New SQ AMPS.

[Ed Lester 10+ year member]

I agree, most advancements are in making amps smaller and more efficient and that does cost alot of money to do.

And I do see how most amps in the same range of build quality and component and design quality will have very little to no discernable difference in the audible sense.

But there has to be a difference between cheap basic amps vs. High end amps designed for high SQ.

Placebo effect probably does play a role as SQ is very subjective.

 

[Ed Lester 10+ year member]

That's totally going in my sig! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif
Sorry, "SQ" is not subjective. We can and do measure amp qualities that we know influence the sound of an amp. In fact, knowing this it's very easy to make your "SQ amp" sound no better than something 1/10th it's price.

Human perception is 100% subjective as we place sound on the waves that hit our ears. The "SQ" you're talking about is in your head and that is a fact.

Sorry, I must say that I dont understand what you are trying to say.

SQ is subjective, or its not?

 

[FoxPro5 5,000+ posts]

Seriously, I have never heard anyone say that you cannot hear a difference in amps.

I have. When people have listened to two different amps that test the same. There's so much statistical power in favor of the amp, in fact, that you could actually win a nice price if you wanted.

 

[FoxPro5 5,000+ posts]

SQ is subjective, or its not?

Objective. Absolute. Not relative.

Human hearing, is the subjector....not the sound.

Since we cannot not perceive sound, many mistakenly interchange the terms/concepts.

 

[rc10mike 10+ year member]

That's totally going in my sig! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif
Sorry, "SQ" is not subjective. We can and do measure amp qualities that we know influence the sound of an amp. In fact, knowing this it's very easy to make your "SQ amp" sound no better than something 1/10th it's price.

Human perception is 100% subjective as we place sound on the waves that hit our ears. The "SQ" you're talking about is in your head and that is a fact.

Whats your definition of SQ?

 

[Ed Lester 10+ year member]

Objective. Absolute. Not relative.
Human hearing, is the subjector....not the sound.

Since we cannot not perceive sound, many mistakenly interchange the terms/concepts.

OK I understand what you are saying.

Even though we can measure the characteristics of an amp, and the numbers look good compared to other amps, that does not mean that an individual will enjoy the sound of that amp.

Case in point, my Girlfriend does not like bass, so I think a system sounds better when it is heavy with bass, she thinks it sounds worse when it is heavy with bass.

 

[FoxPro5 5,000+ posts]

Whats your definition of SQ?

What's the difference between a live guitar performance and recording of that exact performance played on the best "SQ" system in the world??

 

[Ed Lester 10+ year member]

some people are tone deaf and cant hear the difference at all

 

[FoxPro5 5,000+ posts]

Case in point, my Girlfriend does not like bass, so I think a system sounds better when it is heavy with bass, she thinks it sounds worse when it is heavy with bass.

Yessir!

The sound of a baby crying and your favorite screaming singer might be the exact same sequence of measured notes on a measurement device. [it's hypothetical, so hang with me]. One sounds good to you, one sound you don't like at all. It's your preference, but the auditory information you got was identical. By definition, the sound quality is in your head not in the waves.

 

[rc10mike 10+ year member]

What's the difference between a live guitar performance and recording of that exact performance played on the best "SQ" system in the world??

An answer in the form of a question.

So you are saying that a live guitar performance sounds the same to everyone....

 

[FoxPro5 5,000+ posts]

Read the book "This Is Your Brain On Music." You will never think of sound the same way again, nor will you ever buy a "SQ amp" ever again, either.

 

[rc10mike 10+ year member]

Read the book "This Is Your Brain On Music." You will never think of sound the same way again, nor will you ever buy a "SQ amp" ever again, either.

Some people dont need books written by someone with an opinion to decide what sound is...

 

[FoxPro5 5,000+ posts]

So you are saying that a live guitar performance sounds the same to everyone....

It might. But all it is is a series of notes/tones put together across time. There's a definite variable of measurement quality there.

The human ear is horrible at lots of things and is easily fooled.

Sound quality is objective look/study of the physics sound waves. It is well known, documented, repeatable and absolute. Hearing and brain function is not a scientific instrument.

Hope that makes sense. It's getting down to very touchy semantics.

 

[FoxPro5 5,000+ posts]

decide what sound is...

My point, exactly. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[Ed Lester 10+ year member]

It all depends on your definition of SQ.

I tend to equate SQ to sound perception, which is totally subjective.

But SQ can also be defined how accurately can audio information be reproduced as compared to the original recorded sound. And that can be measured.