an amp without "electronic" sound

Dave, even in the highest echelon you can hear clear differences between amps. With some of the amplifiers that have ultra high resolution you do not only hear the beginning and decay of tones but it's as if there is "air" or texture surrounding the notes even prior to the beginning of the sound. Take a guitar player. With a high resolution amplifier you can hear all the notes and decay of tones but with the ultra high resolution amp you hear tiny movements of the air molecules (probably caused by the movement of the guitar player's arm or change in his body position). This is what I actually mean by ultra high resolution, not the hyperdetailed scratchy treble that is the hype today. If you hear this phenomenon once you will never forget the sound. Many high end manufacturers are not able to achieve this sound quality even when they have the financial resources to make it happen. I know you'll probably condemn me because of serious bluntness and narrow-mindedness but I'm only trying to describe some phenomena I've encountered during listening sessions.

Chris

No, not at all Chris. I think we're actually on the same wave-length, so to speak and no pun intended. I myself want TOTAL resolution, with no added "hyperdetail" or unrealistic treble, but also no euphonic colorations. With my recent move to Rowland I think I've gotten very near. I need more weeks of listening to validate my early impressions.

The question comes to my mind, since you know so much and seem to have a well thought out position, based on apparent actual listening experience, then what do you think meets your criteria as the OP here??? (I'm not poking you my friend, this is a real question).

Dave

hi chris ,
for me mark levinson 20.5 but ml 20.6 is much better .
Thanks ,

1 - Spectron Musician III SE Mk2,
2 - Jeff Rowland 312,
3 - Plinius Reference.

Dcstep, to achieve what Dazzdax is talking about you need an amplifier that has a remarkable combination of characteristics. It should be fast, which is a problem for a lot of tube amps, but it should be relaxed, which is a problem for a lot of transistor amplifiers. Detail and transparency of the kind needed for this resolution comes from very low level distortion at low power. Any distortion-inducing design elements (devices woth poor linearity, class of operation issues, etc.), in the circuit will impede this quality.

The amplifier is more important than the speaker in this respect, so you must get a speaker that works with the amp that has the right qualities, rather than the other way around. **Figuring out** which is the right amp to buy to begin with is another can of worms entirely :)