Abstract
A typical domestic quality tape-recorder was used to provide a sound which could act as an acoustic reference. The sound of music played by this tape-recorder was recorded acoustically to provide a signal source which could then be used for further tests. This recording was played back through the two amplifiers under test, first A (solid state) and then B (tube). 22 subjects compared the sound of the standard with the sound via A and B. This was repeated reversing the order to B, A, until six alternate paired presentations had been given. Subjects were not told which amplifier they were hearing except that it was A or B. Of the subjects 63% considered that the tube amplifier produced a sound closer to the original, even though its laboratory specification was inferior to that of the solid state amplifier. This finding is regarded as predictable in terms of Békésy's inhibitory theory.
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