Being the newbie I am I would say that you are most likely right. I plan on finding out this winter. After I get my bench built, after........................., after.....................
Do all solid state amps sound the same?
- Thread starter Gudstufshevy
- Start date
Being the newbie I am I would say that you are most likely right. I plan on finding out this winter. After I get my bench built, after........................., after.....................
aidynphoenix
Super Member
if people can notice a difference with wires, interconnects, and a recap, you can definetly notice differences in circut design and the quality and differences in components used.
i noticed realistic changes after having my yamaha c-4 recapped, after changing the soundcard in my computer, and after a recap in my speakers,,
i can even notice audio quality differences between my ipod and stereo's headphone output. :thmbsp:
i can notice a difference between my fisher CA-660 and my other recievers..
what i notice is that the fisher seems to have a louder warmer low end, sometimes it sounds too strong or dominant
i however have not noticed differences in the wires i have used for my speakers and setups.. however out of the 3 kinds i have used,, none of them were really poor: wire from vaccum cord, 16awg speaker wire, and some monstercable 18awg.
i noticed realistic changes after having my yamaha c-4 recapped, after changing the soundcard in my computer, and after a recap in my speakers,,
i can even notice audio quality differences between my ipod and stereo's headphone output. :thmbsp:
i can notice a difference between my fisher CA-660 and my other recievers..
what i notice is that the fisher seems to have a louder warmer low end, sometimes it sounds too strong or dominant
i however have not noticed differences in the wires i have used for my speakers and setups.. however out of the 3 kinds i have used,, none of them were really poor: wire from vaccum cord, 16awg speaker wire, and some monstercable 18awg.
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gkimeng
Forum Mod, ClassicSpeakerPages.net
The most oft-cited one was conducted in 1978 by Hi Fi News. Naturally, ir settled nothing.
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chicks
Lunatic Member
There's a link to a PDF of the original Stereo Review article here: http://bruce.coppola.name/audio/wisdom.html
Bimphert
Active Member
I don't think he's asking the "forum" in order to "sway" or form his own opinion.... He's just interested in what others have to say; give their opinions on the subject.
It should be OBVIOUS that NO one will ever get to listen to EVERY amplifier on the market..... However, someone may only ever audition/hear TWO or three amplifiers in their life time but still hear a noticeable difference between them! If that person never auditions another amp, they can still 'say' that there is a difference (in sound) between SS amplifiers! IOW - you don't NEED to 'hear' every amp ever built to answer that question!
I think what most are forgetting is that SOUND is interpreted differently by different people. Example:- I was a DJ for many years and was quite successful at it! My younger Brother however, never could "hone" his DJ skills enough to "perform" in public venues. He couldn't "align / blend" beats/measures well enough to be effective YET he literally spent day and night practicing. I, on the ther hand, never really practiced much at all.... It just "came" to me naturally. When I tried to "coach" him, I found that there were "sonic signatures" that were inaudible to him. I could hear them clearly but he could not! My point is.... SOME people have better (audible/sound) acuity than others! AND that's a FACT!
IMO.... SS amps do sonically/audibly differ! Maybe not to a large degree, but they do differ.
B-
davidro
Lunatic Member
Good job. I knew the source citation but wasn't able to come up with any links! Pretty daunting, these articles.
whoaru99
Epic Member
Does that also mean then, that if I only listen to a few different cables and hear no difference that I'm allowed to state that no cables make a difference?
ssmith3046
Super Member
I believe so. I rotate three different receivers for use and the Yamaha CR-1020 has a different sound than the Marantz 2265b or 2250. The 2250 sounds different from the 2265b. Of course they're all different in the watts per channel category.
whoaru99
Epic Member
Yes. That's right. Nothing sounds any different, including speakers. I dare you to prove otherwise.
Permanent Waves
Digital Man
Q.E.D. /thread over.
stereofanboy
Addicted Member
Does that also mean then, that if I only listen to a few different cables and hear no difference that I'm allowed to state that no cables make a difference?
No one can say that all amps sound the same without hearing all amps, but someone only needs to hear two amps that sound different from each other to say that not all amps sound the same.
For those that say all amps do not sound the same, otherwise there wouldn't be so many choices out there, I agree that not all amps sound the same, but you've used faulty logic to arrive at the correct conclusion.
C'mon, everything sounds the same and you know it. We're all just here to talk about what our gear looks like and who has the most knobs. Sound differences? If there were any sound differences there would be a healthy online community devoted to talking about them.
fmueller
Super Member
Much appreciated!
aidynphoenix
Super Member
marc mc
Super Member
I used to believe they sounded different and in a passive system I probably still do. But in my active set ups I can't tell any difference. This and a few things I have read have led me to think that the crossover and speaker load are what is causing the "apparent" difference in amp sound.
I also think that because most preamps have that same boring sound that speaker, amps and cable changes are all thats really available to the non DIY guy. He can "tailor" his system by trying to find speaker loads and amps that cooperate with each other and then say "wow this amp sounds totally different than my other one". But I think its an interaction rather than difference.
I should say that my comments assume that the amps are working correctly and within thier limits. But if you guys ran an active system and had a bunch of amps to switch around it would not take long for you to understand what I'm saying. This opinion is not what I went active for and it really came to my attention slowly as I moved things around on my systems.
IMO its the amp, crossover and speaker load combined that changes the sound from amp to amp. Running those amps direct to the speaker cone on an active set up eliminates that intereaction and they will sound the same. The crossover is the biggest culprit.
marc mc
I also think that because most preamps have that same boring sound that speaker, amps and cable changes are all thats really available to the non DIY guy. He can "tailor" his system by trying to find speaker loads and amps that cooperate with each other and then say "wow this amp sounds totally different than my other one". But I think its an interaction rather than difference.
I should say that my comments assume that the amps are working correctly and within thier limits. But if you guys ran an active system and had a bunch of amps to switch around it would not take long for you to understand what I'm saying. This opinion is not what I went active for and it really came to my attention slowly as I moved things around on my systems.
IMO its the amp, crossover and speaker load combined that changes the sound from amp to amp. Running those amps direct to the speaker cone on an active set up eliminates that intereaction and they will sound the same. The crossover is the biggest culprit.
marc mc
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SoCal Sam
Lunatic Member
Your impressions are based on experience, which I respect. However, after owning and comparing numerous amps and receivers on a very small subset of speakers, I can tell you there are differences in amp sound. I agree that speaker changes can make a dramatic change. For example going from a blaring horn to a cloth dome setup is soothing to my ears. That being said, to imply that ss amps make little difference is simply not correct. If we extend this logic, a Soundesign will sound as good as a Krell or a Threshold.