$4500 amp beat out the Tenor OTL in the latest TAS

Dear Brucegel:

I have lathered on the jive time anti-persperant as well as the jive time mouth spray so don't you worry.

I agree with you on every point. $4500 IS a lot to spend on a power amp(s).

I apoligize for not arguing.

I thought the Halcro was the best sounding amp of all time, no maybe it was the Kronzilla, no perhaps it was ??????????. The opinion of TAS is just that.

The best amps are the sleepers. You have to know what is out there and take the time to talk to many people and listen to even more pieces of equipment. In the end, it depends on your ears, your ego and your wallet and how it all clicks in your brain. What satifies you may never satisfy anyone else. But a handful of manufactures do and can satisfy many. ATL is one. One of the sleepers is Portal Audio. What I find interesting and to this point is that I was at CES. I heard lots. There were over 15 reviews of CES on the web. Not one listed the three rooms that I thought had great sound, or better stated, that sound that pleased me the most. Is it adverting dollars? Is it fear of hear today, gone tomorrow? Or is there a direct correclation between cost and good reviews? Who knows. Who really cares. It's a hobby and its fun. We simply need to keep ourselves in check and accept that reality is in the eye of the beholder. Some of us set our spending limits. Others do not or do not have to. This is one reality of audio. And, to answer this thread, I don't doubt that a 4500 amp could perform as reported. There is a definite point where improvements are measured in microns, not inches or feet. And, yes, expensive amps should sound better, but this does not always happen. So,we are back to the issue of our ears. Part of the entertainment value is watching others and the market. Then we sit back in our chairs and listen to our systems knowing that we made a good choice....until we read another review and go out and listen to something new. The cycle starts over.

Um, doesn't anybody recall HP's little fling with the Widom Audio speakers at about $75K? They don't even make his list these days, and it's been what, a year, a year and a half? (Although to be fair it was JV, not HP, who placed the Tenors at the summit, something he does with new gear on a regular basis.) The Tenors are probably great, as probably are the Wisdoms, although the prices asked might certainly cast doubt on their value.

But the main point is, HP is an idiot. No, wait, that wasn't the main point - the main point is that *you* are an idiot if you listen to these 'critics' yammering on constantly about the brand new latest and greatest. And that surely includes these new ASL amps as well. People, there is no 'best' (say it again). There is only better sound by audiophile standards, which is to say, it still ain't gonna fool anybody into thinking it's live, so enjoy what you like and can afford, and read the mags for entertainment value. Just wait 'til next issue.

I think it is pathetic and irresponsible for reviewers to proclaim an amp 'the best' or even 'absolutely better' than another amp.

Why? Unless you are comparing amps in the SAME reference system, saying one is better than the other is very difficult to say the least. And even if you do compare different amps in the same reference system, one amp may not be as well matched in that system as the other.

Reviewers have a tendancy to think they can isolate the sound of an a amp and report on it. I would argue that without a lot of experientation (and I mean A LOT), I think this is quite difficult.

For starters there is the power cord issue. Power cords can make a huge impact on how a component sounds. This is such a huge impact, I think it is pointless to review a componenet mated with only one power cord (especially if it is stock). Reviewers need to review amps with a few power cords mated to the amp.

The next problem is speakers. Not all amps are really suited to drive the same speakers of a reference system. The same goes with mating an amp to any preamp.

With so many variables, isolating the amp's sound is a monumental task. I think most reviewers FAIL MISERABLY at it. Especially when they proclaim an amp as the 'best ever'.

When was the last time you read a negative review from an audio publication? Two channel audio is struggling for its survival (and loosing).

KF