Martinvb
Active Member
Just wondering… Today we have these amazing class D amplifiers, with high efficiency, great SINAD etc. As a thought experiment (I am not a tech expert), I was figuring out what it would take to develop a software tool that could emulate the sound signature of let’s say a multi-K€ McIntosh amplifier reproduced on a ‘neutral’ amp like the Topping PA5. Not trivial, I suppose, but many examples of such plugins are present in professional audio tools, e.g. plugins for music production software that emulates analogue (tube-like) distortion. What would be different if you could define a brand’s sound signature, saved it as a plugin, and use it to add device specific sound coloration on top of the ‘neutral’ sound processing of a good class D amplifier? I can imagine that if such tools would become available, this may help us understand why people prefer coloured sound produced by their system instead of the uncoloured version straight from the source. Perhaps this might be much more complicated than I think, but wouldn’t it be fun to have an app that would enable live switching between the sound signatures of all high-end brands?