Most resolving, transparent amps.

Got a dumb question. How can I tell (without actually listening and evaluating synergy, especially with speakers) if an amp is in fact going to be 'transparent'? Are amps universal in application? If, when I hear a system, I judge to be less than transparent how do I know it's the amp as opposed to the IC's, cables, line stage, etc, that I'm using with it. Is there an absolute reference?

Please help me understand. To the benefit of a lot of merchants I've never been able to figure this out. :-)

05-21-07: Jax2
I've got a love/hate relationship with transparency...I think I like some meat on the bones...a bit of color. But then again, that transparency stuff is like breathing in fresh country air.

Essentially, this is my position as well, although I have less problem choosing color over transparency.

Transparency leads to accurate reproduction of the source material, but beacuse of the mechanical nature of recording reproduction, it is my belief that transparency does not lead to reproduction of music in the listening space. IMO, music requires color, which why I react so negatively to digital amplifiers and other uncolored amplifiers.

Newbee,

There is no way to tell how transparent a given amp may be without listening to it with familiar recordings (so you have some basis for comparison.

If the amp is in an unfamiliar system you must consider the system as a whole. The sonic characteristics can not be attributed to any particular piece contained therein. The only way to get an idea of the amp's capabilities in an unfamiliar system is to change to a different amp and see what gets better, or worse...

Newbee, I can only speak for my system. I mentioned the source. Somebody also brought out the importance of the preamp, if any. I would add that with class D amps, the cabling is critical as well. I have found only three that work well, Shunyata, Anti-cable, and Cerious. There are no doubt more, but they will not be box or hose cables.

Second the atma-sphere MA2 MkIII. And it's not just "sounds", I have actually heard individual notes that were previously obscured. Little things, like a ghosted guitar note. Also, the ability to follow the musical lines, especially in the bass. I would stress this the most: the bass lines are the most clear and disticnt I have ever heard, better (to my ears) than the Dart's, BAT, and Halcro.

Ron