"But on long term listening tests, 1% THD is credited for listening fatigue" Yup i certainly agree... that the 1% THD may bring that listening fatigue---- but as i have said, that 1% THD is equivalent to the amp’s full 100 watts of power -- many of us would not attempt to pump the amp to that level because that is too much i think for an ordinary room.
For me depending on my mood, i go only up to 75% of the amps power or 75w of its max 100 w - thats the loudest level i have gone so far. On the receivers display that level is about 35 to 30 DBs, 95db being the lowest and 1db the highest -- or the other way around, i dont know if that’s the way it should be interpreted. My room can no longer handle sound levels higher than that i think.
Based on the equation given by Pioneer (90w power=0.02 % THD / 100w power=1%THD ) which they apply for their amps, when listening at that 75 w level, i probably am expose only to a THD level even lower than 0.02% - a level which the human ear may not be able to discern. Higher than 90% of the amps power, when clipping begins, the level of THD abruptly climbs up to 1% until you reach 100 watts of power, the maximum power the amp can go.
Maybe what is good with the other amps like the HK, NAD, etc. is the fact that they limited or peg the maximum power level of the amp on or even below the level where its THD starts to climb. That’s why many of these amps are tagged only as 80wpc at .02% THD, though in reality maybe, they can also go as high as 100wpc, but with a higher THD rating. Maybe if they would do that, they would have that spec similar to that of the Pioneer. But obviously, they provided the lesser measurement of 80wpc at .02% THD – which would be very attractive to electronically-learned customers because of that very low 0.02% THD level, but not to the uninitiated like me, who are usually attracted by that 100wpc advertised power of the amp.
In this case, it is just like Pioneer saying “you will have 2 slices of bread, but with an equivalent 1%carbohydrates, and Denon or HK saying, “you will have 1 slice of bread, but with .5% of carbohydrates. Under the two situations people would react differently, depending on their needs. If you are hungry, of course you would choose the 2 slices of bread but with 1% carbohydrates. However, if you are health conscious, maybe you would choose the 1 slice of bread because you would only get .5% of carb. If both will eat the bread immediately, the first would get that 1% carb, while the other one would get that .5% carb. However, the first may still choose to be healthy by not eating the 2 slices at once. Maybe, he may follow the diet of the other, by just eating 1 slice of bread to have .5% of carb only. At least he can save the other one as reserve in case he gets hungry.
Just like that 100 wpc with 1% THD, amp therefore, you can choose not to pump its full power, because by doing that you get 1% THD. If you want .02% THD only, just like the other brands, then you will have to control your volume--