|
|
Post by mrkaplanmusic on Apr 25, 2018 17:49:05 GMT
Hi Everyone, I am a musician, music producer, and mixing engineer based out of Nashville, TN. I am also the proud owner of Real Traps Panels. I can't say enough great things about them. They have truly made a difference in my musical life! My setup is 2014 Mac Pro 32GB Ram Logic Pro X UAD Apollo Twin Bowers and Wilkins 683 S2 speakers Emotiva XPA-2 gen 2 Amp Moog Sub37 Plugins upon plugins! My question has to do with power amplifiers. While I am good at music and can make it sound good, I am not well versed in power amplifiers and what makes one better than the other. My Emotiva amp works great, but I am looking for another amp to power my other speakers (JBL 4311 WX-A) and my record player once in a while. I was in a store today in Nashville hifibuysnashville.com It is a very reputable store but I left completely confused. They deal in Mcintosh, Rotel, Denon, and Marantz. The amp I was looking at was $3300.00 www.mcintoshlabs.com/products/amplifiers/MC152 What if anything makes this better than say an amp from Costco like Ethan has for his home theater? Is it all window dressing or is there some truth to established bands like Mcintosh, etc? I don't mind paying for quality, but if it's just window dressing then that's another story. I am not well versed when it comes to how amps work, etc, but would love to learn, but I get confused with the technical language. Thanks for all your help! Jason |
|
|
|
Post by rock on Apr 25, 2018 22:27:25 GMT
I've said this before but I'm only repeating something I learned in the early 70's : Electronics technology is at a point where it is possible to design and build a high quality audio power amp that is transparent enough so that you won't be able to tell the difference between it and different makes and models. If you can hear a difference, you need to ask why. It is possible for an amp to "color" the sound in a pleasing way but that is not "faithful" to the original signal. You of course need enough gain and power output for your application. Flat response, low distortion, low noise (I may have missed some?) are the qualities that where below a point, you won't hear any improvement. So shop around but beware of snake oil.
|
|
|
|
Post by Hexspa on Apr 25, 2018 23:31:01 GMT
Hi Everyone, I am a musician, music producer, and mixing engineer based out of Nashville, TN. I am also the proud owner of Real Traps Panels. I can't say enough great things about them. They have truly made a difference in my musical life! My setup is 2014 Mac Pro 32GB Ram Logic Pro X UAD Apollo Twin Bowers and Wilkins 683 S2 speakers Emotiva XPA-2 gen 2 Amp Moog Sub37 Plugins upon plugins! My question has to do with power amplifiers. While I am good at music and can make it sound good, I am not well versed in power amplifiers and what makes one better than the other. My Emotiva amp works great, but I am looking for another amp to power my other speakers (JBL 4311 WX-A) and my record player once in a while. I was in a store today in Nashville hifibuysnashville.com It is a very reputable store but I left completely confused. They deal in Mcintosh, Rotel, Denon, and Marantz. The amp I was looking at was $3300.00 www.mcintoshlabs.com/products/amplifiers/MC152 What if anything makes this better than say an amp from Costco like Ethan has for his home theater? Is it all window dressing or is there some truth to established bands like Mcintosh, etc? I don't mind paying for quality, but if it's just window dressing then that's another story. I am not well versed when it comes to how amps work, etc, but would love to learn, but I get confused with the technical language. Thanks for all your help! Jason First off, I'm not a hifi expert. I've played music since I was 7 years old. My opinion is that hifi is for nonmusicians. If you've heard the real thing then who cares? Barring that, there will be differences in electronics. Like you said, some may color the sound and some my be transparent. Decide what you want. Transparency itself shouldn't be expensive. Everything else, you pay for - including, and especially, bull$hit. |
|
|
|
Post by mrkaplanmusic on Apr 25, 2018 23:47:20 GMT
Thanks so much for all the replies! You both make some great points, especially about snake oil. I was looking at a Vacuum Tube Amp from Mcintosh, just to see what the big deal was. The sales guy told me that they model their sound off of the Tube amp so Tube is mainly aesthetically pleasing. I am paraphrasing him.
|
|
|
|
Post by Ethan Winer on May 7, 2018 15:54:42 GMT
I am not well versed in power amplifiers and what makes one better than the other. You already got good answers, and I can offer this video that explains audio device specs in great detail: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zvireu2SGZM |
|
|
|
Post by mrkaplanmusic on May 29, 2018 23:54:15 GMT
Sorry Ethan, I just saw this response. Thank you so much!!! Jason BTW, I love my RealTraps. I get more compliments on them!!
|
|
|
|
Post by indranil on Jun 3, 2018 22:50:11 GMT
@markaplanmusic
In my opinion amplifiers do sound different, not saying good or bad, and law of demising returns kicks in as you look at the expensive models. This excludes all electronic components which cost beyond a threshold, a very high number. As pointed out by other members, I learnt that what really helps in getting good sound is the foundation like speaker placement, room acoustics, good quality AC framework, vibration control etc etc... After the foundation speaker plays the single most critical role (could be debated) in getting the sound that you like.
Now coming to your question, I own a Emotiva amp (XPA-5) which I use for HT/multichannel application. This amp is good value for the money but it tends to get bright in two channel stereo listening environment. I use Parasound Halo A-21 as my two channel stereo amp which plays warmer in my set up and I like the sound. If you like warmer sound then Parasound, Pass Labs, Plinius are some good solid state amplifier brands to look at. I haven't used much tube staff but you can get great sound (on the warmer side) with tube amplifiers.
One last thing in my opinion that helps in getting great sound in 2 channel music is a good passive preamplifier/ phono stage for your record player.
Hope this helps.
Thanks.
|
|
|
|
Post by jsrtheta on Jun 4, 2018 1:11:50 GMT
Keep in mind that many tube amps will not be accurate reproducers of sound. That's really why they exist, otherwise everyone would just buy solid state. Some people like the distortion inherent in many tube designs. If you want euphonic sound, then you'll probably like the tube sound.
For accuracy, solid state is better.
|
|
|
|
Post by Ethan Winer on Jun 9, 2018 16:07:36 GMT
Sure, tube power amps almost always sound different from modern solid state amps. The tubes have higher distortion, and most tube amps have an output transformer that adds yet more distortion. But many tests have been done over the years showing that most solid state amps can't be distinguished. The key is doing a proper test. You can't just listen to one amp, switch to another amp, listen again, and proclaim they sound different! A proper test is always at least single blind, and the volume levels must be matched within a minimum of 1/4 dB.
|
|
