[pp312]

My position is this: People say they heard A amp in a shop and then listened to B amp at a mate's place and it was clear A amp had a less compressed soundstage and clearer treble. Frankly, I don't buy it. The difference between well-designed amps--and most name brands are well-designed--is quite subtle and difficult to pick even A/B-ing with the same material. The idea that one can listen in different venues with different CDs and pick clear differences is preposterous. I cite a post above:

"As for Onkyo receiver, I listened to the K501 that I had with a HT-R640 and it was noticeably muddier and soundstage was compressed in contrast to the Audiotailor Jade that I used at the time. Admittedly though, I did not a/b them but those two traits jumped out at me when I listened."

I'm not picking on Moonboy, this is a typical post, but I don't believe "those two traits jumped out at me when I listened". Even when A/B-ing, most traits are too subtle to "jump out" at one. And if Moonboy were to do that comparison again, under different circumstances with different CDs, he very likely would come to a different conclusion, but in the meantime people have picked up on his comments and maybe even based a buying decision on them. This is where we have to be careful: auditory memory is notoriously unreliable. It's like when you buy a new audio toy and think, "Wow, this sounds just great. A definite keeper," then next day you listen and think, "Hell, I thought it sounded better than this. Bugger." There's illusions in our conclusions--he he.

 

[moonboy403]

I stand by the comment I made as I was listening to music that I was familiar with and when one amp you use gives you a slightly out-of-your-head soundstage while the other doesn't and can't make out some of the detail that can be heard previously on the other amp, it's safe to describe what I heard the way I did.

Also, your post also reminded me that different source was used between the two setup. Thanks for that! I was using a Paradisea 3 pairing with the Audiotailor Jade at home while my friend used the built in DAC and amp of the HT-R640.