I'll try to articulate this as much as I can....I'm by no means a listening expert. Currently I own a few different amps.
- Monolith Liquid Platinum (LP from here on out), with probably 4 different sets of tubes
- THX AAA 789
- Yamaha A-S500
Have been listening to each connected to a Yggy OG V2 w/ unison USB and Utopia's (w/ Arctic Cables magnus) via pc Jriver and Roon. I've found the differences interesting.
- LP: Very sterile (neutral) and "narrow", as if the sound is coming more from the front. Great detail and sound separation.
- AAA: Similarly sterile but a little less narrow. Not wildly different from the LP.
- A-S500: Very different from the LP and AAA. Much more of a surround-sound feel and lots more what I'd call weight but less sound/instrument separation.
I generally prefer the more weighty sound of the A-S500 but being it's the only full-size amp I have (can also connect floor speakers) I don't know if that's a normal characteristic of that type of amp vs the true headphone-only ones. I find it interesting that the two headphone only amps sound so close to each other and the Yamaha so different. I find both have their merits - for critical listening the LP and AAA are great, but for just chilling and listening the Yamaha wins. But, wondering if a "better" (by what is arguable...price, measurements, etc) speaker amp would still have that same weight but more detail and separation. Or, a higher end headphone amp, tube or SS?
Done a fair amount of searching this forum and have found it difficult to find direction. Most reviews are tilted towards how neutral the amp is, which I'm actually looking for the opposite.
- Monolith Liquid Platinum (LP from here on out), with probably 4 different sets of tubes
- THX AAA 789
- Yamaha A-S500
Have been listening to each connected to a Yggy OG V2 w/ unison USB and Utopia's (w/ Arctic Cables magnus) via pc Jriver and Roon. I've found the differences interesting.
- LP: Very sterile (neutral) and "narrow", as if the sound is coming more from the front. Great detail and sound separation.
- AAA: Similarly sterile but a little less narrow. Not wildly different from the LP.
- A-S500: Very different from the LP and AAA. Much more of a surround-sound feel and lots more what I'd call weight but less sound/instrument separation.
I generally prefer the more weighty sound of the A-S500 but being it's the only full-size amp I have (can also connect floor speakers) I don't know if that's a normal characteristic of that type of amp vs the true headphone-only ones. I find it interesting that the two headphone only amps sound so close to each other and the Yamaha so different. I find both have their merits - for critical listening the LP and AAA are great, but for just chilling and listening the Yamaha wins. But, wondering if a "better" (by what is arguable...price, measurements, etc) speaker amp would still have that same weight but more detail and separation. Or, a higher end headphone amp, tube or SS?
Done a fair amount of searching this forum and have found it difficult to find direction. Most reviews are tilted towards how neutral the amp is, which I'm actually looking for the opposite.
