JohnRoberts said:
Forcing an IC output stage to operate class A is of questionable merit. This dubious technique has been around long enough that if it had merit, there would be dedicated ICs taking advantage of it by now.
Let's not fool ourselves about the significance of the audio marketplace, it doesn't have much and never did. It'd have to be of merit in places other than audio, which as we all know is a tiny tiny market. Slice tinier to the level at which people get nuanced about sound, and that tells you how much interest there is in manufacturing a dedicated class A IC (virtually none). It does not in any way imply anything about sonic validity. There are multiple 'audio-fool' veers in this thread which many mastering guys with very scientific approaches wholeheartedly believe in, it's funny how these things are taken virtually as fact in a rarified pro audio arena yet are considered signs of idiocy when it's from the end user side. You can hear many small differences in parts selection when you are in an environment of high enough resolution. Whether the extremely high cost is enough to decide it's not worth worrying about is a totally different question, and many questions around money turn into social class observations about elitism rather than being about a simple sandboxed question: is there an environment in which a difference can be heard or observed? If there's not a lot of demand (there isn't), then there's a lack of available research, naturally. 99.9% at the end of the funnel do not have a playback system of any meaningful resolution with which to detect anything, then add tin ears, age, bad taste, and preconceived notions...... YMMV.....
In the end use what you like the sound of: terrifying! How would we know? Who has time to try tons of tiny variables? Virtually no one. We are generally happy when something makes non-offensive sound on a continuous trouble free basis. Reliability is enough for most, sonic preference is esoteric and tough to define. We see this most clearly in all the clone audio equipment around here, using totally non-original audio transformers. In many cases those original transformers define the sound of the 'classic' piece, and you've just built something different when you don't have them. Yet, this gets ignored in favor of "Yay! I built a Pultec/StaLevel/Fairchild!" because otherwise the parade is always sharted on.
My point about aging electrolytics just went right over everyone's heads, and it'd be pure hubris to suggest we won't end up with some audio equipment that still works but we realize has hit it's first, second, or third decade in use. Bypass caps may well make a clear difference then. I have heard them improve aging audio equipment with 10-15 year old parts, when added, and not a small difference either. You pay more, you hopefully get more thoughtfulness and detail in what you receive. If you choose to take the crass approach that anyone selling anything is just out to get your money and pull one over on you, you might be a lost cause, and couldn't possibly add anything useful to the debate.
