Do solid state amplifiers sound the same ?

[XTF1]

How come, if everything's perfect and "The timing of sending data asynchronously can not have an influence on the timing of digital to analog conversion in any way at all"?

Another way to illustrate the answer to your “how come” question… The way this post shows up from Head-Fi web servers onto your device involves multiple network transmission protocols, some of them may be synchronous. Yet, it has absolutely no impact on the speed at which you read this post; you are in control, your brain clock decides how fast you read … Same with the DAC and its clock.

 

[evanft]

Wouldn't it be relatively easy to perform null tests as part of an amplifier review if you're already doing other measurements? I feel like that may go a long way in proving/disproving any possible audible differences.

 

[gregorio]

Wouldn't it be relatively easy to perform null tests as part of an amplifier review if you're already doing other measurements? I feel like that may go a long way in proving/disproving any possible audible differences.

Yes, it would be relatively easy to perform null tests as part of an amplifier review and “Yes”, that would go a long way in proving/disproving audible differences but that (and in some cases ignorance of what a null test is) is precisely why they do not perform null tests as part of amplifier reviews!

Think about it, almost all amplifier review would be; “The null test proves there’s no audible difference between this amp and almost every other amp”, that’s pretty much it, no need for reviews or reviewers and no potential for manufacturers to bribe reviewers and use reviews as marketing. If on the other hand they don’t do null tests, they can write paragraphs of flowery prose about warmth, airiness, musicality, speed, clarity, soundstage, liquid performance and literally any other BS they can imagine, so then there is a need for audiophile reviews and reviewers, almost endless potential for marketing and everyone in the audiophile industry benefits, except consumers!

G

 

[Death_Block]

What's that product in your profile pic @gregorio

 

[gregorio]

What's that product in your profile pic @gregorio

No idea, I don’t have a profile pic. What you see is an image that the Head-Fi software has inserted, nothing to do with me.

G

Edit: Not sure if that’s got rid of it for good or if Head-Fi will just insert another random marketing image!

 

[Death_Block]

Lol it's back to 'G'. It looked like some kind of unnamed portable amp

 

[evanft]

Lol it's back to 'G'. It looked like some kind of unnamed portable amp

The G stand for Great amplifier

 

[Death_Block]

Or a gojo2 polygamous

 

[castleofargh]

I saw it a thousand times, but now that it's gone, I'm full of doubt. I want to say an ALO Audio amp from way back then, maybe the RX?

 

[71 dB]

These science guys are mostly deaf.

My hearing isn't anymore what it was in my youth because I am 54 and I can't hear past 16 kHz or so. On the flip side, my hearing is much more analysic now that what it was in my youth. Fortunately I am not deaf yet, but unfortunately my dad has developed serious hearing issues in recently due to his high age.

They tend to love graphs more than they love music.

I don't think I love graphs. However, oftentimes graphs are useful when you interpret them correctly. I definitely love the music I like more than graphs. Please try to be intellectually honest and stop straw-manning.

Just let them be.

Do YOU let us be yourself?

I don't take anything any of them say personally.

Why even are you here? This is sound science forum for "science guys." If you think we should be let be and you don't take what we say serioiusly, why bother be here yourself? You'll find more like-minded people elsewhere in Head-fi forum who love snake oil and audiophile marketing BS more than graphs.

 

[2leftears]

You do realise that post was 10 months old?

I have DK on ignore (mostly).

 

[Rersift]

I am not highly knowledgeable about amplifier design and and the various architecture, gain, feedback etc so please bear with me here.

I don't hear differences in amplifiers and I know I am not alone with that. Many people believe they hear very obvious differences but that is not my experience and if modern solid state amplifiers all measure well with any differences being below the threshold of audibility then my understanding is they should indeed sound the same which backs up my subjective experience. I kind of view it as if the measurements are the same and there is sufficient voltage and current in both devices to drive the headphones properly the electrical energy getting to the divers is the same and the drivers don't know what the electrical energy came from so why would the two amplifiers sound different.

Do certain manufactures do something, albeit subtle, in the amplifier design so that some do indeed intentionally sound different or would such implementation mess with the measurements so badly that they couldn't pass muster in that respect ?

Edited slightly for conciseness.

in general, an amplifier should do exactly that, only amplify.

 

[NorthLeo]

Yet more absurd, hysterical wrongness.

And if you don't believe me, just ask every electric guitarist in the history of the world. (And no, I'm not talking about intentional overdrive them.). If someone told them amps with tube electronics sound the same as solid state, they'd laugh that person out of the country.

Or just measure frequency response, damping, output impedance, or THD.

Or ask Al Schmitt, arguably the most successful recording engineer of all time, who famously had a huge selection of mic amplifiers: "I love the Martec and I also love the Neve pres. I have a lot of special pres that I use, Mastering Lab, Studer Valve, upstate audio and some great Neves. I kind of mix and match. I use my ears to tell me what is working best."

https://gearspace.com/board/interviews/1380761-interview-al-schmitt.html

But we'll wait for the usual suspects to tell us that Al Schmitt (who recorded Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, Steely Dan and countless others) doesn't know what he's talking about. And Head-Fi can have yet another good laugh at Sound "Science".

cool

 

[DenverW]

And this thread is back from the dead.

 

[XTF1]

And this thread is back from the dead.

So, do solid state amplifiers sound the same… after being 10 months off?