Why do audiophiles shun feedback in amplifiers?

Ralph I think we're confusing semantics regarding 'tight' bass. To me, a KT88 amp with feedback has more natural bass than most SET amp with no feedback or for that matter an OTL amp with miss matched speakers.

Dracule1,
"the ears have the final say"
This is right and the reason we`re all stating our preferences.I won`t argue with what you hear and say you`re wrong,we just differ based on personal experiences.
As I said in an earlier post,that`s why there`re numerous types of amplifiers in the high end market place.
I found DHT SET no NFB the better choice based on my ears. Your ears led you to PP pentode with NFB,The good news is we`re both very happy,choice is wonderful.

The bass debate may just be semantics regarding the term 'tight'.Two nights ago I had the pleasure to see(and hear) the Bill Charlap trio. Peter Washington was playing the acoustic bass. the club is intimate and unamplified, I was within 10 feet of the stage. The sound of peter`s bass was just beautiful,very full,round, dense and there is much a sense of bloom.I did`nt hear tight or taut,(it was`nt loose and sloppy either, but it was a bit'fat')even when he played very up tempo. The notes seem to linger with much substain and decay, just beautiful live and up close.I do believe there are audiophile qualities/expectations that appear to vary from the reality of live acoustic instruments. If some audiophiles were blind folded and heard peter`s bass playing(but told they`re hearing a system and judge it) they might say it lacked tightness and was too warm and round.People like what they like,but many audio components tend to thin and make the sound leaner(tighter?) than real life presentations i.e. fuller tone and body with weight and presence.
Regards,

I thought KT88s are beam tetrodes, not pentodes?

I do like the sound of DHT amps without feedback in the right system. They have a certain magic to the sound that I think is missing in tetrode or pentode amps with feedback. IMO, DHTs are more expressive than life making tetrode/pentode comparably "dull", hence I can see why they are popular. However, I don't think DHTs are as true to life...I know many feel just the opposite.

Thanks Kijanki for the link.

Dracule1,
KT88s are beam tetrodes as you state. They are grouped and interchanable with the power pentodes(6500,EL 34,KT 90.120 etc.). Many amplifiers(such as mine) allow use of most of these, especislly KT 88 and the 6550 tubes.DHTs are a completely seperate catagory altogether.

Push pull amps can sound excellent(my Bella Extreme 100 monoblocks built by Bill Baker and my friend`s VAC Phi 300.1 monos). There`s just a different character to the sound.
Regards,