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Hard to answer but....

It is difficult to say with certainty whether monoblocks or a stereo amp sounds better. First of all, it is very hard to make a true apples to apples comparison using the same circuit and identical parts. But in my experience, with homemade tube amps that are nearly identical, the main sonic difference I hear relates to imaging and soundstaging. The monoblocks tend to have a larger soundstage with more sense of ambiance and awareness of space. With monoblocks images are located further outside the edges of the speakers at least with some recordings. On the other hand, images with the stereo amp are more focused and perhaps more tangible in the space between the speakers. In my opinion, this comes down to an aesthetic choice. I happen to prefer the bigger, more transparent sound of monoblocks. Others I know prefer the more focused and tangible sound of a stereo amp.

Whether these differences relate to peak power differences or crosstalk or some other measurement is not of much interest to me. What matters is the sound. Sometimes knowing there is a measurable difference between two components (for example, knowing the monoblocks can produce an extra watt or two on the test bench) can bias the listening results.


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  • Hard to answer but.... - Salectric 08:34:22 06/18/16 (0)

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