Do two amplifiers with identical THD ratings sound the same, everything else being equal?
Not necessarily (but differences will be subtle). The reason is that the THD specification states nothing about where the harmonics are in the frequency band. For example one amplifier could have a dominant harmonic at one frequency and a second amplifier could have a dominant harmonic at a very different frequency. Or, one amplifier could have a few “big” harmonics while a second has many weak ones. These situations could easily result in identical THD ratings. The variations could be easily measured with laboratory equipment. However do not be overly concerned. Minor variations in THD ratings will not cause major differences in sound when listening to music. With pure tones as input signals it might be fairly easy to discern which of two amplifiers was used if the distortion was in the range of several percent (but again, who listens to tones?). Intermodulation distortion Intermodulation distortion is the second “major” type of distortion that is often specified for amplifiers. Inter
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