Dynaudio Heritage Special

[Frank Dernie]

It absolutely is not. Many audiophiles run flea watt tube amps into high efficiency speakers.

One of my systems has been like that but I would not term it "high fidelity" more "audiophile" nut case but fun.
I still use the speakers (109dB/watt) most days but any amp I own drives them fine from both a noise and distortion pov. Currently using a Job INTegrated which works perfectly with them but is nla.

 

[richard12511]

@RobS

I think you and I have just have completely different views on the importance of amplifiers. I've been careful to say "sonically" or "sound quality" for a reason, as none of the "issues" you mention are even close to audible with the best class D amps.

But you just said more power determines sound quality, so why ignore it?

A couple reasons.

1. While it's true that power does completely encapsulate blind listening condition amplifer sound quality(so long as all other "issues" are below audible threshold), we don't listen under blind listening conditions. Power only matters at the highest listening levels, where as aesthetic bias will increase sound quality at all levels. So, as long as "issues" are below human hearing thresholds(which they are for all decents amps), I think it's best to buy what you have the most visual bias for.

2. This is all getting off topic for this thread. I'd definitely be willing to continue the discussion in another thread if you want, but for the sake of this thread, I think we may have to just agree to disagree .

Everything in the audio chain matters. From the transducers, to the amplification, to the source. Granted the transducers will largely shape how sound is reproduced, but the more resolving a speaker is, the more differences can be clearly heard upstream.

This is why I say we may just have to agree to disagree. I'm of the opinion that at any reasonable listening level, speakers, room, placements/positions, and DSP make up 99.99% of all that matters. Cables, DACs, Pre-amps, amps, etc. are less than .01% of sound quality in my mind. If you listen to vinyl, then turntable stuff matters too, but I'm purely digital, so no experience with that.

 

[Soniclife]

It is nice to know, but it is not quite correct. the Benchmark AHB2 is the #1 amp measured here, it is AB

I thought it was class H.

 

[JustJones]

I'm of the opinion that at any reasonable listening level, speakers, room, placements/positions, and DSP make up 99.99% of all that matters

This is my opinion as well. All my class d amps, dacs are inside my speakers. Getting the room and speaker position along with a little DSP is about 99% of it. I will say in my room the second best I heard were Revel 226be with class d amps. This everything in the chain matters is a favorite audiophile meme. As long as you have decent measuring components no matter the class of amp or type of dac the most important for sound quality is your room and speakers.

 

[Helicopter]

I thought it was class H.

Yeah that fancy power supply does make it H.

 

[MrPeabody]

I always appreciate when audio people say plainly that the speakers and the room (and the pickup for vinyl cavemen) are responsible for 99% or more of sound quality, and all the rest of it combined accounts for less than 1%. It is always possible to make a bad amplifier purchase and get one with a noise floor high enough to be heard, or one with barely audible distortion, but this doesn't often happen. For people who don't mess with vinyl, it's mostly about the speakers. And proper integration of the main speakers with the subwoofer, which isn't difficult nowadays thanks to convenient solutions built in to receivers and preamplifiers. And the room of course, which matters, but possibly not as much as people sometimes think, except in cases where the room is really bad, and in those cases the best thing to do is to move it all to a different room or else bite the bullet and get a good pair of headphones.

 

[Sugarbubble]

When is the Technics SU-R1000 GaN FET amp finally going to come out?

It was previewed last Fall and here it is March and we have nothing.

I am on the waiting list. It was delayed for an issue with the power supply, so I am told.

 

[Lavawood]

Class D that's your problem lol.

Subsonic filter is the problem! You’re missing out! What’s the cutoff? Your speakers go deep in the 40’s

 

[RobS]

The A/D hybrid is not like a class A/B where the amp is class A up to a certain power then crosses over to class-B.
It is class A at all powers. The class A amp defines the voltage and the (4 per channel running at different phases iirc) class D amps are controlled to supply the current, a bit along the lines of the much earlier Quad current dumping idea.
So effectively you have a 400+ watt class A amp performance without it running all that hot.
How hot they do run has varied with firmware updates IME.

Yeah they digitize the input signal, which makes it instantly craptacular.

 

[watchnerd]

Yeah they digitize the input signal, which makes it instantly craptacular.

Digitizing makes it instantly craptacular because.....?

 

[Soniclife]

Digitizing makes it instantly craptacular because.....?

Stairsteps, it's those bloody steps ruining the prat.

 

[Soniclife]

Subsonic filter is the problem! You’re missing out! What’s the cutoff? Your speakers go deep in the 40’s

The subsonic filter removes stuff below 20hz, these speakers are not doing anything useful down there but driving up IMD.

 

[RobS]

Digitizing makes it instantly craptacular because.....?

Because its butchering to hell the analog signal. I'd rather butcher my meats, not audio.

 

[watchnerd]

Because its butchering to hell the analog signal. I'd rather butcher my meats, not audio.

Oh okay.

Have you heard the vinyl rips I made using the Devialet?

 

[Soniclife]

I'd rather butcher my meats

Brings tears to my eyes, but each to their own.

 

[watchnerd]

Brings tears to my eyes, but each to their own.

There's a tool for that, available on eBay.

Just like a wine opener!

 

[Soniclife]

There's a tool for that, available on eBay.

Just like a wine opener!

I'm not asking why you know that.

 

[watchnerd]

I'm not asking why you know that.

Seminary

 

[Soniclife]

Seminary

Corporal punishment at my school was a lot less esoteric.

 

[watchnerd]

I've developed an OCD habit now of putting the grills on after each listening session, and then pulling them off again for listening, because I'm worried about that expensive tweeter and fantasize that the cloth + grill frame actually provides a modicum of protection.

At least more than no grill, right?