Vintage Asylum Classic gear from yesteryear; vintage audio standing the test of time.

---

[ Follow Ups ] Thread: [ Display  All  Email ] [ Vintage Asylum ]

---

[ Alert Moderator ]

---

Big Amps

Posted by briggs (A) on March 1, 2007 at 07:42:24

In Reply to: I'm really hoping this isn't a dumb question! So.... posted by HamBone77 on February 27, 2007 at 11:30:58:

Here are some things I think I hear with a good, big amp. You might try listening for them to see whether any of them are valid and important for you.

1. It seems to me that I get more stable imaging.

2. I seem to get better separation of voices (probably related to 1). In a large choir, properly recorded, I can hear the individual voices more clearly. I also think I hear better rendition of individual instruments within the orchestral "choirs", and better reproduction of the timbre of the different instruments.

3. Choral music especially seems to be more crisply reproduced. One test is to listen to a piece in a language which I understand but do not use daily -- Latin, French, German. Listen for clarity of the sung text. When you listen in your everyday language, you mind fills in some of the ambiguities, especially when you know the words.

4. Microdynamics seem more realistic. Piano, especially seems more live in the room. The dynamic shadings of Milt Jackson's vibes in MJQ recordings are more subtle. Cymbal rides seem better defined.

5. When a choir has boy sopranos, they seem to be clearer. Same goes for massed strings.

6. Long crescendos -- say the transition from the third- to the fourth movement of Beethoven's Fifth -- seem more convincing. The entrance of the brass is explosive and very solid.

All of these things could relate to power supply headroom.

My main speakers are 90+ db sensitivity. The comparison is between a 50 Wpc integrated and a 120 Wpc dual mono basic amp, driven by the preamp outputs of the integrated, so the only variable is the power amp itself. The power meters on the basic amp seldom indicate more than 0.5 Watt at my normal listening volume. It doesn't seem reasonable that I should hear this much difference, but I believe I do.

YRMV.

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Parts Connexion

---

[ Top of Page ] [ Contact Us ] [ Support/Wish List ] [ Copyright © 2024, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]

---

[ General ] [ Speakers ] [ Tubes ] [ Vinyl ] [ Digital ] [ Hi-Rez ] [ Video Asylum ] [ Cables ] [ Tweaks/DIY ] [ Music ] [ Films ]

---