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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.
asianatorizzle
frame11
12 posts
 
Check these guys out. Follow link and click on blind tests. They A/B tested 2 systems with only the speakers (ATC SCM 12) and speaker cables in common.

System 1
Classe
YBA
Wadia

System 2
Sony
Behringer

Further more, the the cheap system used really cheap “RadioShack” quality interconnects and was set up on a rickety, wooden chair.

http://matrixhifi.com/ENG_marco.htm
handymann
298 posts
 
+1 Mickeyb
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
14,147 posts
 
The blind test participants were a thoughtful looking group. 🤠
tomcarr
530 posts
 
Interesting results from that test. My wife and I have four different systems in our house, and we certainly don't agree on what sounds "better". When I have a friend over to listen to the main system, more often than not there is disagreement over which sounds better, and for what reasons. People do hear things, and listen for things, differently.
treynolds155
27 posts
 
I have two SS amps in my system that I swap back and forth. Perhaps not a fair comparison but one is a Threshold S200 I use for serious music listening and the other is a Parasound Zamp V3 which is used for casual listening and tv. The Zamp is very well reviewed and is considered to punch way above it's pay grade. That said...the Threshold destroys it in every category and I'm sure I could pick it out 100% of the time in a blind test. 

I recently picked up a set of Acoustic Zen Hologram II speaker cables and I can hear a very nice improvement while connected to the Threshold. I cannot hear any difference while connected to the Parasound. 

Like I said probably not a fair comparison, swap the Zamp out with JC1s or JC5s and I'm sure the differences wouldn't be so stark. My point is of course there are differences, class A alone puts a SS amp in another category. I want to try a tube amp next :)
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