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<blockquote data-quote="helotaxi" data-source="post: 448581" data-attributes="member: 550915">Read the rest.&nbsp; Any two amps that are putting out the same power at similar distortion levels (the Pyramid amp might do it&#039;s rated max power but at 10%+ distortion while the Arc does the same power @ less than 1%) will sound the same.&nbsp; Richard Clark (as much as I think the guy puts out a lot of bad science) has a challenge that if you can hear the difference between two amps he will pay you $10k.&nbsp; No one has taken the money and that is because he sets the amps up as described:&nbsp; the gain sections are bypassed, the processing is bypassed and both are set to produce 1W.&nbsp; At 1W any amp should be linear.&nbsp; I saw another test where there was a room of &quot;audiophiles&quot; that were given an A/B comparison of two amplifiers producing the same power into the same set of speakers.&nbsp; In a double blind test (the test proctor didn&#039;t know which amp was playing at any given time so he could not influence the listeners) these trained ears could not tell the difference between a $10K+ home receiver and the amp out of a $20 clock radio.The differences between two car systems come down to the speakers and the install.&nbsp; The install is by far the more important of the two.&nbsp; If it weren&#039;t then every competitor would be using the exact same set of speakers.&nbsp; The majority of the distortion in a system comes from the speakers themselves.&nbsp; It is usually enough to mask distortion of lower levels elsewhere in the system.&nbsp; Factor in the cancellation caused by differing pathlengths from the different speakers to the listener&#039;s ears and it makes it even more impossible to tell the difference between amps in a car.&nbsp; Best advice I can give is get a reputable brand of amp so you know that you are getting a reliable product and then spend the money you saved on the amps to get the best speakers you can afford and spend a lot of time and effort making sure that the install is as good as you can make it.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="helotaxi, post: 448581, member: 550915"] Read the rest. Any two amps that are putting out the same power at similar distortion levels (the Pyramid amp might do it's rated max power but at 10%+ distortion while the Arc does the same power @ less than 1%) will sound the same. Richard Clark (as much as I think the guy puts out a lot of bad science) has a challenge that if you can hear the difference between two amps he will pay you $10k. No one has taken the money and that is because he sets the amps up as described: the gain sections are bypassed, the processing is bypassed and both are set to produce 1W. At 1W any amp should be linear. I saw another test where there was a room of "audiophiles" that were given an A/B comparison of two amplifiers producing the same power into the same set of speakers. In a double blind test (the test proctor didn't know which amp was playing at any given time so he could not influence the listeners) these trained ears could not tell the difference between a $10K+ home receiver and the amp out of a $20 clock radio. The differences between two car systems come down to the speakers and the install. The install is by far the more important of the two. If it weren't then every competitor would be using the exact same set of speakers. The majority of the distortion in a system comes from the speakers themselves. It is usually enough to mask distortion of lower levels elsewhere in the system. Factor in the cancellation caused by differing pathlengths from the different speakers to the listener's ears and it makes it even more impossible to tell the difference between amps in a car. Best advice I can give is get a reputable brand of amp so you know that you are getting a reliable product and then spend the money you saved on the amps to get the best speakers you can afford and spend a lot of time and effort making sure that the install is as good as you can make it. [/QUOTE]

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