Hi does amplifiers improve the sound/music?

[J84]

Hi does amplifiers improve the sound/music?

Isn't the job of a amplifier just amplify a sound?

The topping mini 300 measured good. So what will be different between the topping mini300 Vs B200 to drive the wharfedale linton?

Like will the more expensive topping B200 improve the sound/music more than the mini300?

 

[DVDdoug]

Isn't the job of a amplifier just amplify a sound?

Yes. Although there are some bad amplifiers, most electronics are better than human hearing unless you overdrive an amplifier into clipping (distortion).

And sometimes there is audible noise (hum, hiss, or whine in the background). (High gain phono preamps and mic preamps are more prone to noise because the noise gets amplified.)

Of course tone control, EQ, or room correction (fancy EQ) will affect the sound if your amp has those features.

With electronics, frequency response and distortion are almost always better than human hearing unless something is overdriven into clipping. Speakers are a different story and it's mostly about on-axis and off-axis frequency response.

See Audiophoolery.

 

[voodooless]

The B200 has about 3x the power of the mini. So it will play louder.

Otherwise, it will be more quiet with high efficiency speakers.

And it’s low gain, which means not all sources can play it at full volume.

Other than that, they will sound the same.

 

[Oddball]

Hi does amplifiers improve the sound/music?

Isn't the job of a amplifier just amplify a sound?

The topping mini 300 measured good. So what will be different between the topping mini300 Vs B200 to drive the wharfedale linton?

Like will the more expensive topping B200 improve the sound/music more than the mini300?

Gets complicated as noted. What do you have and what do you want to get to is usually the path to an answer. And knowing more about the room/system and your listening preferences also helps.

 

[oleg87]

I think it's more useful to think in terms of insufficiently capable amplification degrading sound/music.
The worst thing an amp does, generally speaking, is run out of power headroom and clip. This creates very nasty and very audible distortion. So you really want enough power for your desired volume headroom/speakers. If we're talking about decent quality solid-state amps, distortion generally won't be an issue of audible concern until the onset of clipping.

Noise can also be an issue, and your requirements in that respect will depend on the sensitivity of your speakers, but if you hear hiss from your speakers that should be pretty self-evident.

Another thing that *can* be a very significant factor is output impedance/damping factor, but with solid-state designs that's not worth worrying about too much.

Keep in mind that audio "placebo effect" is very powerful and unless you've done a lot of blind testing you're likely to severely underestimate the degree to which your hearing will imagine differences that don't exist, or how much small volume differences affect your impression of sound quality. These illusory/extraneous differences will most likely swamp any real difference that you could discern by sound alone.

 

[J84]

The B200 has about 3x the power of the mini. So it will play louder.

Otherwise, it will be more quiet with high efficiency speakers.

And it’s low gain, which means not all sources can play it at full volume.

Other than that, they will sound the same.

Thanks

 

[J84]

Yes. Although there are some bad amplifiers, most electronics are better than human hearing unless you overdrive an amplifier into clipping (distortion).

And sometimes there is audible noise (hum, hiss, or whine in the background). (High gain phono preamps and mic preamps are more prone to noise because the noise gets amplified.)

Of course tone control, EQ, or room correction (fancy EQ) will affect the sound if your amp has those features.

With electronics, frequency response and distortion are almost always better than human hearing unless something is overdriven into clipping. Speakers are a different story and it's mostly about on-axis and off-axis frequency response.

See Audiophoolery.

Thanks

 

[J84]

I think it's more useful to think in terms of insufficiently capable amplification degrading sound/music.
The worst thing an amp does, generally speaking, is run out of power headroom and clip. This creates very nasty and very audible distortion. So you really want enough power for your desired volume headroom/speakers. If we're talking about decent quality solid-state amps, distortion generally won't be an issue of audible concern until the onset of clipping.

Noise can also be an issue, and your requirements in that respect will depend on the sensitivity of your speakers, but if you hear hiss from your speakers that should be pretty self-evident.

Another thing that *can* be a very significant factor is output impedance/damping factor, but with solid-state designs that's not worth worrying about too much.

I think it's more useful to think in terms of insufficiently capable amplification degrading sound/music.
The worst thing an amp does, generally speaking, is run out of power headroom and clip. This creates very nasty and very audible distortion. So you really want enough power for your desired volume headroom/speakers. If we're talking about decent quality solid-state amps, distortion generally won't be an issue of audible concern until the onset of clipping.

Noise can also be an issue, and your requirements in that respect will depend on the sensitivity of your speakers, but if you hear hiss from your speakers that should be pretty self-evident.

Another thing that *can* be a very significant factor is output impedance/damping factor, but with solid-state designs that's not worth worrying about too much.

Thanks.