[Arny Krueger]

"Greg Wormald" wrote in message
om

Of course different amplifiers sound different. Since
they are made differently, with different components, and
they measure differently, how could it be otherwise?

Two amplifiers can be different, but sound the same, if their deficiencies
are smaller than that which can be reliably heard. This happens all the
time.

Whether the differences are significant is a matter of
personal decision.

Not if the differences are too small to be audible. You have no choice -
they have no audible signficance to you.

Some will argue that well-made amps that measure the same
will sound the same.

The myth here is that two amps could measure the same. Even each channel of
a stereo amplifier will measure differently, given sufficiently accurate
measuring gear.

This is necessarily true--it is a
tautology--assuming that we measure everything that can
be heard.

Reality is that we can readily measure things that we have not a chance of
hearing. There have been no reliably observable exceptions for decades.

Blind a-b testing is the gold standard of testing for
difference. It does however have to be done well and
usually isn't.

Compare that to sighted evaluation with is never done well, because there is
no way to do it well.

Some of the subtle differences in music
reproduction are very difficult to pick, and often
require extensive experience or training to distinguish.

Interesting that people don't seem to need any extensive training or
experience to hear differences in sighted evaluations.

As well, some differences show up after long trials
(days, weeks, or months!) and testing of this longitude
are as rare as hen's teeth.

The point is that people obsess over the problems with blind tests, and the
inherently flawed results of sighted evaluations with nary a concern.

Our auditory memory is very short, and often very
inaccurate, and that is an argument NOT for short
duration tests,

?????????????????

but for using something that is longer
lasting and more reliable, namely the emotional response
to the music.

That's an unproven assertion.

I know from my own experience swapping interconnect
cables that while I couldn't pick which cable was in my
system at any one listening session, over months I came
to prefer one set--based on my desire to put on another
record and listen more, or turn the music off and do
something else. These preferences were a surprise to me
and I performed enough swaps to make certain.

Yet another unproven assertion.

If you can, audition each amplifier on your list for long
enough to know whether you enjoy the way it produces
music. After all, you will be using it to produce music,
not listen to sound.

If one is not listening to sound, what is one listening to?