All amps sound quality are the same until clipping - article

[HeHeHaHaHoHo 10+ year member]

Richard Clark Amplifier Challenge FAQ

What do you think? Some pretty smarts guys agree.

It looks like a $2,200 McIntosh MCC404M amplifier will have roughly the exact same sound quality as an $450 Infinity Kappa 4 amplifier minus a little less power bridged and a little more power at regular before clipping.

Click to read more...

 

[Boomsday 10+ year member]

yep

 

[Suicide Bobb 5,000+ posts]

God...not another one of these threads. Prepare for a shit storm, I'm not including myself in it this time around.

 

[HeHeHaHaHoHo 10+ year member]

God...not another one of these threads. Prepare for a shit storm, I'm not including myself in it this time around.

Lol I didn't realize this was common debate. It's the first I've heard of it, but then again, I've never experimented with expensive amps before so I didn't know.

I have a hard time refuting scientific testing. It's one thing if the theory is thrown around, but it's another thing when blind testing is involved.

I'm just glad I can feel good about buying a cheaper amp.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

Neat.

I think that at equal power and THD you won't hear a difference. the problem is that getting good power at low THD is not cheap

 

[HeHeHaHaHoHo 10+ year member]

Neat.
I think that at equal power and THD you won't hear a difference. the problem is that getting good power at low THD is not cheap

I'm pretty sure that you're referring to clipping which is 2% THD, and from my understanding, most name brand amps don't clip until their birth sheet.

From the looks of it, all amplifiers are the same until clipping or 2% THD, and .001% THD really doesn't sound any different than .1% THD.

I myself believe in the testing. It'd be fun to try it out.

 

[Suicide Bobb 5,000+ posts]

Lol I didn't realize this was common debate. It's the first I've heard of it, but then again, I've never experimented with expensive amps before so I didn't know.
I have a hard time refuting scientific testing. It's one thing if the theory is thrown around, but it's another thing when blind testing is involved.

I'm just glad I can feel good about buying a cheaper amp.

If you must know, what the test ACTUALLY showed was that it is possible to make all amps sound the same. But that still leaves tons of variables constant, and thus has no impact on the idea of different amps sounding different in general.

 

[HeHeHaHaHoHo 10+ year member]

If you must know, what the test ACTUALLY showed was that it is possible to make all amps sound the same. But that still leaves tons of variables constant, and thus has no impact on the idea of different amps sounding different in general.

I'm not quite sure what you're talking about.

 

[Suicide Bobb 5,000+ posts]

I'm not quite sure what you're talking about.

Lol...I'll let Audioholic explain it.

 

[HeHeHaHaHoHo 10+ year member]

Lol...I'll let Audioholic explain it.

I'm no expert on amplifiers, but from what I understand, except for the gain set on your amplifier, solid state amps are practically the same with tube amps being different due to distortion which is why they sound warm. Also, I'm pretty sure most solid state amplifiers are linear from 20hz-20khz except for tube amps. I think this whole article is here to explain to people that THD and SNR are not what they think they are.

Like if you wanted 90 watts RMS at 4 ohms X 4, it's saying the Dayton DCA-4100 for $270 would be the same as a $1,700 McIntosh MCC404M although I know the McIntosh could probably put out another 30 watts RMS, but the price difference is huge. I'm sure the Infinity Kappa Four would have much less than 1% THD at 110 watts RMS at 4 ohms as well.



I suppose if you disagree, you could take the test and win $10,000. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Anyways, I'm done. I just thought people would think the article is interesting.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

They very clearly state that they do not go by power ratings but actual measured power. You can't just trust amplifier ratings unltess they are specifically worded, and even then, you can rarely trust them. D

Car amplifier manufacturers find ways to rate amps with deception. They can rate power at 10% THD for one second with 16VDC input but then provide THD ratings with minimal power output.

Example:

RMS Power Output: 50Wx4 @4 ohms

THD: .01%

Is different than

RMS Power: 50Wx4 @ 4 ohms at .01% THD

I don't trust ratings that are on separate lines unless there are qualifiers. The first example could be rating THD at only 1W. CEA tried to fix that.

You pay for build quality and features. The power supply, internal connections, built-in protection, crossover flexibility, internal wiring, PCB layout, etc. All that costs money to do well.

Then most people want to push their amps to the limit. I guarantee that the cheap amps in that challenge are not driven to their limit, but far, far from it where I agree, differences would be minimal.