precise/accurate/fast. All mean the same thing. A cdp can ve fast, a amp can be fast, a speaker can be fast. But really fast is misleading. A ss amp most likely is faster than the tube amp, but a high quality tube amp 'cooks ' the image before releasing it to your ear. Thus a tube amp developes the digital signal, adds softness and life to the image. Provided the speakers can properly process tha signal. If a speakers voice coil and or its Xover nert work is not on the same level as the amp's output, the end result will be the speakers distorting what the amp gives.
Likewise the signal from a cdp ,if too cold/lacks life will then alters what the amp is capable of producing. All 3 components muct add their share to the equation, the end result will be a fast/accurate lifelike soundstage.
Size of the system has absolutely no bearing on lifelike sound stage. Tyler's tiny 2 ways with the 5 inch midwoofer can produce its own modest soundstage as opposed to some gigantic speakers with up to 6 drivers/cabinet that on soundstage quality scale , 1-10, I give a zero.
Feel free to disagree, these are my findings after 30 yrs in researching stereo equipment.
Regards
Paul

If you go back and read some of my posts from many years ago, you'll find that i've always been a major proponent of "speed" aka excellent transient response in components. You can't reveal subtle nuances, drastic shifts in peak ( positive OR negative ) amplitudes, sharp changes in pitch, etc... without speed.

Greater speed assures natural linearity WITHOUT the need for copious amounts of negative feedback. In fact, it is the lack of speed that forces designers to utilize TOO MUCH error correction aka "feedback" ( positive or negative ). Due to the lack of response time and the associated delay and overshoot / ringing that accompanies a slow circuit, designers turn to this "band aid" approach. The end result is something that measures better in certain areas but worse in others.

This is why i've encouraged those interested in such things to learn how to read ALL of the pertinet test results and not just concentrate on those that we've been force-fed to believe matter most. A few spec's can only tell a part of the story, leaving you to guess at the rest. Since most spec's are inter-related, the more that you know about spec's and interpreting them, the easier that it is to "guesstimate" how the component will perform in normal use.

High amounts of negative feedback result in the hard, glaring, sterilized reproduction that sounds "sharp" and / or "lean" on many bandwidth limited SS components. Get rid of most of the negative feedback and you'll get rid of much of what many people complain about. Only problem is, the "slow" / "non-linear" circuit will now have gobs of distortion because it simply can't keep up with the music.

As such, a well designed "fast" component or system will have detail. It will also preserve the natural tonal balance of instruments AND have good "PRAT". That's because the "speedy" componentry not only preserves the proper pitch of the instruments, they deliver each note in the proper time / phase, regardless of frequency, amplitude or duration. In effect, speed is what "coherence" is all about.

"Faster" components will have a wider operating bandwidth than a "slower" component. The wider bandwidth allows one to hear a higher level of harmonic overtones, which can lead one to think that the system is "bright" and / or "lean" depending on one's perspective and references. If the overtones and the dynamics of instruments are trunctuated, for instance due to inductive speaker cables of a high impedance, much of that speed and the "airiness" that accompanies proper harmonic structure, speed and wide bandwidth, are negated. This is why i've always stressed "proper power transfer characteristics" aka "impedance matching" wherever possible. Properly matched impedances reduce the potential for time / amplitude / phase induced problems. The end result is more natural sound with lower loss / self-induced distortions.

As mentioned above, linearity is improved as speed is increased, so long as stability remains consistent. Some products run into problems due to being very fast and capable of wide bandwidth, but that's a subject for another thread. Sean
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Sean great post, especially about the bandwith issue. Restrictions in bandwith are characteric of lower quality components. Look at any concert/recording studio's set up, dozens of equalizers and fq boards, all for one purpose to enliven the human voice, bring dynamics to instruments. A high quality amp will have these built in characteristics.

I have always wondered about this fascination with "speed" of electronics in sound reproduction through speakers, when one knows thast no speaker can "keep up" with even the slowest amplifier. One can determine the speed and accuracy of a signal through an amplifier by monitoring the output of a square wave and noting the deviations from the original. Ever seen the square wave produced through a speaker? makes one wonder what all the fuss is about when it comes to the shape of the square wave through an amplifier when the signal gets all screwed up in the speaker anyway.
Salut, Bob P.

Both fast and warm is possible but unusual.My Supratek Cabernet preamp is both.I had a Metaxas Marquis preamp prior to this that was fast but not warm and all other non Supratek valve preamps I have tried are warm but not fast.
In a way many electrostats are fast and warm through the mids and highs but not so fast through the bass.
The gainclone type chip amps are very fast and when combined with a fast but warm preamp the overall sound can be both warm and fast.I have never heard a SS or digital amp as fast as the Gainclones so for people wanting speed and dynamics these are worth a try.