helotaxi
5,000+ posts
Kilroy was Here
I didn't say that the amps sounded the same, well actually I did, they sounded like nothing. They're amps, they turn low voltage and current into usable voltage and current. Until they are hooked to speakers you hear nothing.
I also didn't mean to imply that all amps sound the same, though the differences are usually exaggerated and in all cases quantifiable. Every RF powered system I've heard since the Punch DSM amps were replaced in the early to mid 90's has sounded "mechanical" for lack of a better word. The freq response plots that I've seen explain this well with about 1.5+ dB of variance over the normal freq range with the peaks in the lower and upper extremes. Like a non-defeatable loudness circuit.
If I had to guess I'd say that the Linear Power amp had a gradual roll off on the top end that had the result of emphasizing the midbass. Overall a generally pleasing sound much as you described.
The old Soundstream Reference amps are by most all accounts the "reference" for what an amp should strive for. I've never seen any that didn't rave about what amounts to total transparency. No coloration of the sound. Ruler flat freq response from well below to well above the audible range of freqs.
My comment about the Art series amps being available in black was in response to you not liking the PPI because of them looking "girly." The black AM and Art series amps were some of the most "manly" looking amps of their time. And the PPI amps of those days, like the Soundstream Reference amps, sounded like nothing, only louder.
I also didn't mean to imply that all amps sound the same, though the differences are usually exaggerated and in all cases quantifiable. Every RF powered system I've heard since the Punch DSM amps were replaced in the early to mid 90's has sounded "mechanical" for lack of a better word. The freq response plots that I've seen explain this well with about 1.5+ dB of variance over the normal freq range with the peaks in the lower and upper extremes. Like a non-defeatable loudness circuit.
If I had to guess I'd say that the Linear Power amp had a gradual roll off on the top end that had the result of emphasizing the midbass. Overall a generally pleasing sound much as you described.
The old Soundstream Reference amps are by most all accounts the "reference" for what an amp should strive for. I've never seen any that didn't rave about what amounts to total transparency. No coloration of the sound. Ruler flat freq response from well below to well above the audible range of freqs.
My comment about the Art series amps being available in black was in response to you not liking the PPI because of them looking "girly." The black AM and Art series amps were some of the most "manly" looking amps of their time. And the PPI amps of those days, like the Soundstream Reference amps, sounded like nothing, only louder.
