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In Reply to: RE: Itīs a mess out there posted by Audioquest4life on December 30, 2007 at 09:08:40
I'm glad you're in the 2% of the population that can afford 140wpc tube mono-blocks, I'm sure they're amazing.
Follow Ups:
Maybe someone gave him those....
Maybe he won the lottery, maybe he got them used, maybe they were old models that were highly discounted....
He was somehow able to get the speakers.... so...
At the end of the day, if anything, amps are JUST AS IMPORTANT as the speakers, and they often cost twice as much. There exists the possibility that some might have to learn this the hard way. I used to think that the N802s weren't a very good speaker, - but after I heard them with the Marsh amps, - I realized that they are just, (probably), a bit less flexible and ones options will be more limited with matching equipment...
IMO, it's high time that we stop placing so much emphasis on speakers: because they are the most visible, or for whatever reason, all too often, people shell out well over 50% of their budget on the speakers alone. When in fact, it should it should flip the other way in favor of amplification.
Thin man, in a powder blue suit, with eyes that slice you right through. The cut of his clothes are strange indeed, a hundred years too soon.
You said:
"IMO, it's high time that we stop placing so much emphasis on speakers: because they are the most visible, or for whatever reason,..."
Those reasons would be that the speaker is doing the hard work of translating an electrical signal into a mechanical movement of air. An amplifier simply adds gain to an existing signal. For a given dollar spent, speakers make much more difference in a system than does the amplification. It is *quite* reasonable to devote 50% of the budget on speakers.
This is NOT to say that amps cannot dramatically affect the sound quality, they can. But it is a matter of degree. Speakers have MUCH more impact on the final sound heard. It's not even close, IMHO.
-RW-
R,
It is *quite* reasonable to devote 50% of the budget on speakers.
I tend to agree, but it really depends on the speakers.
Maybe it is my Magnepan colored glass, but no way I would blow 50% of my budget on Magnepans. Pick a popular model like the 1.6s. I think they go for something like $1700 these days. No way in hell a $1700 frontend, pre, and amp would work with these. I doubt you could find an amp that could drive them for $1700...or do them justice.
I definitely agree about the speakers (and the room) having more of an impact....but the amp/ speaker relation is often just as important.
the amp does a lot more than amplify the signal, - it adds tonal character: (of course, some amps add more tonal character than others. It also is important HOW the amplifier drives the speakers. As is the case here, an amplifier with higher current does a, (most people recognize), BETTER job with the N802s than a lower current could. An amplifier does a whole lot more than just add gain to a signal, - it also plays a major role in creating a soundstage... And if you've ever compared the same brand of integrated amp, to its pre-amp/stereo power amp combo, and then again to its pre-amp/mono-blocks combo, - (if a company does that), - in most cases you'll notice an improvement in imaging, stereo separation, and "relaxed," natural character as you go up the line. For example: as great an amp as the Manley Stingray is, - its bigger brother the NeoClassic 250 or 500 monoblocks are considerably better. And as great as the Manley Stingray is, - there's no way that it should be mated with the N802.
As many will tell you, the N802 really needs to be throttled with a balls to the wall amplifier. Some speakers respond well to an amp that doubles it's wpc with a doubling in resistance. Some speakers, - like horns, - don't care as much...
Still, I would've been more correct to say that it's important to no overemphasize the importance of speakers at the expense of a holistic system approach.
At the end of the day, the R&D, topology, and individual parts that make up the amplification are justifiably as costly as a well designed speaker.
in my opinion....
Thin man, in a powder blue suit, with eyes that slice you right through. The cut of his clothes are strange indeed, a hundred years too soon.
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