3e audio a7 mono to topping b200

[NJ coffee roaster]

If I upgrade will there be an audible difference? They both seem to have distortion below what we can really hear so I'm not really sure. Many insist that AB and D amps with the same distortion and measurements will still sound different.

Thoughts?

 

[antcollinet]

If I upgrade will there be an audible difference? They both seem to have distortion below what we can really hear so I'm not really sure. Many insist that AB and D amps with the same distortion and measurements will still sound different.

Thoughts?

Many say that cables or fuses, or crystals, or Grounding boxes can bring you to audio nirvana. Some even say the earth is flat. They are all wrong too.



We can measure everything that can be heard. The reverse is not true.

Bottom line - There are all sorts of irrational belief systems in the world. The world of Audio reproduction has vastly more than its fair share. Just because many people say something doesn't make it true.

 

[NJ coffee roaster]

Many say that cables or fuses, or crystals, or Grounding boxes can bring you to audio nirvana. Some even say the earth is flat. They are all wrong too.



We can measure everything that can be heard. The reverse is not true.

Bottom line - There are all sorts of irrational belief systems in the world. The world of Audio reproduction has vastly more than its fair share. Just because many people say something doesn't make it true.

I know all of that already, you haven’t answered my actual question though.

 

[DVDdoug]

I assume you have a pair so you aren't REALLY listening in mono? (Separate left & right amps are a gimmick but there's no harm.)

you haven’t answered my actual question though.

You shouldn't hear any difference unless you currently have some kind of sound quality problem. Or the Topping has slightly more power if you want to go a few dB louder (if your speakers can take the additional louder).

If you want to change or improve the sound try tone controls/EQ or different speakers.

With electronics, there are only 3 characteristics to "sound quality" (noise, distortion, and frequency response). Sometimes there is audible noise (hum, hiss, or whine in the background). Distortion and frequency response are almost always better than human hearing (in electronics) unless you overdrive an amplifier (or something) into clipping/distortion. (See Audiophoolery)

 

[antcollinet]

I know all of that already, you haven’t answered my actual question though.

My apologies, I thought my response made my answer obvious but I didn’t clarify enough.

If you have similarly well-measuring amps, they will sound the same regardless of class.

However, there are edge cases. Imagine two badly measuring amps where noise or distortion or frequency response is audible in both. Even if the measurements are similar, it’s possible (though unlikely) that they might sound different. This is because numerical measurements summarise performance. For example, SINAD combines noise and distortion. One amp might have poor SINAD due to noise and the other due to distortion. If these weaknesses were audible, they would likely sound different.

However:

1 - This has nothing to do with amp classification.
2 - Devices measuring badly enough to be audible are rare so this isn’t really an edge case you need to worry about.

 

[Mort]

I know all of that already, you haven’t answered my actual question though.

If you did, you would have your answer

 

[Jiraya369]

I assume you have a pair so you aren't REALLY listening in mono? (Separate left & right amps are a gimmick but there's no harm.)


You shouldn't hear any difference unless you currently have some kind of sound quality problem. Or the Topping has slightly more power if you want to go a few dB louder (if your speakers can take the additional louder).

If you want to change or improve the sound try tone controls/EQ or different speakers.

With electronics, there are only 3 characteristics to "sound quality" (noise, distortion, and frequency response). Sometimes there is audible noise (hum, hiss, or whine in the background). Distortion and frequency response are almost always better than human hearing (in electronics) unless you overdrive an amplifier (or something) into clipping/distortion. (See Audiophoolery)

which measurement points to noise and which distortion measurement should i look at? THD with wattage? i just look at that graph and call it a day.

 

[RHO]

Some class D amps have a load dependant frequency response.
So, even if noise and (all types of) distortion would be similar to that of a class AB amp, measured into a resistive load, they still could sound different.

 

[antcollinet]

Some class D amps have a load dependant frequency response.
So, even if noise and (all types of) distortion would be similar to that of a class AB amp, measured into a resistive load, they still could sound different.

But then they also measure different. The question asked was: do similar measuring class AB (or B) Vs Class D amps sound different.

There is also debate on the audibility of that load dependency at the levels typically seen in class D amps lacking post filter feedback.

 

[TurtlePaul]

In normal speaker applications you would never hear the difference.

If you asked me to identify which amp was hooked up without looking, I would hook them up to a 108 dB sensitive horn without a crossover in front of it. In that case the 3e A7 would produce a hiss that could be heard a few cm from the horn but the Topping would be still silent.

But as a practical matter, most speakers are 20+ dB less sensitive than that and the 3e doesn’t hiss at all with typical full range speakers.

Both amps have distortion below 115 dB - nobody can hear that ever with music.

 

[RHO]

But then they also measure different. The question asked was: do similar measuring class AB (or B) Vs Class D amps sound different.

There is also debate on the audibility of that load dependency at the levels typically seen in class D amps lacking post filter feedback.

Are the loads Amir uses pure resistive? I had the impression they have a C and L component to resemble a loadspeaker. I could be totally wrong about this.

I agree with you that if all measurements are equal, the amplifier class doesn't matter. They will sound the same.

I think it depends on how much peaking you get at the end and where the increase or attention starts.
In many cases it's at a too high frequency for many audiophiles to hear it.