Re: Do all amplifiers sound the same?

Sonnova <sonnova@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> On Mon, 31 Dec 2007 09:19:12 -0800, Steven Sullivan wrote
> (in article <flb8ag01e0r@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>):

> > Sonnova <sonnova@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> >> On Fri, 28 Dec 2007 08:45:57 -0800, jeffc wrote
> >> (in article <fl398501m67@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>):
> > 
> >>> "Arny Krueger" <arnyk@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message 
> >>> news:fku1p50hnu@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> >>>> 
> >>>>> Some will argue that well-made amps that measure the same
> >>>>> will sound the same.
> >>>> 
> >>>> The myth here is that two amps could measure the same. Even each
channel 
> >>>> of
> >>>> a stereo amplifier will measure differently, given sufficiently
accurate
> >>>> measuring gear.
> >>> 
> >>> I don't believe the measuring tests are really that accurate.  If
you 
> >>> doubt 
> >>> this, consider: voice recognition is extremely difficult for even
the most 
> >>> sophsticated equipment, yet trivially easy for even children.  The
same is 
> >>> true for image recognition.  Measurements might be good enough for
the 
> >>> cell 
> >>> phone generation, but that ain't sayin' much.
> >>> 
> >>> Theoretically, if it can't be measured it can't be heard.  But just 
> >>> because 
> >>> it can be measured doesn't mean it is being measured. 
> >>> 
> > 
> >> And since even if everything we hear could be preceisly quantified
and 
> >> weighted according to the requirements of human perception, that
still 
> >> doesn't mean that the ordinary audiophile would have access to the 
> >> equipment 
> >> with which to make those measurements for himself. We have two
instruments 
> >> we 
> >> can use when choosing audio equipment and we carry them with us
everywhere 
> >> we 
> >> go. Use 'em!
> > 
> > In using any tools, it's im****tant to keep their limitations in mind.
> > The 'two instruments' you cite are part of a system whose well-known
> > inaccuracies and tendencies to error, tend to be ignored in audiophile

> > culture.  

> But, when they're all you have..... 

> Tell me. How do you choose new audio components. Do you drag a lab full
of 
> test equipment with you to the audio salon? (If so, I'll bet the store
owner 
> just LOVES to see you coming :->) Or do you make your own components, 
> measuring everything as you go along?

False dichotomy.

In fact I rarely audition gear; I would only seriously desire or feel the 
need to do so, for loudspeakers, but that's rarely feasible to do at home 
(and listening 'in store' is not a good substitute).  And any such 
auditions are prone to sighted bias effect.  Solid state amps, preamps, 
CD/hard media players, cables are commodity gear, more likely to sound 
alike than not in a fair (blind) test when operated withing their limits. 
(I don't deal with turntables or tube gear, gear that introduces 
irreversible , supposedly 'euphonic', distortion). So I keep up on gear 
evolution, decide what features I want, then I choose gear that has them, 
based on manufacturer's information, and reviews, and published bench 
tests. Appearance and price can also be factors in my final choice. I 
mostly buy online, I don't often visit 'audio salons' except to sightsee. 

At all times I'm aware that 'sighted' reviews and re****ts on sound are 
suspect, including my own.

I put as much or more effort into speaker placement and room treatment. It

stands to both reason and practice that choice of loudspeaker, and 
attention to room conditions, makes *BY FAR* the most difference in sound 
quality. It really is just that simple, once you jettison all the nonsense

promulgated by audiophile culture.

___
-S 
"As human beings, we understand the world through simile, analogy, 
metaphor, narrative and, sometimes, claymation." - B. Mason