Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo For Those Who Say All SS Amps Sound the Same

I don't expect many will read this post, however, for all those who say all solid state amps sound the same, feast your ears on an Odyssey Khartago with the nichikon caps and upgraded 120K mf capacity.

Sonic bliss.

I've had many amps in this system, (no tubes in this one) but nothing has sounded like this! My room is filled with a huge soundstage, rich, beautiful music.

Deuter, Gentle Darkness, Ciro Hurtado, Ayhuasca Dreams, Smetena, Mussorsgy ...

Just arrived today. I can't bring myself to shut it down and go to sleep.

CRAZY GOOD!

And it looks like you didnt have to spend a fortune either. Congrats.

Checked out their website. The about us section tells a great story. Like it. Hopefully it lasts you many years.

I noticed an improvement putting the ADA-1000 into our system compared to both a NAD 317 and a Marantz 7800.

The question is - could I notice it under blind conditions?

Sighted tests are funny things ... in the loudspeaker comparisons I did here over the summer, when I knew which speakers were on, I slightly preferred the Legacy Signature SE's @ $6995 per pair to the M100's at $2500-$3000.

When blind, the preference changed, and by quite a bit.

but...but...experts at AVS say blind tests are irrelevent...

Have the "experts" explain this to Dr. Floyd E. Toole:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrpUDuUtxPM

Déjà vu.

And ... they included a delicious piece of Ghiradelli cherry hazelnut chocolate in the box with the amp. That is class.

It's OK pmb, deja vu all over again. And there you thought the faithful had driven all heretics from this site. I will say, that it has been pretty quiet around here.

Do I recall correctly that it is your scientific conclusion that all (properly designed) solid state amps sound the same?

But, but ... my ears tell me that's not so!

So, who am I to believe? Authoritative pronouncements from those who know it all, or my lying ears?

There is nothing wrong with getting a new amp, firing it up, and loving what it does. This is actually a GOOD thing. Hobbies should be fun.

There is also nothing wrong with a sighted test. When taking a sighted test, the one thing to remember, it's not just your ears that are "doing the listening".

The beauty ... and the beast ... of a properly run blind test is, in this case, ONLY your ears that are hearing the difference.

Sometimes, a guy just wants to have fun, and not worry about whether or not it's scientific.

Exactly Craigsub! The object of our desire, the goal of the pursuit is the achievement of an illusion and time travel. The illusion is being in the presence of and experiencing live music though it was recorded in another place at a previous point in time. A clock radio accomplishes this magic (that we take for granted) but at a low level of verisimilitude. The pursuit of a higher degree is the core of the hobby. Adding a component which dramatically increases the verisimilitude of the reproduction (subjects the listener to the illusion of a live performance ) is not only instantly noticeable but very pleasant.

Source, amplified signal, transducers exciting the air, on the one hand, a pair of ears a brain to process the signals from the sensoria the experience of music which in turn excites the soul...

Anyway, do you need a blind A/B test to confirm the sudden and obvious elevation of the illusion from a lower to much higher level?

Sure, some may say, "Yes." I say, come on over.

Actually, one does need a blind test to determine if one is actually hearing the difference, or if one is experiencing the "It's my new XXX, and it's better" phenomenon.

The reason many insist that "all amps sound the same" is because of the amount of data collected from blind tests.

If an amp is linear in response across the bandwidth and has sufficient current to deliver the SPL required for the performance through the speakers connected, without distortion, hearing a difference will be quite difficult, if even possible, between two amps.

This is why I now have a pre amp level switcher. Should we want to, we could do level matched, blind listening tests with instant A/B switching between two amps through high resolution speakers such as the Legacy Signature SE's or the M100's.

SO ... you are invited anytime to bring your amp over, do the test, and have adult beverages after.

why wouldn't a sited test work, providing you did not know which amp was in use. Say an ADA1000 and a Bryston or an Emotiva side by side. I could see a bias if you put a realistic receiver against a bryston pre/pro and amp.

If you didn't know which amp was in use wouldn't that count as a blind test ?

With speakers you sometimes need a screen so you can't identify which set is playing based on where the sound seems to be coming from, but with an amp I figure all you have to do is tape over the clip indicators.

I hear most people do that anyways, just like the OIL light on the car

Bridgman has it correct - a blind test means one does not know the components being tested.

One can do a blind test of high definition TV systems, just mask out everything but the screen.

For an amp comparison, one would see the speakers, but not the amps.

Ain't nobody taping over my blue LEDs!

We need to have a GTG with a blind test of blue lights. This will require a lot of adult beverages.

Ahh, Craigsub, you pulled out the comment you warned us about at the 35th...the ultimate "show stopper" - "You are welcomed to bring your amp/sub/speakers/views to my place to do controlled comparisons and have a few beverages" - ingenious of you!

I have had poor success combining speaker evaluations with adult beverages. They quickly turn into an evaluation of music rather than speakers, and after a while nobody knows or cares which speakers are being used.

There's probably a lesson in that somewhere.

No beverages until AFTER the listening tests are done and results turned in. Otherwise, we get what Bridgman described.

I would like to have some smaller "listening GTG's" here this winter. They are a lot of fun, and quite informative.

Spray paint?

Where are you located?

I am in Pennsylvania. You are welcome anytime, but you REALLY need to want to get here.

That amp looks like a terrific value. I may grab one this winter just to try some tests against 2 channels of an ADA-1000/1500.

I used to bike and camp in Pennsylvania Susquehanna river area, Lancaster ... like the French countryside. .. beautiful. Very large rattlesnakes. I'd love to come during foliage, but I'm in southern California. Thanks for the invite though!

I look forward to hearing your impressions. Klaus Bunge is a wonderful guy, he loves music and audio. He is very enthusiastic about the quality of his products and is committed to keeping prices down. He will make deals. He may even include some chocolate with your amp.