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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
pwhinson
158 posts
 
There is no doubt in my mind that I could tell the difference between the Pass labs amp that is my main go-to amp and my previous go-to amp the Aesthetix Atlas.  There are of course amplifiers that sound very similar.  That would not be those two.  Both very fine amplifiers and I still go back to the Atlas every now and then.  So undoubtedly.  The differences are not subtle.

dave_b's avatar
dave_b
3,159 posts
 
You eliminate yourself from having any experience with the high end, so that means you have little frame of reference to ponder amp differences.  I have tons of experience and can safely say that they all sound different.  If the difference means you want to listen to your system every chance you get, then an amp is worth almost any price to some.  If you find yourself choosing to do other things, rather than listen?  Well, that’s crap!  In absolute terms there may be small differences, but the enjoyment gap could be huge.
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
He said transfer function. Tee hee

atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,793 posts
 
The ability to drive difficult loads. How robust is the power supply? etc. You can make an amp that sounds acceptable at low levels driving easy loads. But, when you really need power (not volume), it is like trying to get large flows of water through a small diameter pipe. not going to happen. That is why power supply design to date is still extremely important.
The ability to drive difficult loads doesn't seem to be helpful to any amplifier, because its easy to see on the spec sheet and by listening to the amp on a hard load that its making more distortion. The problem is, such distortion is audible as brightness, harshness and a loss of detail. You can take any amplifier and just by putting it on a higher impedance/easier-to-drive load, it will immediately sound smoother with more detail. That is true whether its tube, transistor or class D. You can both hear it and see it in the specs- this is one of the few areas where the ear and the specs agree.
I do agree though that robust power supply design is one of the things that set high end amps apart from the mid fi.
dave_b's avatar
dave_b
3,159 posts
 
I know what real “symbols” sound like...I was a ”drumber”:). So thayr Minorl!

- Just kidding around, ok?
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