One Amp To ‘Rule’ Them All....


Is there one amplifier that everyone can agree on as a contemporary standard? An amplifier that can be considered a standard in both the studio and in a home stereo setup?

What one amplifier does everything very well and can be found in homes and in professional audio engineering environments?

What amp covers all the bases and gives you a glimpse into all qualities of fine musical reproduction?

...something Yamaha? ...something McIntosh?

128x128brettmcee
highlander? lovely.
but which One?
Is there one amplifier that everyone can agree on as a contemporary standard? An amplifier that can be considered a standard in both the studio and in a home stereo setup?

Nope

What one amplifier does everything very well and can be found in homes and in professional audio engineering environments?

I seriously doubt any ‘single’ amp could ever be a concensus of opinion for domestic and pro audio purposes simultaneously.

the same variables exist in pro and domestic arenas. namely, Preffs, budgets, and the intentioned speakers being used which very likely allows for an immense number of amp options.

if only one or the other ball park, home, or pro audio were the OP’s ’ aim here there would still be an abundance of choices which would be corraled by   budgets, sonic preffs, and the loudspeakers being used.

for sheer power capability I heard at the fla. Expo AVMs MP 8.2 monos driving a pr of Raedo 2.1s (or 2.2s?). the AVMs output was 1200w @ 8!! and as I said in my account I posted elsewhere on these pages, the reproduction was concussive on the lower end, and aggressively transparent above it.. Startlingly neutral!

not a sound for everyone to be sure. at retail not a outfit for many folks either. but for the purpose of knowing exactly what is being recorded without bias or influence it could be a great tool for getting the tracks laid down with integrity.

OP says: What amp covers all the bases and gives you a glimpse into all qualities of fine musical reproduction?

trying to erase the factor of speakers and the rest of the associated variables, and looking only at the power plant, the most organic natural sounding power I’ve experienced lately, , was again at the 2019 Fla. Expo listening to the Merrill Audio 116 300w @ 8, Elemente monos.

naturally one can not distinctively account the sound was entirely due to the presence of what ever amps, yet they play a very significant role in the reproduction and this room was definitely memorable.

as I’ve migrated thru the years from SS power to just having Tubes in the power train   alone, the Merrill Audio amps would be or could be the amps which would make me forget about glass power. the rendition was spooky good. yet again, the entry fee for the Merrill Audio amps is prohibitive at the moment.

the notion of a one size fits all in any respect is more fantasy than honesty.

in audio, pro or domestic barring budgets and even synergy, individual prreffs by themselves will be the bar to a consensus for this application.
No.


With amplifiers - **all** amplifiers- its all about distortion- what distortion the amp makes and what distortion it doesn't make.


Because the ear converts all forms of distortion into tonality (a fact that has been known since at least the 1930s) all amplifiers therefore also have colorations.


Solid state colorations are just as audible as tube colorations hence the tubes/transistors debate which is older than the internet.


Feedback reduces distortion, but adds distortions of its own (see Norman Crowhurst); we've known this fact for 60-70 years. So amps that employ feedback will be brighter and harsher than real music.

So there isn't and can't be an actual amplifier that is a benchmark, that is completely uncolored.
I trust this isn’t a Total Harmonic Distortion squabble. Because THD was shown to be a red herring dons ago.