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Do all amplifiers sound the same?
On Fri, 4 Jan 2008 15:48:44 -0800, Serge Auckland wrote
(in article ): "Sonnova" wrote in message ... On Thu, 3 Jan 2008 15:38:31 -0800, Serge Auckland wrote (in article ): "c. leeds" wrote in message ... Steven Sullivan wrote: In fact I rarely audition gear;... any such auditions are prone to sighted bias effect. It's a pity to forsake listening entirely simply because a dubious result is possible. I put as much or more effort into speaker placement and room treatment. It stands to both reason and practice that choice of loudspeaker, and attention to room conditions, makes *BY FAR* the most difference in sound quality. It really is just that simple, once you jettison all the nonsense promulgated by audiophile culture. You don't cite an example, so I don't know what "nonsense" you're talking about. It's certainly nonsensical to buy audio equipment without listening. But, some people buy a new car without driving it first, others buy clothes without trying them on. There's simply no accounting for preference, which is all that you are stating. Why is it nonsensical to audio equipment without listening first? There's only a point in listening to electromechanical transducers that "can" sound different, and then, in the case of loudspeakers, only in one's own listening room. Electronics of modern competent design do not sound different so why listen? A point of view not supportable. I say that electronics of modern, competent design DO sound different. The only question is do those differences mean anything to you, personally? If not, fine, but to many they mean a great deal, your scoffing notwithstanding. How can they? Easy. I have three sets of amplifiers at my disposal: a pair of VTL tube monoblocks, a pair of Denon transistor monoblocks made under license from Nelson Pass using his "Stasis circuitry" and a pair (used to have 4) of Rockford/Hafler TransNova 1500 power amps. The VTLs are 140 watts each, the Denons 220, the Haflers 150 watts/channel. When I replace my "reference" VTLs with the Denons (after using my trusty Hewlett-Packard 400D audio VTVM to match output levels EXACTLY) I notice three things: The Denons have a much more grainy sounding top end than the VTLs that's very noticeable on massed strings. Live massed strings have this silken effortlessness to them that's all but impossible to reproduce exactly. Any audiophile who attends live symphonic concerts regularly, has surely noticed this sense of effortless ease with a smooth resinous quality as a secondary sonic signature. My VTLs approximate this sound much better than do the Denons or the Haflers. The upper register of all instruments sounds smoother and more real. Whether the VTLs accomplish this by being more accurate or by injecting some euphonious colorations is not the point. The point is that they sound different. Also with the Denons in the system, the sound stage collapses somewhat. The image doesn't sound as wide or as deep as do the VTLs but the image specificity doesn't seem to change appreciably. And finally, The Denons (and the Haflers) have a bit more taut low bass than do my VTLs, but that's OK because in actual listening (as opposed to auditioning amplifiers), I have a pair of subwoofers with their own solid state amplifiers doing those honors. What aspect of modern design allows for a sound quality difference? Surely you jest? The stiffness of the power supply, the quality of the components, even the number of stages in the amp all have an effect on sound. Don't believe me (of course you don't)? Try this play a CD player through your regular preamp into your power amp and listen for a while. Now, remove the preamp and run the CD player DIRECTLY into the power amp (after matching levels, of course using instrumantation) without the preamp. If the removal of the preamp doesn't sound IMMEDIATLY cleaner and better, then I suggest that you can't hear. Is the difference between distortion figures sufficient to cause a sound quality difference? Not that can be measured, no. Is the difference in frequency response sufficient to cause a sound quality difference? Not in an of itself, no. Is the difference in residual noise sufficient to cause a sound quality difference? No. I suggest not, as the differences in all these is well below the threshold of hearing for modern well designed equipment. If it's not any of those, then what can it be? You tell me. I don't pretend to know. I'm just the messenger as it were. If there's a difference, then it has to be quantifiable, otherwise it's down to imagination. I assume that if it's audible, it's quantifiable. But where we diverge is that you think that everything quantifiable has been quantified. I'm not so sure. The amps sound different. Load differences (both input and speakers)? I dunno. But the effects aren't subtle. |
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