I do agree with the information that some of the designers and builders have said. I have mentioned the Lafayette my 550 tube amp many times before mainly because of the power supply. I have a friend who buys used gear all the time from estate sales. From hi xx amps to old Sony maranta kenwood etc. I can hear the differences between every one of them. Not very hard. I also repair gear. And do a lot of counterpoint amps. I can hear those differences very easily. Go figure. Agree with matching. The counterpoint sounds better with matching they ipolar transistors and the fm acoustic amps sound great for ss amps because of the parts matching. Happy listening
Is there actually a difference?
Speakers sound different - that is very obvious. But I’ve never experienced a drastic change between amps. Disclaimer that I’ve never personally ABX tested any extremely high end gear.
With all these articles claiming every other budget amp is a "giant killer", I’ve been wondering if there has ever been blind tests done with amplifiers to see if human ears can consistently tell the difference. You can swear to yourself that they do sound different, but the mind is a powerful thing, and you can never be sure unless it’s a truly blind test.
One step further - even IF we actually can tell the difference and we can distinguish a certain amp 7/10 times under extreme scrutiny, is it really worth the thousands you are shelling out to get that nearly-imperceivable .01% increase in performance?
Not looking to stir up any heated debate. I’ve been in audio for several years now and have always thought about this.
With all these articles claiming every other budget amp is a "giant killer", I’ve been wondering if there has ever been blind tests done with amplifiers to see if human ears can consistently tell the difference. You can swear to yourself that they do sound different, but the mind is a powerful thing, and you can never be sure unless it’s a truly blind test.
One step further - even IF we actually can tell the difference and we can distinguish a certain amp 7/10 times under extreme scrutiny, is it really worth the thousands you are shelling out to get that nearly-imperceivable .01% increase in performance?
Not looking to stir up any heated debate. I’ve been in audio for several years now and have always thought about this.
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- 142 posts total
- 142 posts total