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Is a amp capable of delivering both delicate detail and body to sound ?

I

InWonder

New Member
Hi,

I enjoy sound/music with both delicate detail and body through a stereo setup. Are these two sound characteristics 'delicate detail' and 'body' simultaneously possible?

Amps certainly have variable
Power levels
Noise levels
Power curve consistencies

Can a good quality amp be all things? Quiet, fast, full, delicate?

This is my first post and I am just starting to discover the beauty and complexity of audio hifi.

Regards

Cameron

So far I like old Yamaha and technics amps
 
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Depending on the recording.....

Then for me high powered, low distortion equipment brings out the best in music. But for allot of members with older equipment they disregard THD values completely.

THD=Total Harmonic Distortion

It takes allot of time to learn how to get a fuller and deeper sound, it doesn't come by just plugging in some equipment and stringing up some speakers. It's knowledge based observations....
 
Yes thanks djcoolray!
I like listening to tidal via a chord Dave dac.
I listen to a wide range of music from orchestral to rock to rap to jazz to vocalists to orchestral sound mixes "hidden orchestra".

It's astonishing how the music/song type and source detail can influence can have different characteristics on the same system.

I'm very happy with my speakers and have heard what they are capable of with tubes and a an old powerful technics amp. But can't remember what the background noise level was.

Definitely agree with the high power, it does allow for a wide bandwidth of simultaneous frequencies to be played without certain frequencies being muted.

What are your suggestions for providing a full sound with delicate detail?
Why do a lot of members disregard the?
 
Last edited:
Djcoolray said:
Depending on the recording.....

Then for me high powered, low distortion equipment brings out the best in music. But for allot of members with older equipment they disregard THD values completely.

THD=Total Harmonic Distortion

It takes allot of time to learn how to get a fuller and deeper sound, it doesn't come by just plugging in some equipment and stringing up some speakers. It's knowledge based observations....
Click to expand...

Yes thanks djcoolray!
I like listening to tidal via a chord Dave dac.
I listen to a wide range of music from orchestral to rock to rap to jazz to vocalists to orchestral sound mixes "hidden orchestra".

It's astonishing how the music/song type and source detail can influence can have different characteristics on the same system.

I'm very happy with my speakers and have heard what they are capable of with tubes and a an old powerful technics amp. But can't remember what the background noise level was.

Definitely agree with the high power, it does allow for a wide bandwidth of simultaneous frequencies to be played without certain frequencies being muted.

What are your suggestions for providing a full sound with delicate detail?
Why do a lot of members disregard the?
 
InWonder said:
Hi,

I enjoy sound/music with both delicate detail and body through a stereo setup. Are these two sound characteristics 'delicate detail' and 'body' simultaneously possible?

Amps certainly have variable
Power levels
Noise levels
Power curve consistencies

Can a good quality amp be all things? Quiet, fast, full, delicate?

This is my first post and I am just starting to discover the beauty and complexity of audio hifi.

Regards

Cameron

So far I like old Yamaha and technics amps
Click to expand...


Yes...It cost big time but it is available.
For the rest of us poor schmucks we get along with what we can. Wether it be speakers, amps, recording playback or whatever.
 
I have listened to a lot of amps and I was absolutely blown away by the Citation XX of which there are only a few in existence.
I was fortunate to have had two in my shop over the years .

Bob
 
I think a VFET amp from Sony or Yamaha would meet your requirements. I run a Decware CSP3 tube preamp through a Yamaha B-2 amplifier and it is dead quiet in my system. These amps are about 40 years old but a good one properly restored would meet all your requirements. Do a search on this site and you'll find much information on these wonderful amps
 
Is a amp capable of delivering both delicate detail and body to sound ?
That should be the aim of all amp designers within a price point. There's obviously a point of diminishing returns & then no returns. C'est la guerre.
 
Lesterbest said:
Is a amp capable of delivering both delicate detail and body to sound ?
That should be the aim of all amp designers within a price point. There's obviously a point of diminishing returns & then no returns. C'est la guerre.
Click to expand...
There is also a point of inadequacy and lack of capability or return, obviously..
 
InWonder said:
enjoy sound/music with both delicate detail and body through a stereo setup. Are these two sound characteristics 'delicate detail' and 'body' simultaneously possible?

Amps certainly have variable
Power levels
Noise levels
Power curve consistencies

Can a good quality amp be all things? Quiet, fast, full, delicate?
Click to expand...
Simple answer,yes it's possible,at least to some of us,but one person's POV cant possibly account for everone else's POV,so it'll always be open for debate.

