Keeping It Real RE: Amplifier Sound Quality

[FlexnInLa 10+ year member]

Everybody shoots down the famous test because it is an A,B, C test and takes colorization out of the equation to eq the amps to sound the same.

This is a similar test, except it is an A vs B test, and nothing was changed in the system other than the amplifier.

Home audio is a much more controlled environment than car audio, so I would think the end result would be even more valid in car audio.

Amplifier Sound Quality | Amplifiers | HomeTheaterFocus.com

If you are too lazy to read, nobody could tell a difference between two amps consistently enough to be anything more than an a vs. b guess, best example is a $200 Pioneer receiver and a $12,000 separate mono-block tube amp array with separate power supplies sounded the same to "golden eared" high end home audio enthusiasts. Even that surprised me, I thought I could tell tube from solid state, I know I can when playing guitar amps, but I guess it's more the sag you feel when you play vs. the sound.

Let the arguments begin.

I'll start, you buy build quality, longevity, and the ability to do rated power in many instances... but an unclipped watt is an unclipped watt. Period.

Click to read more...

 

[FlexnInLa 10+ year member]

"In the test they set the gain equally to all amps, so there was no difference in the power output, and the gain was set well within the specified limitations of the amp itself. This might not be the case at home; the speakers you use could be of all different efficiency ratings. You have to ensure your amp has plenty of reserve power for handling spikes in the soundtrack without clipping. Clipping is distortion, and distortion is the simple explanation for the coloration people claim to hear from certain amps. So, the weak highs or muddy bass you might hear from a cheap amp is probably clipping, or it could be a placebo."

I'll say it again, an unclipped watt is an unclipped watt!

"Speakers are the device that creates the sound you hear. The room in which they produce sound is almost equally important to the speakers; room acoustics provide reflections or dampen sound, which will make or break many sound systems. The amplifier only powers the speakers to let them do their job. Beware of adjective laden descriptions of acoustic colorations from an amplifier."

 

[FlexnInLa 10+ year member]

I'd love for Keep Hope Alive or Mobile Enclosures to chime in here. I have a great deal of respect for both of them and their knowledge, and it's always interesting to hear about things like this from an engineer's perspective.

I think... and I stress think... they would both agree with me and everybody else who tests this in a "scientific" fashion.

 

[06goat 10+ year member]

Misread. Good day sir.

 

[wenn_du_weinst 10+ year member]

meh I could deff tell the difference between the 2 amplifiers I switched out and neither were clipping. I even swaped out my brand new more expensive amp to the older one an hour later

 

[MANTI5 10+ year member]

Agree with all that up thar.

 

[FlexnInLa 10+ year member]

meh I could deff tell the difference between the 2 amplifiers I switched out and neither were clipping. I even swaped out my brand new more expensive amp to the older one an hour later

Awesome, that test would be even MORE valid had someone else done the switching and gain matching on the amp. You KNEW what you were hearing, and there could have been a placebo effect.

Thanks for playing sir!

 

---------- Post added at 06:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:43 PM ----------

 

Sorry, looking for RE Audio amps? I know the new ones aren't built well from what I hear //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

---------- Post added at 06:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:44 PM ----------

 

Agree with all that up thar.

Another believer! I will eventually convert at least 50 percent of this forum to the truth! I'm sure we will all still run expensive **** that we like, but still...

 

[FlexnInLa 10+ year member]

meh I could deff tell the difference between the 2 amplifiers I switched out and neither were clipping. I even swaped out my brand new more expensive amp to the older one an hour later

Wenn you are somebody else here I respect by the way, you love McIntosh, how could you be a bad guy?

I bet the amps weren't clipping, but I also bet the older, cheaper amp was putting out more power than the new one.

Bose was famous for that trick back in the day, when they would a/b Bose vs. whatever the Bose was always just a little bit louder. Louder to the human ear, to a point, generally sounds fuller, more dynamic, etc. Shame on Bose!

Althought I will admit, I've heard some "party" and "gameroom" speaker setups with Bose 901's that were pretty sweet.

 

[wenn_du_weinst 10+ year member]

I did know what I was hearing, how ever I had installed an amp I believed to be superior and ended up taking it out after hearing.

I know for a fact I will end up owning a 4-15 thousand dollar Mcintosh Ht amplifier in my house one of these days.

 

[FlexnInLa 10+ year member]

I did know what I was hearing, how ever I had installed an amp I believed to be superior and ended up taking it out after hearing. I know for a fact I will end up owning a 4-15 thousand dollar Mcintosh Ht amplifier in my house one of these days.

I LOVE the old McIntosh stuff, it has skyrocketd in price these days though.

When you get the Mc ht setup going, I'd love an invitation. I will bring the beer.

By the way, I can get you a killer hookup if you are looking to go projection //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif We even sell 3D capable projectors now!

I guess I should ask you, do you own any McIntosh home audio stuff now? I haven't had the pleasure, but I've been able to play with a lot of the vintage stuff at meets. Built in lovely Binghamton, NY, USA, to last many lifetimes. Do they still build there?

 

[wenn_du_weinst 10+ year member]

it would be in a listening room set up more then likely. I'm not patient enough to pay 50 grand in amplifiers for a surround sound system. I'll probably cheap out and go Emotiva for the 5.1/7.1 set up. As always any one is welcome to stop by any time I'm around and not busy.

 

[FlexnInLa 10+ year member]

it would be in a listening room set up more then likely. I'm not patient enough to pay 50 grand in amplifiers for a surround sound system. I'll probably cheap out and go Emotiva for the 5.1/7.1 set up. As always any one is welcome to stop by any time I'm around and not busy.

Do you already have speakers? If not let me suggest Magnepan 3.7's. 3.6's are the best speakers I've ever heard, and the 3.7's are supposed to take it to another level. If my ship ever comes in, i.e. when my kids are all 18 and I don't have to pay child support, Magnepans will be in my listening room.

Oh, they can also be had for "only" 5500.00 which as you know in home audio is a low end price!

 

[wenn_du_weinst 10+ year member]

I'm probably going to end up doing my own. That way they are built around the room and not the other way around. chances are it will be some kind of tapered t line or horn design.

 

[FlexnInLa 10+ year member]

I'm probably going to end up doing my own. That way they are built around the room and not the other way around. chances are it will be some kind of tapered t line or horn design.

You owe it to yourself to listen to some planars. I had a pair of used MMGs which are bottom of the line Magnepan, a home made sub, and an old Adcom amp and a cheap *** DVD player for a source, and that setup shocked the **** out of some guys who's systems cost more than my house at the time.

Planars just do everything right, and if they are big enough, they do bass right. My little MMGs just need help down low, but 3.6's have plenty, and the 3.7's are supposed to be even better. Soundstage width, depth, and height like nothing I've ever heard before, planars are f'ng amazing.

 

[FlexnInLa 10+ year member]

Oh my God, people have figured out that what I say is truth, and don't even argue anymore... and I now have somebody to shoot the **** with about home audio. This thread is apparently going to die dipped in golden win!