$10,000 Amp Challenge

[erikjohn]

When surfing some of the "other" audio boards I ran across this thread. Give it a read.

http://www.talkaudio.co.uk/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18815

I noticed a person named Colin that responded to this original thread. Is that our Colin? Needless to say whoever that Colin was he wanted the post permanently erased from that BB for whatever reason.

EJ

[Colin]

Not me, I am not in the UK. Colin is a British name, which is quite popular in the UK and Hong Kong, besides this was tried by the Sensible Sound magazine about a year ago. They used a line level equalizer to set all levels to flat. Howard Ferstler found no audible differences in quality amplifiers when they are not CLIPPING (but since fast dynamic music passages at loud volumes requires enormous amounts of power for speakers of typical efficiency, most amplifiers will frequently enter a clipping stage for a brief moment). This blind comparison was also done at a stereo show where hundreds of average people off the street scored miserably, but a few golden ear writers (who may have previous experience with the amplifiers) scored remarkably well.

This was proven to me by my low powered SS Pioneer M-22 as compared to the mountain of power provided by the gorgeous Pass X250 on my big old Cornwalls. At normal listening levels, the amplifiers sound more similar than dissimilar, except except when complex orchestra passages are played at loud volumes, when Keano Reeves attacks guards in a lobby with machine guns at slow speed and when lighting crackles in the Xmen.

At a stop light or 55-mph, my $2500 Dodge Shadow can ride and measure just as well as a $250,000 Bentley. No double-blind study is required to tell me that. From 0 to 60 or above 90 mph however, one model will stomp on the other

[MrMcGoo]

Colin,

There is a lot to be said for your point of view. Music is about transient reproduction. Low impedance speakers in particular can require more current to reproduce a loud transient in the bass frequencies than many amps can produce.

Thr RF-7s allegedly averaged 6 Ohms per Sound and Vision tests. They dipped to a bottom of 2.8 Ohms per S&V. It takes a solid (not necessarily over-powered) amp to do justice to these speakers IMO.

Bill

[artto]

I'd be glad to do that test one up. Do it the way they described, & then deliberately just set the levels subjectively. And then.....even deliberately have the levels not matched! I know for a fact, in my system/room at least, its quite apparent which amplifiers are being used, regardless of the recording or matched levels.

For instance, one time my wife's boss was over. He was familiar with the "sound" as he had heard it a number times previously, although not a frequent listener. I had borrowed another power amp from a friend of mine to audition. It didn't my wife's boss more than a minute to say "Something is wrong with the sound. It doesn't sound right." He was right. I didn't like that amp either. In fact, I never liked subsequent offering from that amp designer. And this was between 2 SS amps. It was truely a totally blind situation. Comparing a SS & tube amp the differences are even more apparent. I use both.

[Invidiosulus]

Transients are indeed a killer.

Thats why it is so nice to have some efficient speakers.

Even my heresies which are rated at 97db 1W 1m don't use that much power.

With 97 db @1W I'm getting 110db with about 20W.

It must be nice to have something as efficient as the Khorns

Peace, Josh