Some amplifiers work better with some speakers. Who do you know which one to choose for best sound quality? Have a question for Paul? Ask it by going to www.psaudio.com...
Paul, thank-you for your videos; I really enjoy them. Over 10 years ago I was shopping for new speakers. Based off the speakers I choose I then wanted to pick the best amplifier for those speakers. The speakers I choose were B&W 802d. I ended up comparing McIntosh vs Classe. I’ve heard comments that all amplifiers sound the same. That is not true. Back then I purchased the B&W 802d speakers (with an HTM2d center). I didn’t purchase a new amplifier (financial reasons). I kept using my Proceed AMP 5 (an old Mark Levinson 5 channel amp with 250w into 4 ohms). Now many years later I ended up purchasing the amplifier (brand) I selected during my original listening sessions; Classe (a CA-2300). I choose Classe over McIntosh because I liked the sound better. It wasn’t that McIntosh was bad and Classe was good. For me the Classe sounded more open and cleaner. The Classe seemed better matched to the B&W 802d. Anyway after connecting the CA-2300 (2 channel 600w into 4 ohms) into my system; wow, what a difference. My system sounds very different; and a huge improvement. I don't mean louder (although I think it is). I mean better sounding. Based off my experience, can amplifiers be matched with speakers? Yes. Do amplifiers sound different (amps within the same price range)? Yes.
The problem with tube output stages is that they run as current sources. Meaning that if there's a 'hump' in the impedance curve of the loudspeaker, it'll be reflected as a hump in the frequency response or the system, since the output voltage RISES with speaker impedance! Solid state amps, being voltage sources, eliminate this problem.
I largely agree with this and yes, definitely consider the voicing of the amp and speakers as Paul said, if the amp is known for being edgy, bright in the top end, reduce that on the speaker by choosing speakers with a slight rolled off top end otherwise listener fatigue sets in real quick. That said, watch your amp choices, don't go with cheap, budget units as they can't often go down very low in impedance, These days a lot of modern speakers are 4 Ohm and if you run an older cheap receiver, they can't go below 4 Ohms and will run quite hot (the risk of) as one, the power supply may be wimpy, and there may, or may not be adequate heat sinks for the output chips to keep cool so here, step up to mid level or better gear. I used to run a Sherwood RX4030R receiver from the early 90's and it was OK, but was given a pair of ADS L810 speakers who's nominal impedance is 6 Ohm, the Sherwood did OK here but ended up borrowing a Pioneer SX980 receiver from a buddy and it was MUCH better, though I had to ensure it didn't run hot, it never got overly hot with those speakers but have since then picked up a NAD 7240PE receiver with a high current amp section that they conservatively rate at 40W nominally, but is closer to 80W nominal but with a very high peak envelop (PE=Power Envelope) and thus at soft clipping, it can produce up to 550W for up to 200nS (transient peaks) at 2 Ohm, yes, you read that right. Anyway I can now crank it up and it'll get a bit louder than before, but remain clean sounding and yes, I also agree, best to have a system that is detailed, but not ruthlessly so - especially if you listen to a wide variety of music like I do and thus not all of it will sound great. Will it make all music sound perfect? No, but it'll take a peaky recording and reduce it enough to be listenable at anything over a modest volume without wincing though and yet remain quite detailed and I get all that now.
Soundstage and Imagining over detail and accuracy! That’s the way I like it too but the industry appeals to a large segment of audiophiles that hold detail, accuracy and analytics over anything else. Especially when it is evident with speakers getting more and more analytical in the last few decades.
Since last year, having watched this episode, I hv been trying matching ss and tube preamps, with a mix of ss and tube power amps in my active xover system running hi efficiency spkears. My general impression after this mix and match process is that, tubes are best at doing small voltage amplification jobs but even with OTL tube amps such as my Fluterman's, tubes don't perform very well. But I still prefer running AB tube amps with squawkers and tweeters in my system, as this combination sounds more listenable to say the least, and prolonged episodes with this setup, e.g. watching tv and movies, can become a joy. As to woofers, I runs 4 JBL 15" and even when I used good tube amps, the outcome showed lack of control and bass notes behaved wildly, with much much after tones that muddled up the mid and the top. So, yea, I am all for ss amps with woofers, maybe even squawkers below 3k Hz.
I'm sure a lot of people having trouble with the beryllium tweeter, even a little poor connection on the binding post will make it sound like a death ray. But if everything done right it will sound superb.
Hey Paul. A thought. Many types of solid state amps exhibit great damping factor. I can remember a number. Of late and not so much in HiFi circles we have seen companies moving to Class D amps. The only thing that I see is that class D commonly can't achieve the damping factors that other solid state amps can. With ratings typically around 100:1 is that low enough in your opinion to deliver a loss of resolution compared to other solid state designs that are commonly rated at 400:1 or more?
Paul.... Do you think, what you talk of in this video is precisely the reason I (and many others too) seem to love the combination of Parasound Halo (A51 in my case) amplification coupled with Kef LS50 loudspeakers.
My amps are the opposite with a solid state input and driver and tube outputs. tubes are required to drive electrostatic panels directly. Otherwise a transformer is required to step up the voltage from a solid state amp. I also have transformer interfaces so I can hook up any conventional amp also.
Thank you for the video Mr. McGowan. Regarding damping factor, I have a rudimentary understanding of its effect in amplification, however I do not understand what is considered good and if there is an audible difference in the sound between an amp with a damping factor of 50 vs an amp with a damping factor of 2000. I have looked at specks of amps costing > 10K with damping factors of < 100, and amps costing < 1K with damping factors > 1000. Can you hear a difference where one might say..."now that is an amp with a high damping factor" without looking at a speck sheet? Thanks!
It has to do a lot with what type of speaker you are driving. A loudspeaker made from stiff material will demand large damping factor from the amplifier to be controlled and vice versa.
Modern SS amps... yes... and more Watts as possible... in mono block configuration... as possible. For example, speakers P(ower) H(andling) is from 50 to 200 W, then it be good to have amplification at about min. 100 (or max. 400) W per channel (here we are talking about stereo). And of course, neutral sounding (in the middle between forward or laid back), like Paul said, for demanding playing and sounding loudspeakers (bright tweeter etc.). Peace audiophiles people!
Tri-amp 100+ W bass, 100+ W midrange, 60+ W tweeter per channel. Crescendos don't distort and bass can't pull everything else down. Direct coupling from the output transistors to the voice coils with no crossover in the way allows the amp to control the driver better. It doesn't have to cost a fortune if one buys good used gear and refurbishes it. (In my opinion.)
Everything is ok if you know how ... majority do not know and have to pay... when there are no crossover, you have to take into account how different drivers will integrate at the end. Good luck! BTW Companies have the means and resources to make prototypes, we do not have ... and in the end, our entire enterprise can cost us more expensive than if we have purchased the thing... in my opinion. Peace!
