Amplifier specs, does they matter?

As I've said in a number of past threads, IMO the main usefulness of specs is to allow one to identify and RULE OUT from consideration candidates for purchase that would be poor matches to either the surrounding components or to the user's requirements. An example of the latter would be how much power is needed to support desired peak volumes. Examples of the former would be incompatibilities due to impedance issues, gain and sensitivity mismatches, and various issues which can result in amplifier/speaker mismatches (as Russ/Rcprince alluded to above).

Specs are also useful in troubleshooting problems, in getting to understand the priorities of the designer, and in identifying specs that may be TOO good and thereby may signify undesirable design tradeoffs. A classic example of the latter would be an amplifier having unusually good Total Harmonic Distortion numbers relative to other comparable kinds of designs. That will often signify the use of large amounts of feedback, and consequent adverse effects on things like Transient Intermodulation Distortion which aren’t normally specified or measured, or that are not even measurable in a standardized manner.

Basically, as I see it, if specs are mostly or entirely disregarded and/or are not properly understood the randomness of the process of assembling a satisfactory system, and the likelihood of expensive mistakes, are increased considerably.

Regards,
-- Al

Very much so.
Specs on amps and speakers as one of the main ones.
Is an amplifier capable of driving the whole frequency range of a speaker's load impedance & negative phase angle, and do it without any strain staying flat in it's delivery, and not act like a tone control.

Cheers George

I would never purchase any audio gear just based on specs but as Almarg mentioned they shouldn't all be totally ignored either. Without question, the final judgement should and will be placed on careful listening tests, believe your ears!

Of course they matter, how can anyone say otherwise. Input/output impedance, input sensitivity, gain, number of channels, dimensions, operating voltage, number and type of inputs and color are all critical information. The information won't tell you how the amp will sound, but it will tell if it can operate properly in your system.

Probably the first specification I will look into, is the Watts/channel in 8/4/2 Ohms to validate if power doubles when impedance goes down by half. This will give you a good indication that the amp will not suffer when the speaker impedance varies at different frequencies.

Second spec would be the power transformer kVA specification and total Microfarads of power supply filter capacitors. Again the bigger, the better since it provides an indication of the theorical power handling capability and reserve the amp will have under peak power musical crescendo.

Signal-to-noise ratio would be the last. The higher the figure, better the amp will reproduce clearly low-level details that could hang down near the amp noise floor.

These 3 specifications are nice to have to kind of help you build a mental picture of the seriousness of the amp design especially if you are running innefficient speakers that sound really great.

But at the end, it will be my ears who will prevail regarding the final purchase decision. I will never purchase an amp with excellent specifications which sounds average. I will always go for the best sounding amp with my speakers, regardless of specifications.