Atma-Sphere Class D… Amazing

A-S Class D vs. a highly regarded $3k SRP stereo amp with possibly the all-time lowest SINAD specs, only about 13#, not class D, a patented circuit, released around 2015 and winner of a ton of awards.  The stereo amp had audibly more musical detail.  For unknown reason and there's no way to prove this true or false, I got the sense the stereo amp was more "accurate" or linear; yet in no way did this last point make me favor it.

IMO the A-S Class D had blacker background, the stage was audibly bigger in all 3 dimensions and had an upbeat, more musically satisfying presentation.  Images had more body/density and more air around them.  In the AB test the stereo amp simply sounded more sterile and mechanical.  Like a sharply dressed, quick talking boy that arrived to date your daughter, but he just seems a little disingenuous; he makes you question his motives.  Why does he have such a perfect exterior?  Is it an act?  I want to get to know him better, but he never lets his guard down.    

Overall I favored the Class D significantly more than the stereo amp.  Yes, the Class D costs more but I suspect most people that can afford the stereo amp can stretch funds and/or save a little longer for the Class D, which seems like even better value than the stereo amp considering the awards heaped on the latter.  

@kuribo But you can’t tell how an amp really sounds just by looking at measurements either.  You can have two amps that measure similarly but sound completely different.  Why?  Because we don’t have near enough the measurements that can measure everything that has an impact on sound.
 

No, you can't tell with any certainty how an amp sounds strictly from measurements but you can tell certain things about it's performance, whether it adds distortion, how much, where and when, how it's performance varies with frequency and load impedance, etc.

Sound similarly to whom? To everyone? Doubtful and not realistic. There are too many biases and other factors that enter into subjective impressions.

What measurements are we lacking? Please explain what it is that we are not measuring. Just because something sounds the same to you doesn't mean it is the same, or that it will sound the same to someone else. Of course, there are things humans can't hear, and it is possible this lack of hearing can cause things to "sound" the same, if the differences are beyond audibility.

I ask again, why does it have to be a lack in what we can measure, why can't it be a difference in subjective perception?

 

Opinions are not facts even in the context here. All you have with any 100% subjective topic is subjective belief, the only "fact" is your belief of your preference and opinion. Facts are universal not individual.

Right on.

Daniel Patrick Moynihan — 'You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts.'

We just have to accept the sonic preferences and experience based opinions as truth for that person.

That’s my point. If we want to compare anything meaningfully and rationally, we have to argue the facts, not opinions. Measurements, assuming they are done properly with functioning equipment, are not opinions- they are objective fact. How one chooses to interpret them can become objective and a matter of opinion.

How something sounds is 100% subjective and tied to one’s unique ears, room, associated gear and preferences. In fact, the only absolute truth of how something sounds, is found in one’s actual experience with the piece and their resulting opinion. That’s it.

Exactly. What others think they hear, while truth for them, doesn’t mean it is truth for anyone else. This is why all the fluffy talk about "deeper body", "better tone", "blacker background", etc. is utterly meaningless to anyone other than the speaker, yet people continue as if it actually means something to others...

The fact of the matter is, measurements don't even begin to inform one of how something is going to sound, just that it will meet the low standards of conventional wisdom.

All the best,
Nonoise