To answer the OP's question, well it has already been answered several times. The answer decisively is no. That answer has been answered, demonstrated and proven in this very thread.
One Amp To ‘Rule’ Them All....
Is there one amplifier that everyone can agree on as a contemporary standard? An amplifier that can be considered a standard in both the studio and in a home stereo setup?
What one amplifier does everything very well and can be found in homes and in professional audio engineering environments?
What amp covers all the bases and gives you a glimpse into all qualities of fine musical reproduction?
...something Yamaha? ...something McIntosh?
What one amplifier does everything very well and can be found in homes and in professional audio engineering environments?
What amp covers all the bases and gives you a glimpse into all qualities of fine musical reproduction?
...something Yamaha? ...something McIntosh?
138 responses Add your response
Hi Ray "Go to trade shows and listen. It’s a journey and a lot of fun." This is another topic that is of much importance right now. What's going to happen to the HEA trade shows over the next few years will be interesting as the gas runs out of the "only a volume control" hobby comes to it's end. The realization that the professional world has been trying to gently help HEA with is finally breaking through the minds of the HEA audiophile. When HEA should have turned right they turned left a drove way down a road that makes no sense. Now watching this vehicle try to politely turn around in the middle of traffic is going to be interesting to see. Can I paint another picture for you guys? What if you drove to the next HEA trade show and instead of walking into rooms where everything sounded different and there was only a volume control to adjust, you instead walked into rooms where you could sit down and make everything and every recording sound your way? We could have made that move around the mid 90's, but even though we're slow as a hobby's people, we're making that move now. Now it's more a matter of how fast the conversion will take. The plug & play hobby is almost over. Enter the variable wars :) mg |
I don't know everyone can agree on a best, but I find Parasound are an excellent gauge of great price/performance. I find they tend to be slightly warm, robust, and neutral. A number of Class D designs sound the same to my ears, so it seems they are reaching towards a very similar, uncolored, powerful middle. |
The OP has given us one heck of a great question to answer, and there has already been some great answers. These recent threads that are pointing to the HEA bubble popping is starting a new and way over due playback hobby. Watching the one volume control hobby coming to an end is worth the price of admission alone. mg |
"Is no one else alarmed that on the consumer side of things that there really are no standards? Its all very, very subjective and arbitrary." Really... What righteous standards are you referring to for the non-consumer side of things? Also how many commercial recording studios have you used/accessed? As far as your very basic query goes (about amps) most of us "home" users do not require or want balanced runs, unlike the need for such in every recording studio I visited up until the late '80s. DeKay |
@brettmcee- "Giant tube-based amps are generally not to be found it professional settings." and, "You are more likely to find......solid state amps in recording/mixing/mastering environments." I beg your pardon? In what, "professional setting" would one find a, "giant tube-based amp", to start with? But, to date, the very best mic pre-amps/power supplies and record-cutting amps, are still tubed. Some of the most highly regarded(and holographic) recordings, of all time, were mastered on tube-based gear. ie: Research such as Parlophone Records Ltd, Bernie Grundman Mastering, Abbey Road Studios and Sheffield Labs, as regards their awards, discographies and artists/customer-lists. Doug Sax was quoted as saying, "Digital Finishes What the Transistor Started.”(then again, he wasn’t a DJ) |
brettmcee- I'm glad you're not offended by my response but, as you can see be the other posts, your phrasing of such a question is begging for it. You're on point with those statements. Perhaps your original question should be reworked to ask if there are any particular models that are more often used? The post suggests singling out "the best," which always guarantees a thread gets out of control. |
@tablejockey Is no one else alarmed that on the consumer side of things that there really are no standards? Its all very, very subjective and arbitrary. We can all pretty much agree on good albums, quality recordings, good performances and good pressings/releases. We can all comment on and generally hear the merits of digital vs analog or tube vs SS even though we may have preferences. We agree on things that can be done with speaker placement and room treatment that do improve the likelihood of quality home playback. Why are there no ubiquitous sound reproduction solutions spanning production and home consumption? Electrostatics are not found in recording or mastering studios. Giant tube-based amps are generally not to be found it professional settings. You are more likely to find cone-based speakers, sometime concentric/coaxial drivers and definitely solid state amps in recording/mixing/mastering environments. What we do in our home systems is kinda bonkers compared to the professional world. Just go to any audio show or convention. It’s rediculous! It’s like comparing apples to asteroids... Everybody is cool with this? |
Sorry cubby, fleas need not apply. I love doing this, the amp that ruled before all your amps were born, rule now by virtue of the number sold and now in existence, and will continue to rule into the 22nd century is the.....drum role....mighty Dynaco ST70. That said, I bet if you take add all the versions of the McIntosh MC275 there are a lot of them out there. |
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I've been following Bricasti Design and there seems several mastering studios using their amps http://www.bricasti.com/en/pro/home.php as well as their digital. |
That's a great question but are you talking control room or mastering room? Or all three? An amp that goes from Control room to Mastering system to a home playback. Some folks are going to say Bryston, some are going to say Crown and a few old schoolers might even throw in Crest or Yamaha. I have my favs. But to ask this question consider the 3 different types of speakers in the same settings as above. If your taking JBL to all three places that's a big difference than lets say B&W. I think the answer would really depend on your specialty as an engineer. I've built and owned studios that had all 3 room types and system types (I used MGA speakers as well a mix of others), but I have a feeling most here are going to try to lean toward their home audio senses instead of thinking the 3 different areas of purpose. mg |