So, do all amplifiers sound the same?

Well the write up just proves what i have been saying on this forum for a very long time. Expectations of an expensive Hifi system, brings with it expectations of high performance. But I know this is not always the case.  Well engineered Hifi products sometimes out perform more expensive ones. Anyway I hope people start using thier own ears for once.

If i get the right acoustics & match the right system together costing under 2grand I could well out perform a system costing 6grand or more.If am really honest expensive stuff not needed nowadays.. I think the area were it may still count most is the speakers. Buy the best speaker u can afford. Of cousre also considering room acoustics.

So do all amps sound the same?.. No not really...

To some its just a hobby. Boys & thier toys.

Good example, since it was effectively a blind ABX test that persuaded many of the worlds wine "experts" that Aussie wine was as good as anything else out there. Whether, with hindsight, this was a good or bad thing of of course debatable! It's well known that we subconciously fill in gaps from our sensory receptors, so the brain is continuously error correcting reality.

Trawling through the net while the aspirin kicked in - that's Christmas for you in the UK, no sun, touch rugby, surf etc, only too much food and liquor - found this interesting thread: http://www.pinkfishmedia.net/forum/showthread.php?t=130821&page=3 . Haven't quite got the old head around it, but it seems it's the characteristics of the speakers that make an amp sound different. 

So, I've finally got around to comparing a few amplifiers this afternoon.

I used my own Neutron speakers because I've been reliably informed that they have a straightforward impedance load. Unfortunately it was all a bit rushed and the comparisons weren't done using good scientific method so don't read too much into my findings because they may not be accurate.

All of the comparisons were sighted and had a delay between them because I didn't have an A/B switch box. There also wasn't any equipment to check if the amps were level matched, weren't clipping or had any other form of additional tweaking to achieve an individual sound (such as could be caused by harmonic distortion).

First of all - Yes I could hear a difference between some of the amplifiers.

However any easily noticable differences between the amplifiers were only apparent at high(ish) volumes. When listened to low volume levels where I'd assume that they weren't clipping any differences between them were almost impossible to hear. I listened to a couple of solid state amps, AV recievers and a valve amp and it was harder to tell a difference between them than I expected (although it might have been possible to pick out the valve amplifier against the solid state amps).

So, the bottom line is that I'm not willing to put my money where my mouth is and a have a go at passing the Harbeth challenge. I'm not saying that it's impossibe to do but after this brief experiment I'm certainly not confident that I could pass an ABX test when the amplifiers are level matched and not clipping. It'd also be nessessary to contact Harbeth first to check if there are any limits on the choice of amplifiers that can be used. For example, would amplifiers with excessive harmonic distortion be valid for the Challenge?

It's not much of a conclusion I'm afraid but there you go, those were my findings.

What were the amps?

Trust me there is a huge difference end of

 Brings us back to the piont of expensive does not always mean better sounding. So many factors will contribute to a system sounding pleasing to anyone... Also proves the fact of active speakers which are made to interact with amp & speaker all in one.!!

Edit : Also proves my piont that nowadays there is not much difference between Av amps & 2 channel amps. Yes there is a difference but no by much. You will be hard pushed to notice the difference.

Usually when u go to audition an expensive amp expensive speakers are used. When Av amps are auditioned cheap to mid priced speakers are used.  The only amp i would say i noticed much difference is the Electrocompaniet amp range. But am yet to compare it directly with others yet.. It may just be the speaker used.

There was a Yamaha and a Sony AV receiver. An Arcam, a NAD and a Marantz solid state amplifiers. There was also a Fatman tube amp.

They were all second hand and cheapish but they all seemed to be quite new and in good condition. I'm not sure what models they were though, it was all done in a bit of a rush and I just had a quick listen to whatever they had there at the time.

So there we have it genetlemen. Conclusive proof........