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Post by amped on Mar 12, 2019 11:09:30 GMT -5
Just get a tube amp😂🤣 OR... Just get a tube Pre-amp and still have all the warmth, soundstage and resolution that will still punch you in the face!
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Post by simpleman68 on Mar 12, 2019 11:30:35 GMT -5
Just get a tube amp😂🤣 OR... Just get a tube Pre-amp and still have all the warmth, soundstage and resolution that will still punch you in the face!
IF that's the combo that works with your rig.
Combo is hugely important. You can have great gear that does NOT work well with your speakers and vice versa. Scott
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Post by tchaik on Mar 12, 2019 11:36:00 GMT -5
thanks for all the comments and opinions guys, although more opinions than facts yet. as I said before, sound memory is exceedingly unreliable, so I am looking forward to hear of a side by side comparison of the two amps. btw... I have also owned the budget lines hafler, adcom, rotel and the expensive lines spectral, audio research and krell and found in direct comparison the differences were never the quantum leap the reviewers and golden ears claimed them to be. one caveat, all tubed amps I listened to or owned were substantially colored and so much fun to listen to, but not accurate. so far only the XPR-2 can faithfully reproduce the dynamics of a performance such as this......... youtu.be/XYNegThCRysyes, I am the old guy. the page turners are my students, and the other pianist is Dr. Denenburg, my piano duo partner. gonna do another series of concerts next year during my sabbatical. |
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Post by pedrocols on Mar 12, 2019 11:53:10 GMT -5
Just get a tube amp😂🤣 OR... Just get a tube Pre-amp and still have all the warmth, soundstage and resolution that will still punch you in the face!
And a tube amp. I can easily get that in your face punch with good subwoofer. |
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Post by amped on Mar 12, 2019 12:07:32 GMT -5
anyone comparing them to Classe, Krell, Mac, Bryston, Moon, Boulder or most any other 2 channel species specific Amp is kidding themselves. A Porsche 911 and a KIA Forte will both get you to the grocery store but is the journey the same? I think not. Are you saying this merely of cost of purchase, I've always wondered other than of course the price tag what makes those more expensive amps supposedly better ?? just a question as I am not rich enough to ever try any of those brands, can a company only build a really really great product at a certain price point ? Cheers, Chad Nope not saying that at all! Dollars spent does not (always) equate to quality. In example if anyone thinks some Cryogenically treated 3' XLR cable for $900 will get you to the holy land is crazy! (BTW I use EMO XLR's cables) And like most things in life there is a law of diminishing returns and in audio I think there is a big gap between Cost no object and boutique products and "consumer level" products. As I said the $6,500 CD Player was LIGHTYEARS better sounding then my $400 CD Player it replaced. The key is being the second owner of these products! Don't try and keep up with the Jones' s and buy some amp or processor you saw at CES wait a year or two and save big $! If you look at my signature there are some mighty heavy metal pieces...Ask me which one(s) I bought new....Well I will tell you. The only things I purchased new in the stack were my 2 phono Carts and my Def Tech speakers two things I think that are best if you are the first owner, EVERYTHING else is second owner! Like you I am not rich and let me try and slip $22k worth of amps passed The WBO which stands for "Wives Budget Office" BUT when I only paid $6,600 for them and sold 4k worth of stuff to offset the cost it passes! |
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Post by creimes on Mar 12, 2019 13:53:12 GMT -5
Are you saying this merely of cost of purchase, I've always wondered other than of course the price tag what makes those more expensive amps supposedly better ?? just a question as I am not rich enough to ever try any of those brands, can a company only build a really really great product at a certain price point ? Cheers, Chad Nope not saying that at all! Dollars spent does not (always) equate to quality. In example if anyone thinks some Cryogenically treated 3' XLR cable for $900 will get you to the holy land is crazy! (BTW I use EMO XLR's cables) And like most things in life there is a law of diminishing returns and in audio I think there is a big gap between Cost no object and boutique products and "consumer level" products. As I said the $6,500 CD Player was LIGHTYEARS better sounding then my $400 CD Player it replaced. The key is being the second owner of these products! Don't try and keep up with the Jones' s and buy some amp or processor you saw at CES wait a year or two and save big $! If you look at my signature there are some mighty heavy metal pieces...Ask me which one(s) I bought new....Well I will tell you. The only things I purchased new in the stack were my 2 phono Carts and my Def Tech speakers two things I think that are best if you are the first owner, EVERYTHING else is second owner! Like you I am not rich and let me try and slip $22k worth of amps passed The WBO which stands for "Wives Budget Office" BUT when I only paid $6,600 for them and sold 4k worth of stuff to offset the cost it passes! Yes I hear ya there price doesn't always equate to what you are getting, amp wise it always seems the crazy high end stuff is found to be better sounding then even the top line of Emotiva, why that is I'm not sure, placebo effect or actually due to build ?? I'm sure within a certain price point only so much can be done design wise ?? honestly I know so little about all that, some may never notice a difference and some will that's just the way audio is in general I think. Over the past 9 or 10 years I actually got into audio a little deeper than the previous years some things have made a noticeable difference and other things not, and if I spent $900 on XLR cables and I hear no change I would tell myself and others I did haha. Chad |
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Post by tchaik on May 3, 2019 15:28:48 GMT -5
just a little aside about the Gen 3 amps. I had a long conversation with lonnie about their SMPS vs the traditional toroidal transformer and banks of caps. In a nutshell, Lonnie worked over 2 years on the SMPS power supply looking for one way to lighten the weight of the amps and he is absolutely convinced it is cleaner, quiter, more stable, more powerful with less distortion and just plain better and better sounding than traditional power supplies. his explanations were not salesman hype, but a sincere belief that the Gen 3 amps are the best sounding amps they have made so far. what about those IM numbers Stereophile tested and found wanting you ask? lonnie told me that the earliest batch that came through had a part out of spec they were initially unaware of and when found they made the appropriate changes. The design was not out of spec, but what came from the supplier was. Dan/Lonnie offered to send Stereophile a replacement to re-review but the magazine said they were too backed up to take that on. c'est la vie............
Okay.... so why don't they use the same on their smaller amps you ask..... I was also told that the overall cost on the smaller amps is less with the traditional power supplies than with the SMPS which keeps the A-300 and A-150 in a targeted price range for them.
On this thread I asked if anyone had compared directly with the same associated equipment the XPR-2 with the DR-2, both having comparable power specs but considerably different weights. lots had opinions but no one has done exactly as I requested. sometime in this year I will be purchasing the DR-2 so I can make that comparison myself over time and I will share my conclusions at that time.
btw... having spoken with lonnie many many times over the last 10 years, one thing you will discover is that he is no salesman. just a geek engineer who loves his craft, his designs and great audio. no spin here.
to be honest, I am so old school, "the heavier, the better" has been my motto. my age, strength and health is now making me rethink that theory.
tchaik........
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Post by SteveH on May 3, 2019 16:42:16 GMT -5
to be honest, I am so old school, "the heavier, the better" has been my motto. my age, strength and health is now making me rethink that theory. tchaik........ I am in the electronics field, avionics. As technology evolves, circuit designs progress and efficiency increases, there is less heat to dissipate, so heat sink size can be reduced therefore reducing overall weight. On the other hand, if you prefer Class A amplifiers, you will probably never be able to escape the weight issue. |
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Post by vcautokid on May 4, 2019 1:06:53 GMT -5
True that linear supplies and all weigh allot. I say build smarter. I am a fan of switch mode supplies and the like. Work smarter,not harder. Heat and weight is no one's friend.
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