[Exacoustatowner]

[quote name="StanD" url="/t/601151/schiit-owners-unite/10200#post_
Or a difference too slight to tell. As it is most audio gear has a flat FR and distortion levels below human perception, but we do like to big deal out of it.
[/quote]
As a scientist I get your point regarding measurements- but experience tells me there may be properties we are not measuring

 

[tafens]

.
Or a difference too slight to tell. As it is most audio gear has a flat FR and distortion levels below human perception, but we do like to big deal out of it.

As a scientist I get your point regarding measurements- but experience tells me there may be properties we are not measuring

One such property could be, I think, the ability to keep that flat FR and imperceptible distortion going under the heavy and varying load that a headphone can be.

 

[Exacoustatowner]

One such property could be, I think, the ability to keep that flat FR and imperceptible distortion going under the heavy and varying load that a headphone can be.

How is harsh treble measured? I can play the same music and source. One amp may sound shrill when the flutes and sopranos sound- one may not. Yet both amps are 20-20,000 Hz +0.5 db with 0.01 % THD and 100 Watts RMS at 8 Ohms, 200 at 4 ohms.
How do you measure the ability of one amp to recreate an almost holographic soundstage while a similarly rated amp does not?
Is it that one amp can handle an impedance spike and the other can't so it distorts the flute solo?
StanD?

 

[StanD]

Or a difference too slight to tell. As it is most audio gear has a flat FR and distortion levels below human perception, but we do like to big deal out of it.

Originally Posted by Exacoustatowner 
As a scientist I get your point regarding measurements- but experience tells me there may be properties we are not measuring
 
Perhaps you can identify them? Frankly this is not such a complicated thing as some of us make it out to be.

 

[StanD]

One such property could be, I think, the ability to keep that flat FR and imperceptible distortion going under the heavy and varying load that a headphone can be.

A Magnetic Planar is not a complex load, it is considered resisitive without a varying impedance curve. Even headphones with varying impedance curves are not a difficult load for an Amp with a low output impedance as their impedance goes higher not lower.

 

[StanD]

How is harsh treble measured? I can play the same music and source. One amp may sound shrill when the flutes and sopranos sound- one may not. Yet both amps are 20-20,000 Hz +0.5 db with 0.01 % THD and 100 Watts RMS at 8 Ohms, 200 at 4 ohms.
How do you measure the ability of one amp to recreate an almost holographic soundstage while a similarly rated amp does not?
Is it that one amp can handle an impedance spike and the other can't so it distorts the flute solo?
StanD?

100W RMS into a headphone 

 Schiit doesn't make such an amp.
When it comes to loudspeakers they can demand more of an amp for the delivery of power, however, IMO that is overblown. There are many superb high efficiency speakers that do not require gobs of power. I believe it's the speakers and acoustics that make the big difference.

 

[Wildcatsare1]

100W RMS into a headphone :eek:  Schiit doesn't make such an amp.
When it comes to loudspeakers they can demand more of an amp for the delivery of power, however, IMO that is overblown. There are many superb high efficiency speakers that do not require gobs of power. I believe it's the speakers and acoustics that make the big difference.

My Krell begs to differ, he wills speakers into submission️!

 

[StanD]

My Krell begs to differ, he wills speakers into submission!

I try not to personify electronic equipment.

 

[ThurstonX]

  I try not to personify electronic equipment.

 
And yet Schiit does that with pretty much every piece of gear 

 

[StanD]

  I try not to personify electronic equipment.

 
 

   
And yet Schiit does that with pretty much every piece of gear 

Calling something Schiit does not personify it. That might might qualify as strange taste, certainly not humanizing it. 

 

 

[Wildcatsare1]

I try not to personify electronic equipment.

That's because you have a tiny amp.

 

[ThurstonX]

  Calling something Schiit does not personify it. That might might qualify as strange taste, certainly not humanizing it. 

 

 
Not the company name.... sheesh.  The gear, yo.  The gear.

 

[StanD]

That's because you have a tiny amp.

Or you have too much hot air.

 

[Wildcatsare1]

Or you have too much hot air.

Entirely possible, you can un-clinch your sphincter now, Stan.

 

[Exacoustatowner]

  100W RMS into a headphone 

 Schiit doesn't make such an amp.
When it comes to loudspeakers they can demand more of an amp for the delivery of power, however, IMO that is overblown. There are many superb high efficiency speakers that do not require gobs of power. I believe it's the speakers and acoustics that make the big difference.

An example Stan! I am using an HP amp that puts out 6 watts/channel at 32 ohms-and that is more than enough for my HE-560-which are more of a resistive load btw.
I have a couple of very short test tracks on SACD that I use to compare. One of the MOST challenging is from Mahler Symphony # 8 SACD MTT.,In the 2nd and 3rd movements there are sections with massive choral, and multiple soprano's belting out at the same time the organ is hitting some high notes.
On some amps that can sound almost painfully shrill. I compared some fairly pricey head amps and found different degrees of shrill and edgy overtones- and could hear the displeasing "edge" at different volumes-before you ask about volume matching. I went back to each amp several times-with a break in between. It's been months so I don't recall which amps as I bought none of them,