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Different amplifier class for different music genres?

I was reading a review of the Gryphon Antileon Evo in another forum and one user was saying that in the High bias mode the amplifier was excellent for classical music but not so good for metal or hard rock, perhaps softening the transients. For metal or hard rock he preferred the Low bias mode and he suggested that the Gryphon Diablo will be more suitable for this type of music (of course one is a final amp, the other an integrated one).

So the question is: does the class of the amplifier matter or better suit the type of music you are listening to? 

I have never owned a class A amplifier and I am itching to try some. I am currently using Hypex based diy monos driving Vienna Acoustics Mahler speakers.

greg_f
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
12,111 posts
 
The most common myth? That might be a tiny stretch. Lets just say one of many:-)
The reason I say that is because of how many times I've heard that JBL L-100s are one of the best rock speakers out there. This where there really isn't anything a speaker manufacturer can do to make the speaker favor a certain genre.

mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
Greg_f, I am a class A fan. I also like big powerful amps. However, class A/B has come a long way. I have not yet heard a class D amp that thrills me but there are many available I have not heard and from a technical standpoint I see no reason why they should not be capable of first class sound. I have not used a Jeff Rowland amp and he has many fans. 
Your Mahlers are very intelligently designed speakers. Suspending the tweeter is a novel thing to do. They are 6 ohm, 90 dB/watt/meter speakers. A Pass XA160.8 would be wonderful as would Parasound JC 1+s or Atma-Sphere MA1's. At the less expensive end are the Parasound A21+, a killer amp for the money. The Anthem STR is another relatively  inexpensive powerhouse. It is always better to overpower a speaker than underpower one.
 
greg_f OP
110 posts
 
Thank you all. You learn every day. It has been a long time I was wondering if my amps have synergy with my speakers. I am not prepared to change my speakers at this point so I would like to try different amps.

@mijostyn. Thanks! It sounds like you know my speakers. Yes, they are well designed but could be difficult to drive, they are nominally 6 Ohm load but they do drop below 4 Ohms at some low frequencies. 
Now I need to decide if I want to 'just' change the power amps or go the integrated route.
pengun
79 posts
 
Not really but I had some Quad speakers once, and chucked some EL34s into my monoblocks, just to play with that setup.

Absolutely wonderful for any chick singer, or anything like that, fell right over when asked for dynamics and slam.

Sold the Quads and put the 6550s back, my stuff has to play Zappa well. ;)
fiesta75
1,378 posts
 
+1 for Zappa. To me, Zappa's DDD recordings are an excellent reference. 
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