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Amplifier Opinion Poll

Two amplifiers with the same wpc output and comparably low distortion will sound alike.

  • Yes, watts are watts.

  • No, not unless they are identical.

  • Need more information.

  • All amplifiers of decent quality sound alike.

  • All amps should sound alike, but don't.

Results are only viewable after voting.
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Alike more in the sense of identical/just the same or more in the sense of similar/pretty much the same?

In the former sense, I'd most probably vote for the 2nd and 3rd option, while the first part of the 5th option could be debated depending on whether one would rather belong to the strict hifi purist or to the more liberal audiophile camp.

However, on a second thought, it would also be a question of what exactly one would (or for this poll should) have in mind regarding the "comparably low distortion" - just a comparably low THD spec or rather comparable (and low) distortion on the whole (THD, IMD, TIM et cetera), including distortion component distribution over power and also over frequency?

Without knowing that, I could only vote for the 3rd option.

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini
 
Power amplifiers certainly don't all sound the same, to me. So, if "alike" means "the same", I can't agree with the statement, period. If "alike" means "similar", I still have a problem. I voted "need more information", mainly in the sense of "none of the others". It is conceivable that two non-identical amps could sound exactly the same. If the overriding design goal was fidelity through linearity, "should sound alike" would be a truism, but goals differ.
 
Amplifiers with flat frequency response, low distortion and noise and a damping factor that is at least fairly high (low output impedance) will sound the same. There are some designs that allow the load impedance to influence the amplifier that can affect the sound.

It isn't difficult to compare the signal going into an amplifier to the signal coming out or even compare two devices being fed the exact same signal for differences.

In his power amplifier design book, Bob Cordell discussed how amplifiers can sound different, however this was mostly in high power excursion or clipping events which is usually not an issue with typical listening levels.
 
IMHO If the goal of the designer was to make a neutral sounding amp and generally succeeded, then it should sound indiscernible from other neutral designs. If the designer wanted a particular sound i.e. "tube sound", etc., then all bets are off.
 
Cogito said:
Would it sway your opinion?
Click to expand...

I would like to say no but I could see how it subconsciously could. I had never thought of that. I was coming from not wanting to vote at all and just reading the results (not just in this poll). I always thought it was a way to make more people vote
 
having read the stereophile article, which was very interesting, i have to make the point that consensus does not equal correctness. whether one amp sounds different from another and whether you can hear the difference and/or like it more are 2 very different questions.

when making a purchasing decision, it's my own ears that i care about.
 
I think they do sound alike. Power amps, that is, not integrated amps... I have a Marantz SM-6 that I used through my Pioneer Elite Receiver (using the Pioneer as a Pre) ... the Marantz is in the shop, so now I am listening to "just" the Pioneer... I cant tell the difference.
 
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