I came to that conclusion in '76 after first hearing Dayton-Wrights. I must be a coherency freak.Always fun to spar with you, E-Stat. We both have come to the same conclusion about speakers; hard to beat 'stats.
I just don't hear these differences in amps that you and other claim to hear, having tried many.
Different points of reference. I've read threads where folks have compared the sound of a Sansui receiver to that of a Pioneer, Marantz, Kenwood and Onkyo and didn't hear any differences. I likely wouldn't either.
The first time I heard significant differences is when I compared a Crown DC300A to an Audio Research D76. That was when I was 17. One sounded mechanical; the other sounded like music. I've heard quite a few models over the years at the top of the game. I have been extremely fortunate to have two close friends who were audio reviewers and had access to a wide range of components. The very best experience was hearing a VTL based system using a 7.5 pre and Siegfrieds. One of the worst was a Halcro based system despite its claim for super low distortion.
Of that, I have no doubt.My satisfied smile while listening is as big as yours, I'll wager.
Perhaps some think that you must attach musical enjoyment with musical acuity. I don't. It does, however, serve to fool the senses more fully though.
Last edited: