McIntosh Amps

[asianinvasion21 10+ year member]

Can somebody explain why these amps are so special. My friend claims these things are the greatest amps he ever heard. I have never heard or even seen one of these amps so i was wondering if somebody could enlighten me with some info on these. thx

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[perfecxionX 10+ year member]

McIntosh is one of the most respected brand names in car, and especially home audio. Their products are probably built and engineered superbly, but the important question is: can you tell a difference between a McIntosh and any other well built but much cheaper mid level amp in a well executed double blind study?

The answer is almost certainly not.

http://www.hometheaterfocus.com/receivers/amplifier-sound-quality.aspx

http://www.freewebs.com/lagagnon/audiophiles1.html

 

[wenn_du_weinst 10+ year member]

the design and the parts they use. They are worth the money. And yes you can deff tell the difference. The only reason you wouldn't is from improper instalation

 

[asianinvasion21 10+ year member]

kk thanks for your input. It was probably just some hype that my friend heard about it then. These amps must be somewhat rare tho considering ive never seen a setup with one. Are these maybe comparable to Linear Power amps.

 

[wenn_du_weinst 10+ year member]

well to put it correctly, The linear power are not comparable to Mcintosh. I've owned one, I should have never sold it. Even my orion that is rated at .05% sounds dirtier then the Mcintosh did.

 

[perfecxionX 10+ year member]

And yes you can deff tell the difference. The only reason you wouldn't is from improper instalation

You need to provide evidence for this because there are so many examples of double blind studies that demonstrate the contrary.

Amplifier Sound Quality | Amplifiers | HomeTheaterFocus.com

When it came down to the blind A-B testing of the 25 testers, only 3 participants scored 60% or greater correct when they guessed which amp was which, when comparing between two. Nobody got higher than a 63% score. Most amazing was that in testing between the Pioneer amp and the Futterman array, only 114 of 212 listeners could tell the difference -- thats a 54% correct guess! This is the most extreme example: audiophiles not able to tell the difference between a $200 Pioneer receiver and a $12,000 separate mono-block tube amp array with separate power supplies.
$200 Pioneer amp sounds like a $6,000 mono - block tube array

What does it mean? It means that people who advise you to buy expensive amplifiers because they believe amps contribute coloration to acoustic quality probably couldnt tell the difference between their favorite exotic amp and a $200 Pioneer. It doesnt mean that you should only choose the cheapest amp you can. There are other considerations not the least of which is the longevity of the unit. A $200 receiver is more likely to have a short lifespan, but a decent quality power amp could last a lifetime. There are also other considerations: the one thing that will certainly present problems is clipping. 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.

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.

 

[wenn_du_weinst 10+ year member]

you can't compare HT to car audio. Totally different in every aspect.

 

[perfecxionX 10+ year member]

Home theater amplifiers and car audio amplifiers do the exact same thing: amplify, or increase the power of, a source signal. Certainly there are measurable differences between amplifiers, but if you want to claim that there are differences audible to the human ear you have to supply evidence for that claim, and double blind studies are the gold standard.

 

[wenn_du_weinst 10+ year member]

Not when it's not the same equipment. those studies are about as useful as comparing a head unit to an amplifier. I have yet to see a car audio manufacturer release a 100 pound amplifier for a car.

 

[wenn_du_weinst 10+ year member]

The only way you will find out OP is by doing your own direct swap. The forums are litered with to many cheap people claiming they can do the same with out spending nearly as much.

 

[pro-rabbit 5,000+ posts]

You need to provide evidence for this because there are so many examples of double blind studies that demonstrate the contrary.
Amplifier Sound Quality | Amplifiers | HomeTheaterFocus.com

This has been gone over that this test means nothing what so ever and is not in anyway relevant to any audio product or how they perform. The search button is your friend if you need more info on that. I have made some very clear posts in past threads regarding this manner.

I have had many of McIntosh amps and still have a few. Some of the most amazing amps I have ever had the pleasure of testing/playing with.

 

[perfecxionX 10+ year member]

If you keep all else in the study the same so that the only changing variable is the amplifier, and study participants can only tell which amp is which 50% of the time then you have pretty conclusivly demonstrated there are not audible differences between a 200$ amp and a 6000$ one. If there is something wrong with this methodology please describe it. Ive seen many of the discussions on this topic on many different boards and not seen a convincing argument that this is an invalid conclusion. Im not going to search through your 5800 posts to find your argument. If youve made it once it should be easy to make it again

 

[whitedragon551 5,000+ posts]

Home theater amplifiers and car audio amplifiers do the exact same thing: amplify, or increase the power of, a source signal. Certainly there are measurable differences between amplifiers, but if you want to claim that there are differences audible to the human ear you have to supply evidence for that claim, and double blind studies are the gold standard.

The environment is not the same regardless of function.

 

[pro-rabbit 5,000+ posts]

If you keep all else in the study the same so that the only changing variable is the amplifier, and study participants can only tell which amp is which 50% of the time then you have pretty conclusivly demonstrated there are not audible differences between a 200$ amp and a 6000$ one. If there is something wrong with this methodology please describe it. Ive seen many of the discussions on this topic on many different boards and not seen a convincing argument that this is an invalid conclusion. Im not going to search through your 5800 posts to find your argument. If youve made it once it should be easy to make it again

Then that is your loss. Bottom line is that test only shows a watt is a watt and nothing else. There is more to an amplifier then just creating a watt. Just about everyone knows this. Perhaps you should reread the rules with an open mind and find the conclusion for yourself. It would seem you have made up your mind in this situation and there is not need to post further in hopes of educating anyone in this matter. If you wish to discuss this feel free to PM me at your convenience and I will get back to as I have time to respond to your questions.

 

[pro-rabbit 5,000+ posts]

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