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Low watts vs high watts and sound quality

Haha patience is most certainly a talent. The Sansui 5000x was a really cool reviewer. I am just floored by the sx-650. I have Tom Waits on right now organizing records. This really is such a fun hobby. Thanks to all of you for the input.
 
Weighing in here, the 70's Pioneers, especially the x50s and x80s, are highly regarded. The Sansuis of the era are highly regarded as well, but not as universally as the Pioneers. The issues as discussed earlier (age, recaps, R&D, matching, etc.) also weigh in of course. The amount of wattage may or may not matter, depending on the equipment. Just because it has more wattage doesn't mean it will sound better. There are many other issues at play, so that's just not a good comparison. A lot of wattage is great but if it doesn't sound good at low volumes it will most likely sound worse at higher volumes.
 
I am pretty surprised with the technics su-610 I got.
Its not a big amp at all though if you like music with bass this sure out puts more than enough even with out having to press the loudness button on.
have another 5 amps and these don't seem not as good even when you turn the bass up and this is on all speakers I have tried it on.
this amp has plenty power for me.
 
Nightwisher said:
Just because it has more wattage doesn't mean it will sound better. There are many other issues at play, so that's just not a good comparison. A lot of wattage is great but if it doesn't sound good at low volumes it will most likely sound worse at higher volumes.
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Often I see the comment that watts are not relative to sound quality. Abstractly I agree.

However, whether your amp is large or small, if you don't have the power/watts necessary to cleanly achieve your desired playback volume then sound quality inarguably suffers.
 
My sister in law gave me her SX-750 which I have in the bedroom running HPM-100s. I was surprised how good it is compared to my other amps. No real difference for me. For my bedroom it is perfect. A lot depends. Keeping these vintage amps running is the key. Which ever one is working best today is the best one, not necessarily the model number.
 
image.png I was using this set up and had no plans of changing. Sound was wonderful, but the Marantz didn't like my eq and some styles of music had a really muddy sound unless I got closer to 12 o'clock. I got the sx-650 for $9 and was a game changer. I use a setting on the eq that I found on here for the HPM's,tone controls flat on receiver and highs rolled way back on the speaker. I tinker with the eq depending on style I'm listening to. I never really go above 9 o'clock and if I do you can easily hear it outside of my house.
 
So, is there a way to look at the specs of the amp to get an idea for clarity? I know the best way would be to listen to it, but if I'm Ebaying would there be a way to get an idea?
 
Olddrums said:
So, is there a way to look at the specs of the amp to get an idea for clarity? I know the best way would be to listen to it, but if I'm Ebaying would there be a way to get an idea?
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The best you can do is look for reviews/mentions of each amp on here, AVS, and Audioreview. All of those are still opinion, but can help you at least formulate an idea of what it might sound like to you.
 
for top end sound get rid of those sand amps..A refurbished 25-60 wpc tube amp will satisfy on a level you haven't experienced before....

hunter
 
hunter00 said:
for top end sound get rid of those sand amps..A refurbished 25-60 wpc tube amp will satisfy on a level you haven't experienced before....

hunter
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It's great if you like the tube sound, are willing to mess around with tubes, and are fine with the low wattage of the majority of tube amps. However, it must be noted that for those reasons it's not for everyone.
 
maybe not for very one but its for me after yrs playing in this hobby.i want faithful sound reproduction..i deal with tube amp quarks and harvest the pay backs in Hi-Fidelity.
I like hi end SS but I like Hi end tube amplification better:}

hunter
 
hunter00 said:
for top end sound get rid of those sand amps..A refurbished 25-60 wpc tube amp will satisfy on a level you haven't experienced before....

hunter
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I have both and don't agree that tubes are the only inroad to top end sound. Certainly they can sound good but there are plenty of fine SS amps out there as well.
 
I found a Fisher 400 today for $485 and have no idea what it needs. I am nervous about the tube world because the solid state stuff I've had sounds great and is such low maintaince. Also, for $500 I can get something with plenty of watts in the Pioneer sx line
 
I disagree with whoare99...after owning many of the totl SS amps over the yrs its tube amps for me.,i do honor his assessment tho of SS.,each to their own.
Ive travelled this road with a golden eared tech buddy who has worked on everything out there,..What does he own,,,HK citation tube gear and fisher. hhscott tube gear exclusively.
we run Tannoy and Stephens tru-sonic speakers. After extensive listening sessions on various gear we left SS behind.between the 2 of use we have over 75 yrs in this hobbgy.Its what we like the best. after hearing tons of gear

hunter
 
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