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.
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.
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.
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- 142 posts total
- 142 posts total