artto Posted June 12, 2019 Share Posted June 12, 2019 This is an excerpt from a well known audio magazine. What is the amplifier? If we had been asked some time ago to describe our "dream amplifier," chances are we would have described the ___________. We thought we had heard virtual perfection in power amplifiers before. The for instance, produced such beautifully lucid, effortless sound that we honestly believed further improvement would be superfluous. It isn't. By comparison, the ______ is a shade more lucid, tighter at the low end, sweeter at the top, and considerably more effortless when reproducing at high levels. Make no mistake, the difference is audible, even at low listening levels. And when we compare the ________ with other available power amps, the difference is almost beyond belief. In most cases, it as though a subtle (or unsubtle, occasionally) veil has been lifted, allowing one to listen to the music instead of at it. Of particular interest is the effect of the ________ on low-end performance. We found that, in some cases, switching from any other amplifier to the _________ tightened up the entire low end to a degree that was downright dramatic. Loose, wooly, somewhat boomy low end suddenly became detailed, controlled, and well-defined. In other cases, the improvement was so subtle as to be almost inaudible. The difference, as it turned out, was a function of the particular loudspeakers the ______ was used with. Systems which normally tended to be rather heavy and ill-controlled at the low end were most conspicuously improved, while ones that normally—that is, with most other amplifiers—yield a tight, detailed low end showed the least improvement there when driven by the _________. There's not really much more to be said about its sound, because the _________ appears to be entirely without any sound of its own. And if we have ever said this about any other previous power amplifier, it is only because we had never heard the _________. But it does raise a question which we are not sure we want to try to answer just yet. Namely: Have we been doing some sort of a disservice to some loudspeakers we tested in the past, by not testing them with the ________? Would some systems that were faulted for booqy bass have sounded satisfactory with the _________? Certainly, we can justify our mistaken (?) judgments on the basis that there was no _________ until relatively recently, so we had to judge them on the basis of what amplifiers were around. And we might be excused for taking the attitude that nobody in his right mind is going to spend almost $$$ for an amplifier to drive two $ loudspeakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted June 12, 2019 Share Posted June 12, 2019 Hi artto! You should come around more often. Quote Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RT FAN Posted June 12, 2019 Share Posted June 12, 2019 Whatever it is, I am pretty sure I can't afford it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted June 12, 2019 Share Posted June 12, 2019 What is... I can not read your text on a black background. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted June 12, 2019 Author Share Posted June 12, 2019 40 minutes ago, Schu said: What is... I can not read your text on a black background. It looks white background to me. What is "amplifier" Name the amp game based on the very old TV show What's My Line guessing what the guest did for a living. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted June 13, 2019 Author Share Posted June 13, 2019 Come on guys.................name that amplifier!!!! OK, how about taking a stab at when this was written? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richieb Posted June 13, 2019 Share Posted June 13, 2019 === Stab— written 30-40 years ago / Dynaco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted June 14, 2019 Author Share Posted June 14, 2019 Alright. I can see this isn't going to be very popular. No problem. The point is if you remove the brand name & model from the article and insert any high-end "Luxury" brand name of today in its place you wouldn't know the difference. The article is from Stereophile, written by J. Gordon Holt in 1970. The amplifier.....................................D R U M R O L L P LE A S E ...................................................... Crown DC300 I guess I should never have bought the Crown DC300A in 1974. The DC300 was the end all to end all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgar Posted June 14, 2019 Share Posted June 14, 2019 I once purchased a $2500 amp (I bought it used for less than 1/3 of that) "sound unheard", based upon reviews like this: And shine it did. We reviewed it with a variety of audio and DVD material (and a bit of HDTV broadcasting, though its audio was suspect), and were blown away by its performance and overall oomph. It sounded great whether we played it at lower, more intimate volumes or cranked up to 'Neighborhood Annoyance' levels. The sound is open and spacious, making the speakers disappear from the listening area and putting you right into the experience - just as a good amp should. The stereo sound stage had me jumping up to make sure the center front speaker wasn't on (it wasn't), and in surround mode we were enveloped completely by music and/or movie action, with precise placements of instruments and/or sounds in a full and sweet sound stage. When you close you eyes and let the music take over, it's almost as if the music becomes all that matters. You can listen to this thing all day without it getting fatiguing. The only flaw is that the sound is so clean and natural that, as with other audiophile components, it'll show up flaws in the source material or other parts of your component chain. It turned out to be one of the worst-sounding amps I've ever heard. It honestly does nothing well enough to earn an "audiophile" label. Its sound quality is on a par with the $100 Sherwood receiver that I bought for a garage system twenty-odd years ago. I even brought it to the factory repair facility, thinking that something must be wrong with it. They returned it "no trouble found". Beware of reviewers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted June 15, 2019 Share Posted June 15, 2019 The Crown was cool in the day. Three decades since I heard one. An upgraded Crown would be interesting to hear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kink56 Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 My Power Line Three ain't too shabby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 On 6/14/2019 at 2:39 PM, artto said: Alright. I can see this isn't going to be very popular. No problem. The point is if you remove the brand name & model from the article and insert any high-end "Luxury" brand name of today in its place you wouldn't know the difference. Crown DC300.................The DC300 was the end all to end all. It sure was! i remember that sort of review. Then, I saw 30 of them behind the speakers of EACH side of the stage at the 3rd Volunteer Jam! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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