Yeah I know about the Carver challenge.
But ready my words closely (yeah yeah, I know this is an internet forum and no one reads closely). I didn't say that two amps with the same specs can/will/might sound different. I would know that only if I did a double blind test. Not if someone else did one for me either.
Point taken--however when one begins to talk about the "sound" of amps and equates that with price (which you admittedly retracted), gets my hackles up--really my remarks were intended at the Parasound owner and you happened to step into the fray. So here's to a truce.
I don't believe is ESP nor do I believe in marked differences in tonality between well built amps operating in their happy zones. Differences might arise with impedance dips depending on the PS of the amps--don't think there is anything controversial there. Thankfully such demanding loads are becoming rarer in the marketplace..
This is after all what Bob C pretty much proved what 40 years ago. The flavor of the high end amps was distortion, and by adding a small amt to null out the differences, no one knew which amp was which. No one.
If that's not a QED moment, not sure what is. This is doubly true for DAC's which when level matched produce deep nulls. And for sampling--no one can reliably detect higher than 48k sample rate, and so forth.--been proven multiple times.
For the record I would just love to read of a case where DBT revealed a difference between competent electronics. Then we might have a clue as to what is eluding msmt that is still perceived. We could also all get on with our lives as everyone can agree that under certain (define here) conditions subtle differences can be reliably detected by individuals on a consistent basis. I can live with that. And live knowing that the component with the magic pixie dust sound (which I likely couldnt afford anyway) is out there and my system wiill never have that last bit of whatever. Hell a blunt and some good whisky is far cheaper and will produce far more meaningful improvements in sound, and I can live with that as well.
Cheers,
John