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The closest approach: what amplification?

Ken Kessler titled his book on Quad "The closest approach" to summarize Quad's philosophy of producing a speaker that gets as close as possible to the reproduction of a live event. I have been wondering if there is a type of amplification that gets us closer to the real thing more than other types. I have met many audiophiles over the past few years, and what strikes me is how religious people can get about radically different types of amplification: some swear that there is nothing like small-power SET coupled with efficient speakers. Others believe that you don't have a serious system unless you use muscular SS amplifiers (e.g. 300 WPC). Others believe that powerful push-pull tube configurations are the best of both worlds. Finally, there is a small community of OTL aficionados that look at the rest of the world as if they don't know what music reproduction is all about.

Of course these people value different things. Some like imaging more than other things; others value transparency; others are crazy about huge soundstages; others seek warmth etc. And it is clear that some types of amplification are better for certain things and others are better for other things.

Now, let us consider simply the reproduction of a live event (not some specific, partial dimensions). In your experience, what type of amplification got you close to the real thing? Powerful SS, SET, OTL, powerful push-pull?
ggavetti
stanwal's avatar
stanwal
3,147 posts
 
At a live event the actual sound waves will be the same for different listeners in the same place but what they HEAR will not. So there can never be an answer that fits everyone, leaving aside the critical speaker-amp interface already pointed out.
samujohn's avatar
samujohn
291 posts
 
Any reproduction can only be selections from the original, plus the additions and distortions. I can tolerate loss of information and distortions better than the additions! So low hum and noise go to the top of my list. The distortions and editorializing of tubes often bother me less than the nasty noise of many solid state designs. Oddly, digital amplification seems to distort less and be quieter than much conventional amplification. That said, there seems to still be plenty of room for improvement, especially in getting the amplifier to remain unaffected by the speaker it is driving.
samujohn's avatar
samujohn
291 posts
 
P.S. As I recall, some interviewer once asked Peter Walker how far he had pushed audio reproduction towards the goal of perfectly accurate reproduction. He said; about 15 per cent!
(I have not looked this up so be kind, it's Christmas)
ggavetti OP
143 posts
 
I should have phrased my question better: I totally agree that system configuration is critical and that speakers are decisive. That said, I guess my question was the following: assuming a very well configured system, is there a type of amplification that gets you closer to the real thing?

Stanwal, you make an interesting point, but the fact that people hear different things given the same actual sound waves does not prevent us from trying to find a system that gets us as close as possible to the actual sound waves. That is what I am looking for in a system.

Samujohn, I am intrigued by your comment about class D amplifiers. I have been playing with a few of them, and never found them too satisfactory. As for your point about Peter Walker, well, I did not read that interview but I am not surprised by it: closest does not mean close :)

Merry Christmas to all and thanks for your thoughts
samujohn's avatar
samujohn
291 posts
 
To try and answer your rephrased question, triode tube amplification has most often yielded the best result for me across a wide range of speakers, however, since it has also been a giant pain at the practical level, I have looked for alternatives. My Tact digital amp has its own limitations and weirdness, however, in its own, very cool and quiet way, it gets me as close to the music as the triodes, and holds out the hope of improvement. My full range electrostats require a good bit of power plus stability into a capacitive load.
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