CECAA850 Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 Often times I hear of amps/preamps/receivers sound as being "warm, thin, harsh" etc. I've heard enough music through various equipment to recognize the differences. My question for the masses is this. Where does the sonic signature come from. Specifically, in an amp/preamp combo, which componet has the most influence on what you hear? Will changing amps and keeping the same pre amp change the sound. Conversely, will changing a pre-amp and keeping the same amp have an effect? Which one has the most influence. I am thinking about seperates, but am unsure of keeping my current receiver and using it as a preamp (most economical route for now) or changing everything. Thanks in advance for the responses. Carl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-MAN Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 That's a question with no answers! only opinions. I'll start this off and go out on a limb and say that the most important thing in a system (after the speakers) is the source. Not the preamp or the amp, but the source. This is what is producing the signal in the first place. The others just amplify it (or attenuate it). Of course, the cleaner they are, the better. But I would say that on the whole that tracking along with the signal path, the preamp quality is next in importance and then the amp(s) themselves. Here' my thinking: the smaller the signal, the more IMPERFECTIONS in the signal processing circuitry modify it. Whether its a line preamp or the phono section, all of these stages can apply distortion to the signal. Preamps are also the switching and connection centers, and that is a potential engineering problem in itself. The resulting signal is then further amplified and that means that all of the introduced signal abnormalities are also amplified. In my mind, the amp is (probably) the least of the culprits; typically the output amp just does one thing without any or alot of switching and can be more readily designed and optimised to produce less distortions while it does its one and only job. But the entire chain has to be taken into account. One does not process the signal alone (except in a receiver, etc.). It would be a good thing if all of the gear is of a reasonable quality (or even a comparable quality). So, for me, it's the speakers and the source first. But that's just my opinion. I could be all wrong. DM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steamer Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 I believe that every system no matter what the componets are have thier own synergy.I think we can hear changes because components react differently with each other.Its a long road to find the sound.you like or can be.A company that makes several products would maybe design them to have a certain synergy working together. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steamer Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 DM, I agree with alot of what you are saying plus I would add that simplicity is a very important aspect of any system.The more components in the signal chain the more the original signal is changed.I don't have a dedicated pre in my system,my amps have a high quality attenuator. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-MAN Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 I'm in agreement that "less is more"... That's the "purest" approach! DM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IB Slammin Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 ......a chain is only as good as it's weakest....???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steamer Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 LINK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael hurd Posted July 29, 2004 Share Posted July 29, 2004 What has the most affect on the sound? 1. Room 2. Speakers 3. Sources Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richinlr Posted July 29, 2004 Share Posted July 29, 2004 My order of importance - 1. room, 2. source, 3. speakers. The ONLY reason speakers are third is because if the source is c*** then everything else is too. My order of preference also assumes that the speakers are of decent quality. The pre-amp is VERY important though because it is the first line of amplification of the source and will stamp its sonic siganture on everything else after it in the chain. Saying that one amp is warm and another one is bright without considering which speakers are being driven is a tenuous position at best. Whether the complete system is warm or bright or harsh or whatever depends a great deal on the impedance interactions between the main amplifier and the speaker. If the speaker is an 'easy' load (relatively small variations in impedance over the frequency range) that speaker can be driven well by a majority of amps. However, if there are wide variations in impedance over the entire speaker range (some speakers fall as low a 2 ohms at certain points), then the power amp must be able to deliver a fair amount of current into a two ohm load. When I read amplifier specs. I am usually very interested in its output at 8 ohms vs. 4 ohms vs. 2 ohms. A perfect amplifier would double its output each time you cut the ohms in half. But this is not a perfect world and some amps do it much better than others. I would even go so far as to say, that if these specs are not quoted by the manuafacturer, then they are hiding something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted July 29, 2004 Author Share Posted July 29, 2004 Great answers all! I appreciate the efforts and knowledge involved in all responses. Carl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seti Posted July 29, 2004 Share Posted July 29, 2004 Speaking of weakest links what do you think about this guys weakest link go here http://www.altmann.haan.de/tonearm/default.htm . I mean how could this sound good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richinlr Posted July 29, 2004 Share Posted July 29, 2004 Seti, Looks like a better arm than the one on the Sony TT at Best Buy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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