On Wed, 14 Mar 2012 11:38:54 -0700, August Karlstrom wrote
(in article ):
On 2012-03-11 21:37, Audio Empire wrote:
I'll tell you another little secret -
it's getting harder and harder for reviewers to find anything to discuss
(beyond features) about amplifiers too. Most are so transparent these days
that you have to really stress them in some way to hear any real
differences.
At normal listening levels, today's solid-state amps are much more alike
than
they are different. What you mostly get for your money as you spend more are
more power and stiffer DC power supplies. They make a difference, to be
sure,
but it usually doesn't show-up under most normal listening conditions.
That's interesting. So you mean that a budget amplifier like NAD C
316BEE will sound practically the same as a high-end design like
darTZeel CTH-8550 at moderate listening levels driving normal speakers?
Maybe I will consider downgrading my Creek Destiny to a NAD then.
http://nadelectronics.com/products/h...eo-Integrated-
Amplifier
http://www.dartzeel.com/index.php?op...16&Itemi d=32
August
Well, let's not get silly, here, but to be honest, the major difference
between the Dartzeel 8550 integrated and the NAD integrated are their power
output. The NAD is rated at 40-Watts/channel and the Dartzeel at 225. After
all, 40 Watts is only 40 Watts.
I'm sure that with a good pair of fairly efficient speakers (so as to use the
NAD in it's "comfort zone", power-wise), that the NAD and the Dartzeel will
probably be difficult, if not impossible to distinguish from one another in a
DBT. Now if we compare both amps with, say, a pair of Magneplanar MG3.7's,
the NAD's modest power output will give it up for what it is.
As to "downgrading" your Creek, it's an amp I'm not familiar with, so I
cannot say. I do know that Creek is a British company known for modest
powered amps, but I dare say that if your Creek is a recent solid-state
amplifier (less than 20-years old) that it sounds every bit as good within
its comfort zone as does a new NAD C 316 BEE.