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Solid state amplifiers and sound stage, especially front to back "depth"

I've been enjoying my trial period with the Van Alstine SET 400 stereo amplifier. When I'm done and have collected my thoughts, I may write up a summary.

In the meantime, a question for folks with more experience. I've noticed is that the amp produces a sound stage that is nicely defined and articulate from left to right, but not as much from front to back. (My Adcom was also unable to create sound stage depth.) I know my room is capable of that sound stage because my tube amp accomplishes it.

Question: Is it typical of solid state amps to have less of a front to back sound stage than tube amps? Do they vary in this regard? Or, perhaps, am I failing to do something -- such as re-position my speakers? (After all, I immediately get that sound stage back when I switch amplifier without moving anything else.)

If you have any experience with solid state amplifiers and sound stage -- front to back, left to right, or whatever, I'm curious.

This is not about me keeping or not keeping the amp. There are many things I already really like about it. But I'm wondering about this aspect.

Thanks.
128x128hilde45
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,616 posts
 
I guess I don't really know what that term can mean or how to interpret his comments
Well that makes two of us. If 'voicing' is trying to get the most linearity out of the circuit than we do that. But we're not listening to it when we do that- we're measuring it. The listening only comes in after it seems OK on the bench. So far the listening hasn't revealed anything we couldn't see on the bench in the last 45 years...

@decooney makes a good point with regards to guitar amps where you have to be careful to not allow the circuit to play bass and to use the proper cheap parts that give you that 'sound' when overdriven. Entirely different kettle of fish!
hilde45's avatar
hilde45 OP
4,819 posts
 
@atmasphere  I think I remember Paul McGowan saying they build the amp, then go play it in their IRS5 room and then go back to the bench to change it. In other words, they want they amp to "voice" in a way that they deem to be "musical," and those adjustments are not based on measurement but on listening. That's at least how I remember him explaining it. And that seems to be exactly what Frank was saying he doesn't do. But I remain confused. 
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,616 posts
 
That's at least how I remember him explaining it. And that seems to be exactly what Frank was saying he doesn't do. But I remain confused.
@hilde45  All amps make distortion; if you understand how the ear interprets distortion than you don't have to do much if you understand how the topology of the circuit design affects distortion (for example, how single-ended circuits express a 2nd harmonic through a quadratic non-linearity). Put another way, this stuff is knowable and responds to math. If you did your math homework there won't be too much tweaking needed on the bench.
hilde45's avatar
hilde45 OP
4,819 posts
 
@atmasphere  Got it. Thanks. I don't know why McGowan does it, then. Maybe he's the only one who doesn't do his math homework!
twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
5,313 posts
 
https://www.passlabs.com/technical_article/the-sweet-spot/

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