Amp design logic
What's the difference between a $2.4 million Bugatti Veyron and a $12,000 Chevrolet Aveo? They both get you from point A to point B. I guess it's just a good thing that you are not asking about the REALLY expensive amplifiers. Sheesh.... |
A friend makes tube preamps by hand; when I bought one in the late 80s the price was around $1000. He investigated producing them commercially but found that setting up an actual production line would result in them having to retail at $3000 to $4000. One at a time he could hand built them in his basement and check everything himself; but having a factory, reps, dealers , advertising etc would require a much higher price. And this was for a produce that had already been developed; no research and development costs. Granted that some seem overpriced; quality seldom comes cheap for any type of product. |
Stanwal, my friend was planning to do the same with amplifier he designed. Unfortunately this amplifier had tendency to oscillate in certain setups. I told him that it would be financial suicide if his amp will start damaging customers' speakers. He couldn't afford to buy many common speakers or spend a lot of time testing. Fortunately he gave up this idea. It is very difficult and costly to start such business and get any recognition. |
Thanks for all the enlightenment everyone. I was really hoping for a discussion of the components in a $1000 amp vs those in a $50,000 amp, and how much they, vs the designer's intellectual property, contribute to the quality (and cost) difference. In other words, can I take a standard amp design, use the best available parts, and get the sound of the $50K amp. If I can't even get close, the sound quality must come from the circuit design. But I see the way I asked it, isn't exactly like that. So, besides proprietary circuit and transformer designs, how much of the quality difference between $1000 and $50000 amps can be made up by putting the very best components in? All the other discussion is pretty enlightening too, thanks. Jim |
