As background, for the last few years my system has consisted of mainly Accuphase gear which I bought as a bonus to myself after retiring. I bought this gear before becoming a reader of ASR. I have been into HiFi since the 70s so have had a lot of different gear over the years
My system consists of:
Roon Core on i7 NUC with EQ from REW
SoTM SMS-200 Neo Ultra Streamer with Uptone JS-2 LPS.
DP-560 CD/SACD/DAC
C-2850 Preamplifier
A-70 Power amplifier
Magico S5 speakers
I recently added a Matrix Audio Element X.
I absolutely love the sound of my system but I felt the power amplifier was underpowered, which was especially obvious when I have mates around, drink too much red and crank it up on old 70s tracks!
I purchased a March Audio P 452 power amp as a kind of experiment after much reading, including here on ASR.
From the first listen it just sounded amazing. Wonderful resolution, precise instrument placement and best of all I could now power the Magicos to ear bleeding volume without audible distortion. I was as happy as a pig in mud.
I excitedly invited my brother around for a listen. He's been in the hobby as long as I have, he lives nearby and we always compare systems and enjoy discussing HiFi, even if we don't always agree on what sounds best.
His first comments on hearing the P 452 in my system were "That sounds terrible. The soundstage has collapsed and the imaging has disappeared. There must be something broken in the amp. I'd send it back and get them to check it. Sounds like the phase has been mucked up. The Accuphase is way better."
I was completely gobsmacked that he was hearing this and I was hearing amazing clarity, resolution and instrument placement.
I have to say we have discussed this imaging thing before and I've never heard it on any system the way he describes it. The depth and height sort of thing is something I just don't hear.
So to my queries.
Who is right? Can two people listen to the same thing and hear two totally different things?
How can an amplifier (especially an amplifier that measures as well as the Purifi based amps) collapse a soundstage and imaging? Is there a scientifically plausible explanation?
Could this be part of the reason why there is a gulf between subjectivists and objectivists?
I'd appreciate people's experiences and comments.
My system consists of:
Roon Core on i7 NUC with EQ from REW
SoTM SMS-200 Neo Ultra Streamer with Uptone JS-2 LPS.
DP-560 CD/SACD/DAC
C-2850 Preamplifier
A-70 Power amplifier
Magico S5 speakers
I recently added a Matrix Audio Element X.
I absolutely love the sound of my system but I felt the power amplifier was underpowered, which was especially obvious when I have mates around, drink too much red and crank it up on old 70s tracks!
I purchased a March Audio P 452 power amp as a kind of experiment after much reading, including here on ASR.
From the first listen it just sounded amazing. Wonderful resolution, precise instrument placement and best of all I could now power the Magicos to ear bleeding volume without audible distortion. I was as happy as a pig in mud.
I excitedly invited my brother around for a listen. He's been in the hobby as long as I have, he lives nearby and we always compare systems and enjoy discussing HiFi, even if we don't always agree on what sounds best.
His first comments on hearing the P 452 in my system were "That sounds terrible. The soundstage has collapsed and the imaging has disappeared. There must be something broken in the amp. I'd send it back and get them to check it. Sounds like the phase has been mucked up. The Accuphase is way better."
I was completely gobsmacked that he was hearing this and I was hearing amazing clarity, resolution and instrument placement.
I have to say we have discussed this imaging thing before and I've never heard it on any system the way he describes it. The depth and height sort of thing is something I just don't hear.
So to my queries.
Who is right? Can two people listen to the same thing and hear two totally different things?
How can an amplifier (especially an amplifier that measures as well as the Purifi based amps) collapse a soundstage and imaging? Is there a scientifically plausible explanation?
Could this be part of the reason why there is a gulf between subjectivists and objectivists?
I'd appreciate people's experiences and comments.