• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Amplifier Bakeoff: Purifi Eval1, McIntosh MA252 & Benchmark AHB2

Gueco

Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2021
Messages
25
Likes
1
Its not placebo when the music sounds so much different from one amp to another, even you would tell the difference. One sounds fast the other slow. Anyway this is a cult, good luck with your purifi.
 

Willem

Major Contributor
Joined
Jan 8, 2019
Messages
3,658
Likes
5,276
Just read the classic article by James Moir that I linked to. It compared amplifiers that were not nearly as good as the modern ones compared here, and even so, the quite distinguished panel could not tell them apart. And yes, I personally attended such a comparison, and it cured me forever. There have been plenty of such tests since, and as far as I know they have all reached the same conclusion.
Of course, this is not to say that the AHB2 is not a good amplifier.
 

pogo

Major Contributor
Joined
Sep 4, 2020
Messages
1,241
Likes
382
purifi is not good
I just looked up your KEF on the web and from the looks of it, they subjectively sound best with amps that have a moderate DF, so the AHB2 will probably show a better result in your setup.
But therefore the purifi is not bad, but just does not fit to your speakers, ie there is a mismatch.
 

BrokenEnglishGuy

Major Contributor
Joined
Jul 19, 2020
Messages
1,914
Likes
1,147
I just looked up your KEF on the web and from the looks of it, they subjectively sound best with amps that have a moderate DF, so the AHB2 will probably show a better result in your setup.
But therefore the purifi is not bad, but just does not fit to your speakers, ie there is a mismatch.
What ? can you elaborate please?
 

Gueco

Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2021
Messages
25
Likes
1
Ok, that's quite clear to me... First day of membership. Obvious trolling on several thread. Maybe you need someone to show you the door?
cult warning
Just read the classic article by James Moir that I linked to. It compared amplifiers that were not nearly as good as the modern ones compared here, and even so, the quite distinguished panel could not tell them apart. And yes, I personally attended such a comparison, and it cured me forever. There have been plenty of such tests since, and as far as I know they have all reached the same conclusion.
Of course, this is not to say th
Just read the classic article by James Moir that I linked to. It compared amplifiers that were not nearly as good as the modern ones compared here, and even so, the quite distinguished panel could not tell them apart. And yes, I personally attended such a comparison, and it cured me forever. There have been plenty of such tests since, and as far as I know they have all reached the same conclusion.
Of course, this is not to say that the AHB2 is not a good amplifier.
cured you from satan, ehhe

I just looked up your KEF on the web and from the looks of it, they subjectively sound best with amps that have a moderate DF, so the AHB2 will probably show a better result in your setup.
But therefore the purifi is not bad, but just does not fit to your speakers, ie there is a mismatch.

Makes no sense to me. I had the opportunity to drive R3s with some 620W/8R power amp... and thought these sounded "boring" all the same...
listen to the kef with the ahb2 and then we can talk, until then this is useless
 

Gueco

Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2021
Messages
25
Likes
1
I also like to compare dacs that measure well. The differences in sound are sometimes huge. Super easy to tell some of the dacs apart. Is this also "not science" ? what crazy cult is this.
 

Gueco

Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2021
Messages
25
Likes
1
I also like to compare dacs that measure well. The differences in sound are sometimes huge. Super easy to tell some of the dacs apart. Is this also "not science" ? what crazy cult is this.

No pissed-off regular member warning. You should take even more carefullly.

Useless? Coming from your mouth, what kind of joke is that?

OK, I'm done here. @BDWoody, @AdamG247, please ban the troll.
ban the guy that does not agree with me
 

BDWoody

Chief Cat Herder
Moderator
Forum Donor
Joined
Jan 9, 2019
Messages
6,948
Likes
22,625
Location
Mid-Atlantic, USA. (Maryland)
I am very sensitive to microdynamics. Maybe you are not. And maybe you like the slow sound you have now


you are a cult follower pretending to be scientific, its always the same
.

Joined today, 22 posts, all basically trolling.


ban the guy that does not agree with me

No, it's ban the guy who is here to cause problems.

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and just go for a couple of weeks, but please don't come back and pick up where you left off.

This isn't how we interact here. This was simple, and not very good, trolling.

See you in a while...
 

Mathias

Member
Joined
Nov 28, 2020
Messages
23
Likes
45
Because you need to be sure of the opposite first, the other day a guy here who have both power amps ( The purifi and the benchmark ahb2 ), listening his ahb2 vs purifi thinks the purifi was a lot better




There will be another day that a random guy will post this Power amp sounds so much better and alive than this '' insert a random power amp '' !. It's always the same boring things.






People always waste his time in placebo things.


