Re: Do all amplifiers sound the same?

Some manufactorers admit that they Color or "voice" their amplifiers. 
Audio Research does and of course there are the Carver solid state amps 
that were supposedly voiced like tube amplifiers.

Another thing. I cannot usually tell the difference between two good 
amps in an AB test.....But on first listening to an acceptional amp my 
subconscious tells me it's good after the first few seconds. Maybe 
that's what a "golden ear" is about.......

RobertLang wrote:
> Can a manufacturer “color” the sound of their amps purposefully so that
> they *do* sound differently from other amps? If you read the product
> information you almost get the impression that’s what some may do? Also,
is
> there any reasons why an Class D amp might sound differently from a A/B
or
> why those two cl***** may sound differently than a Class A?
> 
> Let me make it clear that over the years I have been unable to discern
> through subjective listening that audible differences exist among
> amplifiers as long the amplifiers are operating within their design
limits.
> To best insure that the amplifiers I use do not exceed their limits I
tend
> to use large “beefy” amps with considerably more power than I would
> probably ever us.
> 
> I do have criteria, however, when purchasing an amplifier as subjective
> and perhaps shallow as they may be. Among the criteria are looks
(although
> my amps are now hidden from view), size, rated continuous power of 300
> watts + into 8 ohms with low rated distortion across the a wide
frequency
> response and power bandwidth, a doubling of power or near doubling into
4
> ohms, substantial increase of rated power into 2 ohms, input sensitivity
of
> 1.5 V or less (for full output) because I employ a passive line stage,
and
> an input impedance friendly for passives. Usually they tend to be of
mono
> design (although that is not a criterion) even if contained in a single
> chassis. 
> 
> I have found that if an amp meets those criteria in my system I really
> can’t tell the difference whether it is in bass response, high frequency
> response, depth, width, height of sound stage, etc.
> 
> Robert C. Lang
>