Tube gear does sound different - not better - than solid state! But transparent to the source? No! Hence the quest for that magic set of tubes - preferably NOS - that will elevate a tube component to the next level of sonic goodness! Witness the availability of DACs with tube outputs to make them sound somehow more "analog" like!
Why do components sound different?
I have always wondered why there is so much discussion about how a pre-amp, amp, DAC, streamer sound.
To me, they should not have any sound! They are merely passing the signal thru to the next device until they get to your ears from your headphones or speakers.
The perfect component would have a linear frequency response, no distortion ( no harmonics which are overtones of the original signal) and introduce no other frequencies.
Anything else is just hard to measure and can only be described in words like "warm", "soundstage", "harsh", "lifelike".
Thoughts?
To me, they should not have any sound! They are merely passing the signal thru to the next device until they get to your ears from your headphones or speakers.
The perfect component would have a linear frequency response, no distortion ( no harmonics which are overtones of the original signal) and introduce no other frequencies.
Anything else is just hard to measure and can only be described in words like "warm", "soundstage", "harsh", "lifelike".
Thoughts?