Aragon 4004 mk2 vs Adcom 555 mk2

Good question Ritteri....well it's not an audible noise.I didn't notice it until I switched the the Mac out with the Monarchy.The Monarchy is supposed to be no feedback.And take also into account the wattage (monarchy)25 wpc verses (mac)300 wpc.Instantly I could hear more background noise..especailly in live recordings.Not hissing noises but people talking and laughing.There was just more ambience of the recording venue getting to my ears.Since then I have been ruined and only listen for amplifiers that can do the same thing.Not even my now removed Music Reference RM9 MKII which is a terrific tube amplifer had that kind of depth.I don't know the specs on feedback with my Adcom 585 but it must be very low because I can also hear these same attributes in it. Instead of just hearing people shouting in the audience you can hear their voices echoe off the walls of the venue.It's just easier for me to hear, when the singer turns his or her head away from the mic and what direction they turn.

Hope this gives you an idea!

Hmmm, Im gonna have to start a new thread on feedback. 0 feedback designs, and if 0 feedback is necessary onlly in the source if using xlr's or the opposite etc.

Gmood1...Negative feedback just means that the amp output is compared with the input, with appropriate gain and phase compensation, and the resulting "error signal" is applied to the input (or at some intermediate stage) so as to reduce the error signal to zero (nearly). There is no fundamental reason why negative feedback is bad, but if an amp requires too much this probably means that the circuit is not too hot to begin with.

Tube amplifiers that use transformers must have negative feedback to get flat frequency response, quite apart from the issue of distortion. The widely used "ultralinear" configuration has taps on the output transformer specifically for the purpose of negative feedback.

Thanks Edartford for the info.The Music Reference has 3 settings for feedback and the manual stated for best results to leave it on the lowest setting.It was very easy to hear the differences when changing from one setting to another.The more feedback the more the soundstage seemed to get clouded up.

I have used amps with feedback switches too (like the Unison Simply 2 and 4 tube integrateds) and I didn't find the soundstage "clouds" up really when i go to high feedback. I would say that it is more of softer and slower sound instead but I could hear the same background details in both with no difference in level. It was more of a mood change IMO. I about wore the switch out going back and forth and came to the conclusion that the difference was overall quite subtle. My brother couldn't hear the difference in a blind test but I could albeit just barely. I think the switch went between 6 dB and 12 dB. Pretty cool - I would like to find other amps with a toggle switch like that and listen again. ciao - Arthur