Amp/Preamp Asylum

Posted by AbeCollins (A) on January 12, 2011 at 17:54:17

In Reply to: RE: Any of these other products win 3 Product Of the Year awards from 3 magazines ? posted by Pinkus on January 12, 2011 at 14:03:30

...how nice these Ayre amps must sound. Just commenting that in this price class there are several other very wonderful sounding amps to choose from. And I would argue that in this price class, one's choice is more a matter of personal preference and taste vs what amp is "best". Sort of like cars, I suppose.

I don't buy amps based on how many awards a product has received or which reviewers or speaker manufacturers use them in their "reference systems". High end audio is a very tight knit community and if I were a manufacturer of very high end amps, I would give a few to the speaker makers and reviewers -or at least offer HUGE discounts - just so I can say that they're used in these "reference systems". I'm not saying they all do it.... but many do. It's "marketing".