Can you tell me about your experience on tact m2150 relative to some mor
e recent electronics (in soundstaging and overall).
In the first place ... Welcome to ASR!
Secondly ...
competently designed electronic circuits do not have characteristics that are audible. This means that although instrumental testing might reveal differences between the circuits (low-level or high-level), those differences cannot be perceived by humans. They are below the threshold of human hearing.
Unfortunately, there are electronic circuits that have characteristics that
are audible. In some cases, these circuits are marketed by people I call "charlatans". An audible "difference" can help salesmen differentiate between one product and another. Sometimes, the audible difference is due to restrictions placed upon the designer due to heavy competition in the marketplace.
And in some cases (I don't believe very many) the audibility is due to designer incompetence.
As for (specifically) soundstaging ... no well-designed amplifier adds to or subtracts from the information on the recording that involves our perception of soundstaging. They simply pass that information on to us without modifying it.
I don't believe any of these failings apply to the amps you have mentioned.
If you went through a double-blind test to discern a difference between any of these amps, I seriously doubt that you could ... at least at volumes associated with residential listening. The reason I emphasize the level is that scientific tests of the Mentor loudspeaker are rare.
This one does not include information regarding difficult loads, although by the minimum-5-Ohm resistance I wouldn't really expect any.
The speaker DOES have a definite rising treble. That may bother some listeners ... including you.
However, that has nothing to do with the electronic circuits that come before the speaker.
You may want to investigate less-expensive alternatives for amplification.
Higher price does not necessarily equate to better amplification.
Jim
