I have a question about poweramps and if it makes a difference

[DanishCanadian]

Hi
I'm new in this forum. Currently I have this setup:

NAD C30350 LE with a pair of Buchardt S400 MKII. I use this setup for vinyl (Pro-ject Classic EVO) and streaming from my Roon Nucleus One and Qobuz. Very happy with it all in all but.....

Would I gain any significant boost in sound quality by buying a pair of Mono Poweramps? Thinking something likes the Audiophonics AP300-M450ET, March Audio P481.

I know that sound quality has all to do with the room that the music is played in but this is about what I would get (if any) by buying a pair of these amps.

Hope it's ok with a rookie question like this. Thanks.

 

[Doodski]

Would I gain any significant boost in sound quality by buying a pair of Mono Poweramps?

How loud do you play these? Are you using PEQ? With 100W/ch from the amp, 4 Ohms and 87dB efficiency/sensitivity they should make a nice system but there are outliers like people that really crank the power and go loud or use lotsa PEQ and do that too.

 

[DVDdoug]

Probably not. There are mainly 2 concerns -

Does it go loud enough without distortion? (Of course your speakers have power limits too and you don't want to kill them, or even distort them.)

Are you hearing noise? (Hum, hiss, or whine in the background.) If so, is that noise coming from the power amp, or the power-amp section of your integrated amp?

The only other basic "sound quality" consideration is frequency response and with most modern electronics frequency response is flat over the audible range.

EQ/tone controls or different speakers are better ways to change or improve the sound.

And get rid of the turntable. Records always have background noise and various other "issues".

 

[DanishCanadian]

Thanks. No, I'm not playing loud and my system seems to be able to handle the volume I prefer. Not hearing any noises and music sounds great. I was just wardering if I could get it to sound even better this way.

And no I'm not getting rid of of my Classic EVO

 

[Mikig]

Hope it's ok with a rookie question like this. Thanks.

Absolutely correct question!

It is fair to ask whether a change in the system, in principle, is an upgrade, a sidegrade or a downgrade.
We are all here to share our experiences, Don't be shy about asking!

 

[Doodski]

The biggest improvement you can make at this point is to get PEQ. Are you using a PC as a source? PEQ will give you much better sound quality and it will be a dramatic improvement that makes sense.

 

[Keith_W]

Welcome to ASR. Firstly, what do you mean by "sound quality"? Do you mean "sound quality" by objective measurements, or "sound quality" in the sense that you want the amplifier to add some sugar and spice to the sound so that its more enjoyable? There is only ONE standard for amplifiers, and that is "straight wire with gain". ASR can tell you which amplifiers approach this ideal. But some people think that "sound quality" means "more enjoyable sound" - i.e. the amplifier is distorting in a way that they find audibly pleasing. There is nothing wrong with that - it might be their preference. But remember that preference is individual, i.e. it only applies to that person. It may not apply to you.

So no - mono amplifiers do not give you "better sound quality". It gives you aesthetics, it lets you achieve that "symmetrical one amplifier per speaker" look. But that's about it, there is no inherent advantage in monoblocks.

 

[dougi]

The biggest improvement you can make at this point is to get PEQ. Are you using a PC as a source? PEQ will give you much better sound quality and it will be a dramatic improvement that makes sense.

The 3050LE has dirac, limited version by default. I use one in a large room (bigger than 8 x 12 meters) and it has enough power for Lintons. I have a power amp or two but rarely use them. Only valve amp in winter which has even less power.