Although they are more temperamental and far more expensive

A) "transistor-driven amplifiers" is compared to "the warmer, richer tones " - incorrect comparison
B) Changes the meaning because of the use of the word "think" + "them" has no clear referent
C) "they" has no clear referent + awkward construction,
D) misplaced "by many audiophiles and audio professionals" .
E) Correct.

Just a small correction. Options A, B and C do not have misplaced modifier.

"Although they are more temperamental and far more expensive than transistor-driven amplifiers" is a Subordinate Clause, not a modifier.

For example, the following sentence is correct.

Although they are more temperamental and far more expensive than transistor-driven amplifiers, John prefers vacuum-tube-driven amplifiers because of their warmer, richer tones.

Hope that helps..

A straight modification question. 'They' refers to vacuum-tube-driven amplifiers and therefore after the initial modifiers, one should place the VTAs. This you find only in D and E; Between D and E, D wrongly suggests that the rich tones modify the audiophiles and audio professionals. Therefore E.

'They' refers to vacuum-tube-driven amplifiers and therefore VDAs should be placed next to the comma since the pronouns refer to the subjects normally and as also 'they' are being compared to a similar noun namely the TDAs. It may be seen that 'they' cannot refer to any other plural noun logically. it is clear that only choices D and E portray this feature. Between D and E, D wrongly suggests that the rich tones were produced by the audiophiles and audio professionals. Therefore E.

Although they are more temperamental and far more expensive than transistor-driven amplifiers, many audiophiles and audio professionals prefer the warmer, richer tones produced by vacuum-tube-driven amplifiers.

(A) many audiophiles and audio professionals prefer the warmer, richer tones produced by vacuum-tube-driven amplifiers -- they refers to vacuum-tube-driven and so as to ensure parallelism between the clauses
(B) many audiophiles and audio professionals think the warmer, richer tones produced by vacuum-tube-driven amplifiers make them preferable - same as A
(C) warmer, richer tones are produced by vacuum-tube-driven amplifiers and they are thus preferred by many audiophiles and audio professionals - same as A
(D) vacuum-tube-driven amplifiers are preferred because they produce warmer, richer tones by many audiophiles and audio professionals - illogical meaning -- rich tones were produced by the audiophiles and audio professionals
(E) vacuum-tube-driven amplifiers are preferred by many audiophiles and audio professionals because these amplifiers produce warmer, richer tones - Correct

Answer E

Although they are more temperamental and far more expensive than transistor-driven amplifiers, many audiophiles and audio professionals prefer the warmer, richer tones produced by vacuum-tube-driven amplifiers.

Clearly the comparison should be made between amplifiers.

comparison is wrong. amplifiers are compared to audiophiles and audio professionals.

same reason as in A

comparison is wrong. amplifiers are compared to tones.

comparison is correct, but rich tones are not produced by audiophiles and audio professionals, they are produced by the amplifiers. SO D is out.

Clean comparison. Correct meaning.

This question is based on Comparison and Structure.

The comparison in the sentence is between transistor-driven amplifiers and vacuum-tube-driven amplifiers.
The pronoun ‘they’ in the non-underlined portion of the sentence acts as a clue; the antecedent of the pronoun must be placed immediately after the comma, i.e., at the beginning of the underlined portion.

In Option A, the phrase “many audiophiles and audio professionals” is placed after the comma, implying that the comparison is between transistor-driven amplifiers and many audiophiles and audio professionals. Since the comparison is illogical, Option A can be eliminated.

The same error of comparison that is present in Option A is repeated in Option B. Furthermore, the pronoun ‘them’ is ambiguous as it is not clear what the antecedent of the pronoun is. So, Option B can be eliminated.

In Option C, the phrase “warmer, richer tones” is placed after the comma; the comparison is thus inaccurate in this option too. So, Option C can be eliminated.

In Option D, the comparison is more accurate because the phrase “vacuum-tube-driven amplifiers” is placed after the comma. However, this option conveys the meaning that amplifiers produce warmer, richer tones by many audiophiles and audio professionals, as though audiophiles and audio professionals were some means to produce warmer, richer tones. So, Option D can be eliminated.

Option E makes the appropriate comparison because it contains the phrase “vacuum-tube-driven amplifiers” after the comma; it also maintains clarity by repeating the noun “these amplifiers”. Therefore, E is the most appropriate option.

Jayanthi Kumar.

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