t-man Posted January 31, 2001 Share Posted January 31, 2001 I have been using a sony str-d1011s sony reciever with my KG 3.2s for 7 years now with great results. I recently upgraded to DD for my HT, but all the recievers out there under $1K had crappy THD specs. Here's what my manual says: 8-ohm load, 20-20K Hz, 120 WPC min RMS with no more than 0.04% THD from 250 milliwats. Now, is that kick-a** or what? I can't seem to touch those specs with a reciever today. I was going to sell this thing for $150, but it appears to me that I should consider keeping it as a designated STEREO amplifier. I've seen no display prettier than this 1011S, as it has very cool parametric EQ graphics. Too bad it has cheapo clip-type speaker terminals. My question is....Is this a good amp, or are these numbers rather misleading. Should I keep it, or try and sell it? It's MINT, without a scratch. BTW, I never had to get it to the half way mark before becomming frightened to death that the windows would break with my punny 3.2s. They rock! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted January 31, 2001 Share Posted January 31, 2001 You'll never hear the difference. The THD of the speakers is orders of magnitude higher than the THD of even cheap modern amplifiers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t-man Posted January 31, 2001 Author Share Posted January 31, 2001 mdeneen, I don't know anybody who has that type of equip. The closest I could come would be a low powered Denon. In any event, how do you compare equip, if the stats don't indicate anything. Do you have to actually physically listen to each amp with your personal speakers? Forgive me, I'm no audiophile, and I'm new to this forum. I just want to know if this is a decent amp to keep, or if it's only worth 100-200 dollars to somebody who appreciates decent (not perfect) sound. Thanks, Troy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G Evans Posted February 5, 2001 Share Posted February 5, 2001 Hi mdeneen, is quite right when he compares subjective performance of, say,some single ended triode (SET) amps of 2 or 3 watts with 5% THD to much higher power amps with superlative .0001% THD figures which can sound inferior. The ear-brain system can defy reason at times but part of the reason for this bares on how the different systems are tested to get the specs. Most amps are tested to resistive loads (4/8 ohm) only - how that same amp would handle a read life loudspeaker load can be quite different. This is an ever-green conundrum with many attempted explanations. Some sonic differences between amps are simply down to tonal balance differences , which are not inherently good or bad, just a matter of personal preference. On the other hand from my own experience, is that I much prefer my vintage tube amps with THDs of the order of 1% than a much higher power solid state amp with .001% THD I used to have. The darn thing always sounded thin and grainy( harsh) . The nature of the THD is an issue too ( tube amps are rich in 2nd and low order harmonics which enhance richness) but this still can not explain the difference. Also the generally lower damping factors of tube amps can ( with some speakers/rooms ) boost the bottom-end making them sound fuller in bass deficient speaker /room systems to some sonic benefit but not always as bass boom can become a problem in other systems. George Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roy Posted February 6, 2001 Share Posted February 6, 2001 well first of all whether a rec has 0.04 or 0.7 thd is not going to make a difference to your ears because it is negligible...secondly, speakers when played with high power will exhibit higher distortion than any amp that is driving it unless of course you are driving the amp into distortion itself...so my suggestion is dont worry about it!! ------------------ my equipment: klipsch rf-3 (main) klipsch center ch speaker boston acoustics (rear) mirage ss-1500 subwoofer yamaha 795 receiver driving center and rears adcom 545 amp driving rf-3s mirage subwoofer 1500 watts! sony 650 dvd/cd player sony minidisc/cd player combo panasonic hifi vcr waiting to see what new reference line will sound like in 2001!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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