sraber: what you heard is what you heard. I'll not dispute that.

But, the specific point is that you simply can not tell any difference if the frequency response is flat and the THD is very low. That is fact. Tests have shown that unless the THD is several %, the human ear can hear no difference. You can't have those very low THDs and NOT have a relatively flat frequency response.

So, I'm back to what is the ACTUAL difference in the pre processors and/ or recivers that people hear? Are the people fooling themselves? Are the specifications cooked? Is something else going on?

The terms warm, bright, harsh, etc. were "coined" years ago to describe speakers whose frequency response was NOT flat across the spectrum. I had an interesting post from Alan Lofft (you may recall the name) on this subject on another board. Alan is now a technical consultant for Axiom speakers. If anyone is interested, I will repost his comments here.