Or perhaps it’s a result of something that is more easily quantified.

Class-A amplifiers distort differently from other designs.

Not only this, but by running “wide open” in some cases, there’s more power available for short-term small-scale dynamic changes such as transient information.

It can be easily shown that although two systems may have the same signal-to-noise ratio and the same distortion figures on an analyzer, they sound radically different. The spectra of the noise, and the character of the distortion, play huge roles in perceived sound quality.

So again, the challenging question about quantifying performance in audio systems is what to measure in the first place, and how to measure it.

Getting Along
The bottom line is that both camps have something very important to offer. Without a scientific approach, we’d be stabbing in the dark trying to find solutions to problems about which we know very little.

But without a reliance on the subjective experience, even our most clever inventions would perhaps never reach the level of “art.”  What good can come of setting fire to a silk-screened portrait of Andy Warhol in the middle of the woods if there’s no one present to snicker?

Designers and sound system users make decisions every day based on whatever they have at their disposal, including theory, available equipment, testing and measurement, intuition, and finally, critical listening. If there is not a balance among these resources, the results are likely to be unbalanced.

How would you like some power amps with “DC to light” response but producing crappy sound? Care for some loudspeakers that sound amazing but look like a “Dogs Playing Poker” on black velvet? How about mics that can pick up a gnat burping but make a Stradivarius sound like a banjo bowed with rosined fishing line?

Let’s leave it to the great Duke Ellington: “If it sounds good, it is good.”

Karl Winkler is Director of Business Development for Lectrosonics and has worked in professional audio for more than 15 years.

More articles on PSW by Karl Winkler:
One Spec Fits All? Going Beyond The Surface To Further Understand Audio Products
Seven Habits That Can Harm Your Live Sound Career
The “Vibe” Is The Thing: Monitor Wedges Or In-Ear Monitors Or Both?
Seven Habits Of Highly Effective Sound People

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