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Is there actually a difference?

Speakers sound different - that is very obvious. But I’ve never experienced a drastic change between amps. Disclaimer that I’ve never personally ABX tested any extremely high end gear.

With all these articles claiming every other budget amp is a "giant killer", I’ve been wondering if there has ever been blind tests done with amplifiers to see if human ears can consistently tell the difference. You can swear to yourself that they do sound different, but the mind is a powerful thing, and you can never be sure unless it’s a truly blind test.

One step further - even IF we actually can tell the difference and we can distinguish a certain amp 7/10 times under extreme scrutiny, is it really worth the thousands you are shelling out to get that nearly-imperceivable .01% increase in performance?

Not looking to stir up any heated debate. I’ve been in audio for several years now and have always thought about this.
asianatorizzle
genesis777
112 posts
 
I’ve tested several and I couldn’t tell any difference and I was trying
to hear a difference.. I did testing between Krell and Red Dragon mono amps and couldn’t tell the difference between them either other than the Dragons had better bass slam. Same thing with DAC’S, the difference was negligible between a $1k DAC and $4k one.
erik_squires
16,037 posts
 
Read Pass' own writing on the subject of amps and distortion. He makes it pretty clear. 

BTW, I'm not saying this is a negative thing. You should buy what pleases your ear and if Pass pleases your ear, buy it. 

Best,

E
ron1319
57 posts
 
I am 100% confident I could tell the difference 10/10 times between the Schiit Vidar that I tried and the Levinson 333 I bought and that is my “forever-amplifier.”  My Nautilus 801’s are known to be very hard to drive.  I wish I had another 333 to play with for a few weeks to try bi-amping, but I’m happy how it is.
mickeyb
570 posts
 
I can tell the difference between ss and tube immediately. I feel the best ss amps try to replicate the tube sound with more bass slam. The class A ss amps do this very well. Love class A ss and tube amps. 
ozzy's avatar
ozzy
7,446 posts
 
The only high power SS amps I have owned was a Krell and a Pass Labs. Heck at one time I A/B'd a Pass Labs X350.5 against the Pass Labs X350.8 and in all instances it was quite easy to notice the differences.

In tube amps I had a Atma-sphere M-60 3.3 and now I own the new Carver Raven 350. They sound more similar to each other than the solid states did.

ozzy
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