Fonte: http://ifi-audio.com/wp-content/uploads ... _Tubes.pdfTubes are Good for You
Many wax lyrical about the “magic of tubes.” Why? Because the scientific fact is that adding tubes to a HiFi system increases our intrinsic enjoyment1 of music. The harmonic characteristic of tubes eases tension and gives us a greater sense of well‐being. We have not and may never fully understand why tubes do the “voodoo they do”, but there is a scientific basis to re‐affirm our subjective sense of enhanced enjoyment of music.
The Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts2
The Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts was established in 1938 and boasts an excellent list of alumni from the classical field. In 2000, the university conducted an extensive scientific study3 of a HiFi system with a vinyl source feeding between a tube amplifier and a solid‐state amplifier4.
Headed by Jürgen Ackermann5, a psychologist (who liked audio), the study was organised and assisted by students – this was not a “paid for” research project sponsored by a company (like cigarettes).
Results of the University of Frankfurt Study
- 50 people participated; cross‐section of musicians, general public and audiophiles.
- Testing was blind. The researcher did not interact with subjects at all.
- Various unfamiliar but non‐offensive music pieces were played.
In summary:Very possibly the most “interesting” comment was by one long‐term test subject: the (non‐audio loving) student who facilitated the experiment heard each system over 50 times! At the end of the experiment, she reported that she could not stand the sound from one of the systems anymore; feeling physically “attacked” by its sound. The system was...the Solid‐State‐based system.
- The Tube system improved the participants’ emotional status (i. e. enjoyment of the music) by a whopping 187% over the Solid‐State system.
- The Tube system improved the participants’ mental status (i.e. less tense, more relaxed) by 102% over the Solid‐State system.
- Strikingly, 30% of participants felt worse after listening to the Solid‐State system, yet not one felt worse after listening to the Tube system!
For further reading, please see the Stereophile article by Markus Sauer, “God is in the Nuances6”.
Notes:
1) We are not saying tubes are “better” than solid‐state; humans just seem to enjoy the sound of tubes more.
2) Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurt_ ... rming_Arts
3) Jürgen Ackermann ‐ PhD Thesis at the Frankfurt Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst (Music and
Performing Arts University).
4) Summarised for ease of reading, please refer to the original article for the full details of the study.
5) Jürgen Ackermann Dipl.‐Psych, Varrentrappstr. 51, 60436 Frankfurt/Main, Germany
6) http://www.stereophile.com/features/203/index.html (page 3)
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