InWonder said:
I'm very happy with my speakers and have heard what they are capable of with tubes and a an old powerful technics amp. But can't remember what the background noise level was.
Click to expand...
Lots of things come into play in terms of background "noise",but it really helps to have a quiet signal chain,as all it takes is one "noisey" component and it can contaminate everything else after that,and any noise will probably just become more & more noticable as it passes down the signal chain.

Besides THD one may wanna look @ the signal-2-noise ratio and the crosstalk/channel seperation specs and the like.

InWonder said:
Definitely agree with the high power, it does allow for a wide bandwidth of simultaneous frequencies to be played without certain frequencies being muted.
Click to expand...
I from the "more power the better" camp,but one can still acheive this sorta goal with relatively modest wpc as well.

And it does'nt hafta cost big bucks to get there either,just a well rounded knowledge of audio gear and a smidge of dumb luck,LOL.

I have a low power Sansui system that's well rounded (AU-217 / TU-217 / SE-80 / JBL LX-22 ~ LXE-330) and it sounds really nice in all respects.
Have a couple of systems at/around 50wpc that do too (Adcom pre/tuners & amps w/EQ's and similar speakers) and they sound well rounded too.

And the headphone/nearfield system I'm listening to right now tops ^^^ those ^^^ three systems by a good margin.

That system is:
Desktop PC w/SB ZX optical outs > Monoprice optical splitter > Parasound D/AC-1000 > NAD 106 preamp XLR outs > EV-7100 amp > Canton GL-260 speakers w/a Canton AS85-SC subwoofer.

Now that HP/NF system has amazing SQ,it's probably my best sounding rig right now.
And talk about quiet,,,this one is like a bottomless pit of "blackness"...
IMO that might have something to do with the XLR between the preamp & amp,but I cant swear to that being the case.
Also suspect the Parasound D/AC-1000 may be playing into that situation as well,as that unit has a pretty strong ouput as well.
And that EV-7100 amp is still only 100wpc > 4ohms (those GL-260 are 4 ohms speakers).
But it's a stout amp,dual mono design with a pair of short yet really big 'ol transformers,it's very heavy for an amp that's 1.75" tall (1ru).

A step (or two/three) up from there and it usually just gets better.

My friends system's have all this in spades.
The amps he has are a Sunfire 300/2 and a pair of Bryston mono-blocks (7bst IIRC).
But of course the "buy in" for gear like that is higher than my gear,so yeah if what one is after is the "best of the best",then yeah it can get a bit spendy.

Anyhow JMO ~ FWIW ~ YMMV.

Bret P.
 
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wlhd1610 said:
I have listened to a lot of amps and I was absolutely blown away by the Citation XX of which there are only a few in existence.
I was fortunate to have had two in my shop over the years .

Bob
Click to expand...
The HK775 monoblock is from the same lineage as the Citation XX.
 
elrod said:
I think a VFET amp from Sony or Yamaha would meet your requirements. I run a Decware CSP3 tube preamp through a Yamaha B-2 amplifier and it is dead quiet in my system. These amps are about 40 years old but a good one properly restored would meet all your requirements. Do a search on this site and you'll find much information on these wonderful amps
Click to expand...
Looks really interesting!
How does it sound?
My speakers are onkyo scepter 300
I don't know their impedance curve but are listed at 6ohms. I have a feeling they may dip below 4 because I had a tube amp playing them and rotated between 4 and 8 ohm taps and the 4ohm sounds better (however this may also be because there are 9 speakers in this cabinet with 150w to 1500w peak). I was considering amps way above the 100w per Chanel but I could bi wire but the cabinets selection of terminals (1 pair for bass, mid and tweeter on face of cabinet and then the other terminal is for the 6 mid/high radiators on toconstruction doesn't allow me to feed the bass separately) perhaps the B1 haha haven't looked into the sony's yet
How would you describe the sound of the b2 vs mx2000 or mx10000?
 
Lesterbest said:
Is a amp capable of delivering both delicate detail and body to sound ?
That should be the aim of all amp designers within a price point. There's obviously a point of diminishing returns & then no returns. C'est la guerre.
Click to expand...

You are right. The question should read:
Which amp, in your opinion, is the most successful in delivering/revealing simultaneously both the delicate detail and body of music/sound?
How does your chosen amp achieve this? And why is it superior to others?
 
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