2. amps-preamps
  3. 183898-20855

Can we create a consensus list of the TONALITY of different amps/preamps/brands?

Greetings to any and all,

I am shopping for a new amp and preamp, but stuck abroad so unable to purchase anything right now. I have thus been reading lots and lots of reviews.
One thing that is very important to many of us is finding the right balance of Tonalities (warm versus cool, musical versus analytical, smooth versus detailed, etcetera).

Somewhere in all that research, I came upon a reviewer who started a comparative list of different brands, trying to get a handle of the general Tonality of various audio brands or individual products.  Since then I have been adding to that list, sometimes extrapolating from the adjectives used (e.g. clean, neutral, etched, sweet, etc.).

One thing I should admit right off the bat is that I have personally listened to very few of these products. (I am just the collector of comparative adjectives, just a compiler. In no way do I consider this present list to be definitive or perfectly correct.) Of course, all this is completely subjective.

So I wonder if there is a way we can created a consensus compilation of opinions of the general tonality of various audio products. I am obviously soliciting input and opinions. Please feel free to disagree or suggest changes or refinements. The model I started with was of a clock face: 12:00 midnight being perfectly neutral. Anything after 12:00 is more analytical or clinical; anything before 12:00 is smoother or warmer.
(Thanks for any responses or contributions.)

 

Here is that list:

Halcro: 1:30 (hyperdetailed solid-state)

Simaudio amplifiers: 1:00 (even more clinical, analytical)

Audio Research Ref10 pre: slightly less cool than Simaudio 850p; maybe 12:30

Esoteric integrated: 12:30 (slightly to the cold, clinical side)

Boulder 1160/1161/2060 amps: 12:00 dead neutral (adding or subtracting nothing, no added tonal saturation, "sterile")

Rotel Michi M8: 11:45 ("kiss of midband lush")

Simaudio pre: 11:45 ("closest sounding amp to the Luxman")

Luxman 900 series: 11:30 (very slightly warmish)

Plinius SA-103: 11:30 ("natural, neutral tonal balance")

Pass X150.5: 11:15

Accuphase: 11:00 (warmer than Luxman)

Pass X250.8: 11:00

Pass x 260.8: 10:45

Pass XA 60.8/200.8: 10:30 (warm or saturated side)

Pass XS Pre: 10:30

VAC i170 tube amp: 9:30 (warmish)

PrimaLuna EVO 400 tube amp: 9:00 (warmer still)

hoodjem
fatdaddy2
380 posts
 

No.  Only if by tonality you mean how it sounds when struck by a mallet.  No such thing as tonality independent of the other elements in the chain.

esarhaddon
137 posts
 

I wouldn't mind seeing something like that but this is maybe 10% listed here! just like  one person said, Where is XXX Brand. And to those who say there can be no consensus. That might just be because there is NO Consensus on what constitutes personal feelings and not FACTS. If someone can come up with ;factual reliable definitions for the different qualities this could be done. You can define Volume or power or frequency response, but when you try to include factors that people can't even describe of at least have a consensus on what they mean, and these same people claiming that their feelings are important to the discussion, then you just threw any definable factor out the window. You are allowed to have your feelings and likes, but don't force them on the public until you can actually evaluate what a particular sound is and possibly even measure it.

brskie
67 posts
 

+1 @pmm 

+1 @mitch2 

OP, do you have speakers that are revealing enough to discern the nuances of the electronics upstream? Buy the best speakers you can afford for your listening room and then match them with the best amp for those speakers.

Bruce

antialiased's avatar
antialiased
43 posts
 

As many have stated, there are way too many variables.

I read a review of a DAC once where the reviewer listed the components he used in the chain. I happened to have a lot of experience with the USB cable that was used. With that point of reference, the review lost a bit of creditability as I knew the shortcomings and sound signature and what one was gaining (bottom end) and losing (mid details) using that cable.

It can be a very delicate balance when you get into more revealing systems. Sometimes, it only takes one component or cable in the chain to color the entire soundstage.

mtdining's avatar
mtdining
131 posts
 

I find even the limited info here somewhat useful. I also believe in objective reality- people know whether a piano sounds like a piano, and furthermore that long term satisfaction is achieved with more natural sounding components. The big problem I see is that the speaker - amp combination is critically important. I know from experience that none of the Pass Labs amps can properly drive Wilson Audio speakers, which are the only speakers I have heard which render a pianist n the room. Both Boulder and Spectral do, but the Spactral has a small edge in detail. 

More to discover