Posted by Terry Koehn on October 15, 2002 at 23:14:16:
"We believe circuit topology is the main determinant in amplifier
performance and the preoccupations of many contemporary designers with resister
and capacitor types and even interconnect wiring is misguided and is, we think, indicative
of the general paucity of real design innovation prevailing in the high end today. We
certainly don’t maintain the quality of passive components is un-important, but beyond a
certain minimum level of parts’ tolerance, component quality is secondary to circuit
topology in the ultimate determination of system performance. Thus we view the
common high end practice of constructing flawed circuits out of exotic capacitors and
resistors as distinctly unpromising and altogether unlikely to overcome the limitations of
such circuits or to advance the art of amplifier design in any significant way. We would
further suggest the truth of our position can easily be demonstrated in listening tests and
in bench measurements."