Noel Keywood has always been a bit inclined to favour valve amps and panel speakers as a reviewer. That's fine. But as editor of a general hifi magazine, I thought he would keep a level head, or at least be careful to avoid generalizations and admit his biases are just that.
But no. In his latest editorial as editor of Hifi World, available online, he says:
"Don't be influenced by all those who say that valve amplifiers sound ‘warm'. That was long ago. Modern valve amplifiers deliver a sound with astonishing dynamic impact, avoiding the bleached, sterile quality of transistor amplifiers. "
What: all transistor amps sound bleached and sterile? And all modern valve amps have astonishing dynamic impact?
If Noel wants to consign the characteristic valve amp sound to 'long ago', he should think a bit about how good transistor amps often are, and how the stereotype he assigns to them might also be more about the past or a few bad apples.
