I'm quite a noob here, so please forgive me if this is a tired topic already.
Is it possible that any hardware characteristic can be very accurately replicated in software with the use of appropriate filters and processing power (which is getting to be an almost negligible issue)? For example, could any headphone amplifier (or pre-amp, or power amp) have its output characteristics accurately measured and then replicated to reproduce, using a relatively low-cost neutral amplifier, a much costlier amplifier?
I am waiting to receive a mid-range tube amplifier (Woo Audio WA2) in a couple of weeks, but I wondered if, with the right processing, my NuForce Icon HDP (with reasonably accurate and neutral reproduction) couldn't produce a sound that is essentially the same?
Just curious...
