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Class "A" sound, as related to Stereophile.


It's all about the sound.

It's all about sound, not how much it cost; when I got into "high end", I knew right off the bat I couldn't afford it, but I had to find one thing for sure; how do the various components sound in regard to Stereophile's classes, or ratings? In order to know this; I had to acquire the ability to identify "Stereophile's" class "A" class "B" and class "C" sounds, and the only way to do that was: first, subscribe to Stereophile, and next was to go to every high end audio salon within driving distance; there were 5 well stocked "high end" salons within driving distance. (Since I didn't take my wife, that created some problems)

After a few years of subscribing to Stereophile, plus auditioning equipment that Stereophile recommended, I knew the sound of those recommendations, and I absolutely concurred with them; "If you want to hear the music, you got to pay the piper". While that's true, it's possible to get class "A" sound with class "B" bucks or less.

At this moment, I am looking at 8 capacitors that cost $25 dollars each, plus 2 mono blocks with an instant resale value of 6K. Once I take the covers off and go in with my soldering iron, these mono blocks are worth a resell of O; my mission must be a success. After a successful mission, the resell is still 0; but those mono blocks will deliver class "A" or "A"+ sound, and that's some sweet music.

I have to visualize and hear music in my head before I can modify a component to deliver class "A" sound; but that's the only way for me to get what has become a necessity.

The pressure someone is under when they modify, is great, but the rewards are glorious. On these mono blocks, they are too small for the huge capacitors, therefore I have to figure a way to make the case larger. My reward is "sound" with absolutely no relation to money. I often wander if someone with a fat bankroll can identify the sound, or only how much they paid for each piece.


Happy listening.

orpheus10
viridian's avatar
viridian
4,184 posts
 
The Brits have been doing it for years. There is a wealth of collective experience both on their fora and in their print media on what constitutes synergy within a system.

 I think most of them could tell you that a Linn speaker sounds better with Naim amplification than a Dynaudio, for instance. They take a systems approach.

But if you're comfortable flipping appliances, by all means do so, as you said no need to let someone tell you what works well together better to reinvent the wheel every time You want to take a drive.
perazzi28's avatar
perazzi28
109 posts
 
Everyone should know that capacitors don't live forever. As long as the replacement is done correctly then you should be fine. Often de-soldering the old caps is the most difficult part of the job. I may have to disagree that newer "better" caps are the best way to go, especially if they are in the signal path and not just a part of the power supply. The sound could change and not for the better.
Best of luck.
tomcy6's avatar
tomcy6
1,368 posts
 

Well, that’s fine that the Brits have their audio lore, that may be a good place to start your search, but I don’t think anyone can accurately determine for a person whether they would like Naim amplification to begin with let alone which speakers would work best in their room. Too many variables involved. Everyone’s hearing, musical tastes and rooms are different. You simply have to listen to components to decide whether you like them or not, preferably in your own room over an extended period of time.

And, if you go to three different audio dealers and tell them what you are looking for, you'll get three different systems recommended to you.

If you want to choose your audio gear based on conventional wisdom, be my guest. I’ll choose by listening to it.

orpheus10 OP
5,988 posts
 

Tomcy6, in regard to swapping in and out, that reminds me of when I was hanging out at a top "Audio Salon"; me and the guys were grooving on an all reference Audio Research system with top of the line Thiel speakers, when a customer came in wanting to audition an Adcom amplifier. Now Adcom is good "affordable" equipment, but it's not "ARC". That Adcom just smoked the groove.

My point in telling this, is that you have to have all top of the line in the audio chain, one piece wont do it; if you don't think you can swing 100%, one piece is a waste of money. Of course you will get some improvement, but not nearly what you paid for. A chain is no stronger than it's weakest link; we just had one weak link in a class "A" chain and it smoked the sound, relative to what we had been hearing.

Don't get me wrong "Adcom" makes very good gear, but it doesn't cost as much, or sound as good as  ARC.

I have never experienced "spectacular" synergy, only what reading and common sense got me.


Enjoy the music.
tomcy6's avatar
tomcy6
1,368 posts
 

I agree with you Orpheus. A system must be composed of components of similar quality. One lower quality component can ruin a good system.

I also agree with viridian that it’s much easier to assemble a good system with the help of a knowledgeable dealer. It’s just that unless you live in a major city, there aren’t many of them around.

For those of us who don't have a number of audio shops nearby, the Stereophile recommended components list is a good starting point, and not just the current list but older ones too.

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