Best way to compare amps?

What Fatparrot is saying was my experience with power conditioners and speaker cables. May help explain why some claim they make no difference at all. They plugged in the conditioner or new cables, heard no big immediate difference and gave up. I also had the same experience with my REL sub. When I shut is off after having it for a while, I thought: "Where did the music go?"

Sugarbrie ... I don't think warmup was the reason. Warmup may make something of a difference bu nothing as profound as what I heard. I think fatparrot is close to my experience. You may not notice the step up, but boy do you ever notice the step down. This applies to many other areas of life too.

I was just guessing Sean. Comparing warm components is extra important if you are not making an upgrade, but are trying to choose between two equal amps and you do not have the luxury of weeks to get a feel for them. They both sound great, but which one do you buy? I try to avoid going to an audio dealer when they first open. Everything is cold, including my brain. I also usually go back more than once before getting out the plastic.

Thanks for the replies. The amp I'm auditioning , if everyone is curious, is the Innersound esl amp and comparing it to my Odyssey Stratos amp with cap upgrade. The rest of my system consists of: Cary 303/100 cdp -> Coincident cst ic. -> Rogue 66 lsr -> Coincident cst ic. -> above amps -> AP Oval 9 biwired -> Magnepan 1.6qr. Sounds like I need to audition each one for at least a week each. I'll post my results later on. Thanks again and would like to hear any more input!

Bradz, please let us know what you think after comparing. I'd be very interesed in hearing what you thought.