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Yeah I can’t really follow it tbh. My very basic interpretation is that 2nd harmonic distortion amplifies or reinforces the “nice” sounding bits. For some people and some types of music it also creates a more “3D” soundstage… somehow.
I’m into all this though. I like to have a vague understanding of how stuff works, rather than just “it’s old and/or expensive and has glowing bits so must be good”.
dbr-
I guess it's just altering the sound to something that is pleasant rather than grating. On a similar note, one of my recent DAC dongle purchases has an interesting DSP feature. It's a creative sxfi and it can simulate the sound of speakers in a room, rather that in your head via the headphones. Doesn't do great things for all music but some tracks, particularly vocals it is startling how it takes the vocalist out of your head and places them in the room. Similar to a well done binaural recording it makes a very 3 dimensional sound. Works well for movies too.
TRA
Got lost very quickly!