I know that ASR members typically lean towards ‘better measurements = better sounding always’ viewpoint, but I wonder if anyone has comments on this video:
Dan D’Agostino on measurements
Dan D’Agostino on measurements
I know that ASR members typically lean towards ‘better measurements = better sounding always’ viewpoint, but I wonder if anyone has comments on this video:
Dan D’Agostino on measurements
Better (more accurate) sound doesn't suit the taste of all audiophile listeners, which is why some people prefer vinyl over digital, or valves over transistors, or lower-fi speakers.
Some types of distortion sound nice to some people which is why they are called euphonic.
Dan's amps are unlikely to be audibly flawed.
I personally think they're beautiful- my wife thinks they're hideous.
What about slightly coloured or euphonic?
I purchased a pair of Momentums on sale or return, based on hearing them at shows and reputation. I immediately found them too warm for my tastes and lacking in tight control in the bass (piano sounded different to me, and they didn't do certain low frequency effects on familiar tracks) when compared to more familiar ss amps (Devialet). I sent them back, to the horror of the supplier. I could see how some would prefer the sound - sort of on the way to a valve sound. Later I heard them at a Melbourne hi fi show in a top end set up with Wilson speakers, playing some familiar Simon and Garfunkel. Again I personally thought it a rather beautiful, almost natural, but warm, sound. A rather colourful character next to me was clearly very agitated by the presentation, in fact so offended by the accuracy of the sound relative to the huge cost that he voiced his opinions at the end, rather loudly, along the lines of "That sound's not right! Cymbals don't sound like that!" I personally agreed, but I think most in the large crowd liked the sound. So I guess you can't please everyone voicing electronics to suit taste.
Personally my taste leans more to super low distortion amplifiers - the Neurochrome or Halcro models for instance. Interestingly two of my audio friends who came from valve and somewhat warm sounding SS amps also migrated to Neurochrome amps - this has generally happened through rather ear-opening A/B tests over some years now..... On the other hand we tend to swap in other amps just for a bit of variety in sound now and then - but we always seem to fall back to lowest distortion after a couple of weeks....
I know that ASR members typically lean towards ‘better measurements = better sounding always’ viewpoint
Well I try to contribute my views as personal. Of course it was done ears only. At home it was ears only A/B over a couple of weeks. It's an odd hobby - in the end we listen rather than measure. Yes fair enough the speakers, room and crowd affect the sound. But I thought I heard , but very likely imagined, a familiar sound from the system.
Perhaps I could summarise my post simply as personally I've listened critically to Momentums vs other amps and found them warm and not so well controlled. This, as it happens, seems to align with then being voiced rather than designed for lowest distortion. I guess not too many people buy an amplifier from the specifications..
It's tricky on this site to voice a personal view. If we are to consider measurements only - fair enough - this personal view correlates with a not so good measuring amplifier not being to my taste. Unless we have some expressing their views how are we to conclude that the best measuring amplifier is the best sounding? Admittedly we need a sample of more than just me, but at least I've listened to the amplifiers.
Fair enough. Blind and level matched (within say 0.1dB) pretty much requires special equipment. So few I expect do this. But nevertheless when evaluating a new purchase I guess most do their best to avoid bias. Perhaps we kid ourselves. In my case I wanted to like the amps in comparison to my then reference Devialet - but I didn't. I'd have thought I was biased the other way. Who knows - saved me a lot of money anyway.I don't think it's a problem voicing a personal view on this site. it's much more a problem voicing an uncontrolled, sighted opinion. Had you done your evaluation blind, level-matched, against other amplifiers, then perhaps the reactions would be different.
I accept that not many people evaluate equipment under any sort of controlled conditions, and if they did, I don't suppose there would be many sales and manufacturers would give up.
S.
The output impedance isn't super low, so there could be some small frequency response errors with speakers having large impedance swings. I wouldn't call that "euphonic" since it will be different speaker to speaker. Possibly barely discernable in a rapid-switched level-matched test, but not particularly significant in actual use.
The surprising thing is the relatively high crossover distortion- there's no excuse for that in a modern amplifier. That said, it's not likely to be anywhere near an audible level. I'd be annoyed at paying huge $$$ for something with that design flaw, but I'm not Dan's target market.
Blind and level matched (within say 0.1dB) pretty much requires special equipment.
My concerns begin and end with what’s at the output.Would you object to the poor filtration capabilities of the PSU?
I know that ASR members typically lean towards ‘better measurements = better sounding always’ viewpoint, but I wonder if anyone has comments on this video:
Dan D’Agostino on measurements
So it was not done ears-only.Well I try to contribute my views as personal. Of course it was done ears only. At home it was ears only A/B over a couple of weeks. It's an odd hobby - in the end we listen rather than measure. Yes fair enough the speakers, room and crowd affect the sound. But I thought I heard , but very likely imagined, a familiar sound from the system.
Perhaps I could summarise my post simply as personally I've listened critically to Momentums vs other amps and found them warm and not so well controlled. This, as it happens, seems to align with then being voiced rather than designed for lowest distortion. I guess not too many people buy an amplifier from the specifications...