Are future improvements in Amp/PreAmps slowing to a crawl?

Yes in "some" cases they are engineering the musicality right out of them because too many audiophiles are demanding more detail from their gear. Excluding Class D amps how much more positive advancements are left to improve upon both in preamp and amp designs? I know there are different topologies applied to some designs and when you purchase a certain  piece you are agreeing with the designer on what he thinks sounds good.

Just maybe twenty years from now people will searching to buy the gear you own right now because what they are currently dealing with sounds like crap.

@sean_heis1

Musicality is a meaningless term that can’t be measured. Improvements like SNR, channel separation, THD+N, and power into various loads are measurable.

This amp does not use negative feedback to achieve improved performance over competitors. It has a carefully designed switched mode power supply that pushes all power supply noise completely out of the audio band.

Benchmark had been making world class Analog devices for pro TV production for years before they embarrassed the audiophile world by building far better devices. I would say that competitors are catching up to their DAC technologies but this new amplifier is another leap in performance and another embarrassment to the long established amplifier providers churning out their mediocrity year after year!

Perhaps it takes someone from outside the establishment to make major advances.

@sean_heis1

Musicality is a meaningless term that can’t be measured. Improvements like SNR, channel separation, THD+N, and power into various loads are measurable.

I find SNR & THD+N to also be meaningless. Same with THX certification. However, I agree that the best switch mode power supplies are really good these days.

Benchmark is a very good company. They take pro gear and package it for hifi buyers. If your flavor leans towards the clinical side, they could be an excellent fit. They won't embarrass anybody that shouldn't already be embarrassed. Only Schiit can do that. ;-)  

Dragon_Vibe,

"maybe the Future is already here and we are at the very end of technology breakthrough regards to audio?"

This reminds me of the patent office wanting to shut down decades ago because "everything has already been invented"

Breakthroughs happen every day. As far as designing amplifiers with the express goal of having a particular sound to me is a waste of time. It means the designer has given up on the notion that "perfection" is not attainable. 

Take a look at this viewpoint of distortion...
 http://h-cat.com/images/H_CAT_White_Paper.pdf

Roger

@sean_heis1

If you find outstanding (better than anything else on the market or ever mass produced) measured performance to be a meaningless achievement then how do you propose to measure what you find important? I would put it to you and everyone here that if you can’t measure performance then there is no way to track improvement.

Perhaps this is the fundamental problem in the audiophile industry - it has become a fashion clothing industry that suits people’s tastes and follows trends with no goal to improve anything because "good enough" in clothing materials was achieved 30 years ago - so now it is about color and style in an endless circle of ever fluctuating fashionable trends.