Electrical engineers have repeatedly

Answer choices

1. A

   Strengthens, if anything5% picked this

   Many people cannot tell from listening to it whether a recording is being played with a very good solid-state amplifier or

   We only care about people who claim they can tell a difference between a recording being played through the best solid-state vs. the best vacuum-tube amp. This answer is about people who can't tell the difference, so it's of no impact to this conversation. This answer is also about "very good" versions of these two different types of amps, but the conclusion is only commenting on the "best" version of these amps. So again, this is of no relevance to this conversation. Finally, the fact that many people can't tell the difference would basically strengthen the author's conclusion that "music lovers who say that one type sounds better than the other are just imagining the difference".

   5%
2. B

   Irrelevant Distinction: range of variation23% picked this

   The range of variation with respect to the quality of musical reproduction is greater for vacuum-tube amplifiers

   This answer is saying that the quality gap between a crappy vacuum-tube amp and the best vacuum-tube amp is wider than the gap between a crappy solid-state amp and the best solid-state amp. But since this conclusion is only speaking to the best version of each type of amp, we don't care at all about lesser-quality versions of these two types of amps.

   23%
3. C

   Correct61% picked this

   Some of the characteristics that are important in determining how music sounds to a listener

   Why this is right

   This allows us to argue that, "even though the best solid and best vacuum amps would measure the same, people who say they prefer the vacuum amp would not be imagining the difference. After all, the measurements don't tell the full story. Some characteristics that are important in determining how music is perceived by the listener can't be measured". To go back to our pageant metaphor from before, this answer would be saying, "Some of the characteristics that are important to one's perception of beauty cannot be measured". This is making the objection that the quantifiable values we come up with to judge something as amorphous and complex as "beauty" or "sound quality" are probably not telling the full story.

   Skill tested: Weaken · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

   61%
4. D

   Irrelevant Distinctions: not about sound2% picked this

   Solid-state amplifiers are more compact, use less power, and generate less heat than vacuum-tube amplifiers that produce a

   None of the distinctions introduced here relate to sound quality / perception of sound quality. These distinctions might have been relevant if the argument were saying, "you should buy this type rather than that type". There we would care about things beyond sound quality, because sound quality is just one factor we'd weigh in making the decision about which amp to buy. But this argument is purely about sound quality. We can't say, "these music lovers are correct to say that there's a difference in sound quality; after all, a vacuum-tube amp is bulkier, uses more power, and generates more heat than a solid-state amplifiers." The amp's dimensions / power demands / heat are not saying anything about how the amp sounds.

   2%
5. E

   No Impact10% picked this

   Some vacuum-tube amplifiers are clearly superior to some solid-state amplifiers with respect to the characteristics commonly measured in the laboratory to evaluate the

   This argument is only concerned with comparing the best example of a vacuum-tube amp to the best example of a solid-state amp. The evidence is telling us that when you measure "best vs. best", there's no quality difference in terms of the characteristics measured. But obviously if we compared the best vacuum to the worst solid-state, we'd notice a quality difference, so we already know what this answer is telling us, which is that "at least one vacuum-tube amp is clearly superior to at least one solid-state amp."

   10%