Do you understand your amplifier?

Ignorance is bliss (sometimes). "Rockitman" has a point...why should I waste valuable nap time learning modern amp technology when other well trained geniuses are working on these things for me? I'm a musician...I need to practice. Read enough reviews and opinions and you can get a clue about how things work and/or sound before trying things at home. I have an amp that (amazingly) has almost ZERO info on the net (Forte' Model 55 MOSFET 100 watt A/B) but comes from a respected maker so I took a chance. Jon Soderberg of Vintage Amp Repair was my only source of meaningful info, and damn, the amp sounds GREAT with promise of sounding greater once I send it to him for mods.

"why should I waste valuable nap time learning modern amp technology when other well trained geniuses are working on these things for me"

The only reason would be is that an amp is a component in a component system. In component systems, for best results, you care about the interfaces between components, but not so much on the internal workings of the component. That is the domain of the geniuses who build them. The interface between each component has to be considered though to determine which ones can work together well.

Even in the best case of a stereo system professionally integrated by an expert using one or more boxes, for best results, you still have to deal with the integration of the system into the room. And also, for best results, the integration of you and your ears into the room (ie listening location).

At that point, you have all the bases covered and life should be good audiophile-wise!

Systems engineer? If only I was making enough money to be able to call myself something like that. };0)

She's class A and gets very hot!

It’s Italian - I like a lot of Italian stuff. It’s got tubes - I like tubes. It has moderate power - moderate power tube amps sound best to me. I have enough things in my life demanding understanding. I engage my stereo system to help me forget them.

Of course, if I did understand my amp, I might feel differently :)