[CodeToad]

The Mini³ Portable Stereo Headphone Amplifier

The M³ Stereo Headphone Amplifier

The β22 Stereo Amplifier


Simple question for those who've heard all 3 and know how amps work:

With the "specs" all so close, what makes one amp "better" than another?


You'll have to navigate to the specifications page to see, I forgot about the frames on that site.

 

[FallenAngel]

How do you figure that the specs are similar? They're drastically different, look at output power.

Mini3 is small and portable, sounds nice.
M^3 and Beta22 are home amps, I like the Beta more

 

[johnwmclean]

Mini - Portable
M3 - Great quality Home amp
Beta 22 - Reference Amp

The specs are drastically different. They all sound fabulous within their respected categories.

 

[luvdunhill]

I agree, the measurements are indeed very similar. You have a good eye for detail.

One thing to consider is the bandwidth of the various designs, some are bandwidth limited for instance. I remember coming to an "oh yeah..." moment when I realized that.

 

[CodeToad]

Ah, yes, it would have made more sense had I been able to link directly to the pages. This is the "specs" I was referring to.

Beta22 into 330ohms:
Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB: +0.05, -0.05Excellent
Noise level, dB (A): -90.2Very good
Dynamic range, dB (A): 90.1Very good
THD, %: 0.0010Excellent
IMD, %: 0.0072Excellent
Stereo crosstalk, dB: -86.0Excellent
IMD at 10 kHz, %: 0.0072Excellent


M3 into 330 ohms:
Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB: +0.04, -0.05Excellent
Noise level, dB (A): -97.4Excellent
Dynamic range, dB (A): 97.1Excellent
THD, %: 0.0009Excellent
IMD, %: 0.0052Excellent
Stereo crosstalk, dB: -94.2Excellent
IMD at 10 kHz, %: 0.0058Excellent

Mini3 into 330 ohms:
Frequency response (from 40 Hz to 15 kHz), dB: +0.05, -0.05Excellent
Noise level, dB (A): -93.2Very good
Dynamic range, dB (A): 92.8Very good
THD, %: 0.0011Excellent
IMD + Noise, %: 0.0064Excellent
Stereo crosstalk, dB: -90.4Excellent
IMD at 10 kHz, %: 0.0061Excellent


I see where you guys are coming from with the other measurements, so, is it purely a function of voltage swing since distortion, crosstalk, dynamic range are all so close?

 

[FallenAngel]

You can't measure "sound quality"

 

[amb]

The frequency response, THD, IMD, etc., are steady state measurements which only provide a glimpse into an amp's performance, and is not the be-all and end-all. A poor showing here would point to a problem. Good specs of these sorts is only a starting point. There is much more going on in the circuit than meets the eye.

 

[Currawong]

I think Head-fi is due for a good article explaining the electrical differences between amps that make them sound different and drive headphones better or worse.

 

[CodeToad]

Please indulge my ignorance for a second.

My limited understanding is that music enters a microphone and becomes a voltage level that is recorded at the rate of 44,100 times per second and stored in binary 1's and 0's. On my end the 1's and 0's are decoded/recreated as voltage readings at the rate of 44,100 times per second and sent through a series of transistors of different sorts to "amplify' that voltage.

Why is there so many "differences" in amplifiers and their amplification of that voltage considering the closeness of distortion specs?

Quote:

I think Head-fi is due for a good article explaining the electrical differences between amps that make them sound different and drive headphones better or worse.

I second that thought.

 

[MisterX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CodeToad /img/forum/go_quote.gif I second that thought.

You could start here--->
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f6/sub...quality-47689/

 

[madwolf]

Even notice that you are able to hold a conversation, even with a noisy drill running beside you. But if you are using a MIC to record the same conversion what is recorded is most likely garbage.

Our ear and brain have the ability to cut out the noise even if it is louder. If you concentrate on the music on a particular detail you are able to isolate what you want to hear, this is something unique to our ears and brain.

 

[amb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CodeToad /img/forum/go_quote.gif My limited understanding is that music enters a microphone and becomes a voltage level that is recorded at the rate of 44,100 times per second and stored in binary 1's and 0's. On my end the 1's and 0's are decoded/recreated as voltage readings at the rate of 44,100 times per second and sent through a series of transistors of different sorts to "amplify' that voltage.

The amplifiers mentioned in this thread do not amplify in the digital domain. They are linear amplifiers and work on analog signals. The digital stream that you speak of must be converted to analog by a DAC, then fed into the amp for amplification.

Quote:

Why is there so many "differences" in amplifiers and their amplification of that voltage considering the closeness of distortion specs?

I already said:
Quote:

Originally Posted by amb The frequency response, THD, IMD, etc., are steady state measurements which only provide a glimpse into an amp's performance, and is not the be-all and end-all.

 

[vhbaske]

My Mini3 sounds extremelly well, why I would have to spend money to "compare" all the three amplifiers?

 

[CodeToad]

My intention was not to rate the amps, I think the pecking order is well established. I am just trying to understand what it is under the hood that makes the difference between what I would consider three best of breed designs with extremely close "specs". The only thing that stands out as a difference between them to this retard is the voltage swing.

Is it really that simple?

 

[amb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CodeToad /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is it really that simple?

Of course not.
I repeat again... those specs are useful, but they are not the only ones that matter. There are so many other aspects to an amplifier's performance it would take a book to write about them (and there are some good books out there, as are whitepapers and other material on the 'net). And like many things in life, some of these are biased or controversial, and we're not going to solve those puzzles in this thread.