If this guy wanted dynamics he should look at the weak slope in the sub-bass region
This is the R7, the floorstanding of R3. Their F3 it's at 60hz.
Untere Grenzfreq. −3/−6 dB 60/37 Hz
View attachment 171139
The fact that Gueco and an another guy have a different opinion does not mean that Gueco is wrong. He could be wrong, the other guy could be wrong, or they could both be wrong. But maybe Gueco is not wrong.(for example, a double blind test confirms this) So you can't be sure it's "just placebo". Writing down that Gueco is definitely wrong is just as unsubstantiated as his or anyone's listening test. (I'm not saying Gueco is right, because I don't know, but I'm not sure he's wrong either)
I think it's no problem to write down the results of the listening test here on ASR. Even if it may not be provable. Everyone knows it is a subjective opinion.
 

BrokenEnglishGuy

Major Contributor
Joined
Jul 19, 2020
Messages
1,914
Likes
1,147
The fact that Gueco and an another guy have a different opinion does not mean that Gueco is wrong. He could be wrong, the other guy could be wrong, or they could both be wrong. But maybe Gueco is not wrong.(for example, a double blind test confirms this) So you can't be sure it's "just placebo". Writing down that Gueco is definitely wrong is just as unsubstantiated as his or anyone's listening test. (I'm not saying Gueco is right, because I don't know, but I'm not sure he's wrong either)
I think it's no problem to write down the results of the listening test here on ASR. Even if it may not be provable. Everyone knows it is a subjective opinion.
Well, he even talk about the Purifi as a '' slow '' power amplifier. That's because I know it's placebo.
It's ridiculous.
 

peng

Master Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
May 12, 2019
Messages
5,615
Likes
5,168
Why are you sure there is no audible difference between the two amplifiers?

Have you seen the measurements of the R3 though? If yes, could you tell me why the Purifi would be so bad with them, vs the AHB2? I mean based on known science. Amp designers don't design amps by ears, I hope not. To be clear, I am not one who would say two amps would not sound different, not without stating some assumptions of the conditions of use. I am just curious of the reasons in this case.
 

VintageFlanker

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Sep 20, 2018
Messages
4,941
Likes
19,694
Location
Paris
The fact that Gueco and an another guy have a different opinion does not mean that Gueco is wrong.
This is not about @Gueco being subjectively right or objectively wrong. I do not care much TBH. This is about some just-joined member with quite questionable claims calling everyone arguing a "cultist". That is unacceptable.
 

peng

Master Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
May 12, 2019
Messages
5,615
Likes
5,168
I just looked up your KEF on the web and from the looks of it, they subjectively sound best with amps that have a moderate DF, so the AHB2 will probably show a better result in your setup.
But therefore the purifi is not bad, but just does not fit to your speakers, ie there is a mismatch.

Okay so you could explain why the difference based again on DF, but should the difference be as much as what was presented in this case? The AHB2's DF of 175 to 350 would make the R3 "fast" and the Purif with higher DF would make them sound "slow"? What's the science behind such difference?
 

Mathias

Member
Joined
Nov 28, 2020
Messages
23
Likes
45
Well, he even talk about the Purifi as a '' slow '' power amplifier. That's because I know it's placebo.
It's ridiculous.
Describing what you hear is not an easy task. He may not be good at describing what he hears. That doesn't mean there is no difference.
(I don't want to defend him, because afterwards he made some not very nice statements, which will be judged by the moderators.)
 

BrokenEnglishGuy

Major Contributor
Joined
Jul 19, 2020
Messages
1,914
Likes
1,147
Describing what you hear is not an easy task. He may not be good at describing what he hears. That doesn't mean there is no difference.
(I don't want to defend him, because afterwards he made some not very nice statements, which will be judged by the moderators.)
The problem is the conclusions that you make in the listening test, will provide very wrong future data in future conclusions

Most of good and great power amplifiers sounds mostly the same and differences are very small, for example that guy want to improve the dynamics from KEF R3, which have the same weak slope in the sub bass region as my KEF R7
index.php


What are you going to do?
Convince yourself that the new amplifier fix that weak slope or make a filter about +5dB using Low shelf filter up to 100 hz?


I did the low shelf filter to my R7s and that fix the dynamics or the '' dull sound '' imho.
 

BrokenEnglishGuy

Major Contributor
Joined
Jul 19, 2020
Messages
1,914
Likes
1,147
The topic is very complex, as I have linked before, and this seems to describe it best (unfortunately in german, but you can start the translator):
Link
Oh With DF are you only talking about Damping factor, oh yeah the purifi have a lot of damping factor and the ahb2 too, there is no problem.

With only about 100 is more than enough, both amplifier doesn't have any problem in this apartment.
 
Top Bottom