Review of MC 452 and MC 302, or what is the advantage of Quad balanced?

[barsur]

Hello,

in a german audio magazine called Hifi & Records the reviewed the MC 452 and MC 302. The auditor is overhelmed of the sound of these power amps. He comes to the conclusion, that the MC 452 is the best power amp you can buy for under 10.000€ (ca. 13.000USD).

What surprised me, was that the MC 302 had better technical tested data, than the MC 452.

For example:
Signal to Noise (weighted A): MC 452: 106,0dB ; MC 302: 107,5 dB
Signal to Noise (20 Khz): MC 452: 102,9dB ; MC 302: 104,8 dB
THD: MC 452: 0,0014%; MC 302: 0,0012%

All the figueres are absolut great, but I thought always Quad balanced gives you an advantage in Signal to Noise.

Can somebody explain this to me.

Thanks

Martin

 

[ron-c]

The difference you see is all about their testing setup. Both amps show lower S/N numbers compared to factory specifications. Factory numbers are balanced in, at rated power, A weighted.
The conclusion is correct, both fabulous amplifiers.

Thanks again,
Ron-C