Dinesh,
Sorry for late reply.
Carlos is an institution at DIYaudio, but all too often now is caught up in technical debates he cannot win because his knowledge is chiefly empirical and subjective, original sin in the eyes of a credentialled EE!
He has always been very enthusiastic about my amps, it is true, and this has been reassuring because his ear is VERY good. I tire of the mutual mistrust between the EEs and the golden ears; the truth is, both are needed, it's a lawyer/police standoff and it isn't improving with time. In fact the whole adversarial 'stand and deliver' approach of the west makes me shake my head these days.
My thoughts are this: no one escapes the basic engineering, it's perennial as the grass, and a thorough, working knowledge of Ohms and Kirchoffs laws is mandatory to design a power amp. However, I challenge the notion that if you can't measure it, it is not there, as I have heard many subtle changes by simply changing operating points and component choices. Neither do I accept the largely defeatist argument that the subjective is just that, and can't be trusted, and should therefore be ignored. I think it is true that tastes vary, just as they do with food, art and sport, and they even change according to mood - especially with music. But if subjectivity is so unreliable for the individual, then we must look to the group, and assess en masse, looking for preferences and consensus. When you do this, you can pick out certain immutable observations, which are very useful for someone designing for mass appeal. As a business, you must sell in numbers, so this approach is extremely useful anyway.
I try not to trust my own ears too much - I'm only one guy, and I'm clearly biased as the designer. I get lots of friends, acquaintances and committed audiophiles to listen, and I can very quickly now find consensus. Furthermore, I find that getting the engineering dead right is merely first base. Then begins the tuning for best sound, with operating point and component choices. This is the difference between competence and excellence. This makes audio design something like art, because you find that different designers tend to have a 'house' sound. Within limits, I think this is true of people like Nelson Pass, Andy Grove (Audio Note UK), Tim de Paravicini (EAR) and D'Agostino (Krell). People buy on name, and for very good reasons.
Hugh
