Non-feedback amplification topology and frequency

"The reason I made that comment is that an amplifier that violates one of the most fundamental rules of human hearing will never sound like real music."

Is it really so black and white in practice though which designs truly "violate the rule" and that use of NF means a violation in all cases?

I would think it more shades of grey with the devil being in the details: the relative magnitude of the violation (which varies and should be measurable) and at what point the "fundamental rule" is "violated".

It really is that black and white. Sort of like being pregnant.

What is poorly understood is our ears are so sensitive to odd orders that we can hear things that cannot be measured. So it might look 'OK' on paper and our ears say something else.

And there is nothing we can do about it. Our ears are the product of millions of years of evolution. Its not going to change just to suit our inadequacies of design.

Well, at least paper should be able to disqualify the big offenders. THen it is left up to our ears, which I agree with 100%. And and over the years, my ears tell me there is more to it than meets the eye here.... ie it is NOT so black and white. That is definitely the case if it cannot be measured. A "leap of faith" is required to reach the conclusion in lieu of supporting data. So goes high end audio.....

Mapman, I'm pretty sure that part of the reason this is so has to do with that article I link all the time:

http://www.atma-sphere.com/Resources/Paradigms_in_Amplifier_Design.php

If you happen to compare the two amps on a speaker that is in one camp, you are going to come away with a mistaken impression unless you are aware of the different design paradigms.

This is something the industry won't talk about. Its too inconvenient! And its why we have that darn objectivist/subjective debate. I am of the opinion that if the industry was transparent about this stuff it would be a hell of a lot easier to set up a system and a lot less money would go down the loo. But, OTOH the industry thrives on that, so maybe I'm trying to kill the goose that lays the golden egg huh :)

I won't disagree that there may be incentive in the high end "industry" to not make things easy for buyers.

There are still multiple recipes towards good soup that an informed buyer who cares enough can follow to acieve their goals. No one recipe has all the advantage!

Luckily, most of the rest of the world gets by fine with mass produced stuff that works well enough to satisfy the average listener.

Really good things never come easy.....