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General audio topics that don't fit into specific categories.

Here's my advice.

You were comparing a pre-amp and an amplifier together. There are two components in the amplification process, the pre-amplifier, which amplifies line level signals and operates as a volume control, and the amplifier, which takes the output from the pre-amp, amplifies it again and sends it out to the speakers. Both the preamplification stage and the amplification stage change the sound, so if you are strictly interested in hearing the difference between amplifiers, you need to listen to the same, seperate pre-amp and then switch amplifiers.

You have to at least have decent equipment to hear the differences. The cheap speakers that come with most main stream mini systems won't allow you to hear the difference. Speaker cables also make a difference in the sound. With cheap speaker cables, it's more difficult to hear the difference between amps b/c less of the source is getting through the cable and it's being colored and distorted more than with a better, more expensive, cable.

Is there a good audiophile store in your area? [Not Best Buy, Circuit City, etc, but a small specialized store]. Get a variety of CD's (Jazz, classical, vocal, and whatever you like) and go to a high end shop and tell them you want to audition amplifiers. They will probably ask you what you have at home, just tell them that you are building a system after hearing your friend's setup. You could even tell them that you don't believe that two solid state amplifiers that output the same amount of watts could sound different. Listen to the same pre-amp and speakers and use the same cables. You could even listen to the difference between integrated amplifiers, even though that would include a change in the pre-amp stage, it would be the equivalent of the comparison you made earlier between the receiver and the boom box. You will hear a difference if your hearing isn't damaged, and you might catch the audio bug.

If you don't know of any high end stores in your area, post a message here asking if there are any good audio shops in your area.


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