dusty42701
Super Member
My friend did what you are talking about. Sounds like what it is; A pile o' junk.
I would advise you not try it, its so bad I couldn't even laugh. I just turned and looked at him with a disgusted face.
Do all solid state amps sound the same?
- Thread starter Gudstufshevy
- Start date
My friend did what you are talking about. Sounds like what it is; A pile o' junk.
I would advise you not try it, its so bad I couldn't even laugh. I just turned and looked at him with a disgusted face.
gkimeng
Forum Mod, ClassicSpeakerPages.net
I did, for a brief time. My power amp was destroyed in a move, and until I could get a replacement we connected my wife's old (as in, early 90's) Sony shelf system to my speakers. Once I disabled the Sony's bass booster and spent some time tweaking its 5-band EQ sliders (the tone controls) the sound quality was "acceptable" (as in it didn't cause us physical pain to listen to it) as long as the volume was kept low (think Muzak levels), but any attempt to turn things up higher made the difference obvious to the oldest, most untrained ear that heard it.
A 20wpc solid state shelf system does NOT sound the same as a 170wpc solid state power amp, at ANY level.
SoCal Sam
Lunatic Member
Don't you know that everything sounds the same? Amps, cables, cd players, cartridges, turntables even speakers. If you claim to hear a difference you are delusional
Good advice for the non-discerning.
aidynphoenix
Super Member
well why would a little lightweight amplifier rated for 400w rms.
be a competitor for a large heavy amp rated for the same wattage?
i mean why wouldent all amplifiers rated for about 200w be roughly the same size then?
but instead we have little 10lb ones, than huge 50lb ones
uxwbill
Lurking in the Shadows
Hah! I wish I had a quick wit like that, especially when I was younger. (My mother used to say that a lot.) That response made my day!
marc mc
Super Member
BostonDave
Lunatic Member
Will S.
Super Member
Who makes a 10lb 200Wpc stereo amplifier?
aidynphoenix
Super Member
im sure they exist, take for example car amplifiers,, i have a 30lb 1000w and my friend has a little one that is much smaller and lighter than my 30lb one and it says 2000w
Will S.
Super Member
Class D amplifiers often found in car stereos are lighter weight than the A and A/B amplifiers usually found in home hifi systems. They're more efficient.
Amplifier weight says something about build quality, but that's not the question. The question is about sound quality. And as long as both amps measure similarly and aren't driven into distortion, a level matched blind, controlled, listening test will not reveal differences in sound quality. People have spent years unsuccessfully trying to disprove this.
Nobody is saying that a high-end amplifier is no better than an equivalently rated entry-level amplifier. It's just that sound quality may not be the difference.
davidro
Lunatic Member
Sorry to interrupt but what do you believe may be the difference between the two?
chicks
Lunatic Member
whoaru99
Epic Member
Different types of amplifier technology.
As every day passes weight has less correlation to amplifier performance.
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whoaru99
Epic Member
Peavey IPR series amps are around 7lbs and all more than 200wpc.
Crown XLS Drivecore series amps are around 10 lbs and all more than 200wpc.
The QSC PLX3402 amps I have (amongst several other brands and models) are 21 lbs and 700 / 1,100 wpc (8 / 4 ohms).
Crown Macro Tech I series are 28 lbs and 2,100 / 4,500 wpc (8 / 4 ohms).
Powersoft K20 is around 26 lbs and 2,700 / 5,200 wpc (8 / 4 ohms).
All are rated for operation at 2 ohms as well, with even more power output. The above are but a few examples...but they're all "pro amp" you say? OK...
Bel Canto Ref500, 18 lbs, 500 wpc
Bel Canto Ref1000 monoblocs, 1,000 w each, 18lbs
Yamaha MX-D1, 500wpc, 22lbs
The list could go on as well here. OK, some are more than 10lbs, but given their relative output to weight they're all of the type that illustrates the point.
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Jon_Logan
Addicted Member
amplifiers sound much more similar (to us humans) than our egos would care to admit.
I've seen a lot of people on this thread say things like, "Oh but we switched them and the difference was immediately obvious". Well, no offense, but you've created an interesting data point and nothing else.
I've seen people assert, "Well, I made sure that I was objectively listening." and "... to prove I was objective, I've even found the underdog amp to sound better consistently". Well, no offense, but these types of tests prove nothing. When the listener is aware that a change has been made and they know which device is playing, bias enters the picture. Some people think that they can overcome bias by telling themselves "I will be totally objective and just listen". Subconscious bias doesn't work like that. You can analytically tell yourself that you will be fair, but you truly cannot. .. Sorry.
I'm sure that a blind audiophile would not have problems with a double blind test. I'd be interested in "seeing" the results of that. I doubt there'd be any arguments, by those who think double blind tests are invalid, about the results of such a test. I don't have the nads to tell a blind man he isn't hearing what he or she is hearing. Do you?
I've seen a lot of people on this thread say things like, "Oh but we switched them and the difference was immediately obvious". Well, no offense, but you've created an interesting data point and nothing else.
I've seen people assert, "Well, I made sure that I was objectively listening." and "... to prove I was objective, I've even found the underdog amp to sound better consistently". Well, no offense, but these types of tests prove nothing. When the listener is aware that a change has been made and they know which device is playing, bias enters the picture. Some people think that they can overcome bias by telling themselves "I will be totally objective and just listen". Subconscious bias doesn't work like that. You can analytically tell yourself that you will be fair, but you truly cannot. .. Sorry.
I'm sure that a blind audiophile would not have problems with a double blind test. I'd be interested in "seeing" the results of that. I doubt there'd be any arguments, by those who think double blind tests are invalid, about the results of such a test. I don't have the nads to tell a blind man he isn't hearing what he or she is hearing. Do you?
voltcontrol
Fizheuer Zieheuer
Yes, a T amp and Tannoy 6o9's (when comparing retail value of both, not when comparing what I actually paid..)
Will S.
Super Member
The heavier amp may be a less efficient class, more conservatively rated, have bigger heat sinks, a larger power supply, a milled aluminum faceplate, more protection circuitry, etc, etc. Most of these things may make a better amplifier, but not, perhaps, a better sounding amplifier.
aidynphoenix
Super Member
imo. the only way a blind test would really be effective is if the amplifiers could be switched within a instant, ofcoarce them both playing at the same volume level,
hearing a full song doesent work either, simply because the song goes through too manny changes over time. what you would need to be listening to would have to either be material you have played hundreds of times to where you know how every note is supposed to sound, or the same short sound repeating itself over and over again..
then if you are hearing any difference, its valid to call it out.
ofcoarce you cant be the person switching the amps either, unless you dont know which one is which..
if all this was possible, and the amplifier really could change to the next within a instant, and you happened to know when the switch happened, that would be another way to tell if there are differences.
hearing a full song doesent work either, simply because the song goes through too manny changes over time. what you would need to be listening to would have to either be material you have played hundreds of times to where you know how every note is supposed to sound, or the same short sound repeating itself over and over again..
then if you are hearing any difference, its valid to call it out.
ofcoarce you cant be the person switching the amps either, unless you dont know which one is which..
if all this was possible, and the amplifier really could change to the next within a instant, and you happened to know when the switch happened, that would be another way to tell if there are differences.
Jon_Logan
Addicted Member
makes perfect sense to me.
It is possible and has been done. When the results come back from this type of test, it shows that the differences are much smaller than people expect, so some immediately fault the test rather than accept what the data is reporting.