Posted by manualblock [ 24.191.167.32 ] on December 05, 2004 at 11:45:42:
In Reply to: Re: comparing amplifiers posted by Wayne Parham on December 04, 2004 at 16:29:16:
Wayne and Bill; Amps and pre-amps are funny in that they are portable and easy to build so therefor everyone tries out many different amps and everyone has an opinion. Lugging big speakers around ain't happening and CD's are still mostly buy and play items. Vinyll is tricky to set-up so not portable and too many variables too get right. That leaves the amps.
Trying different caps and resistors and wire and chokes make a noticeable difference in sound. Is it better? Usually just different;.."Flavors".
I don't know about you guys but I am only trying for the best sound I can get for the money I have. Playing with amps and pre-amps is fun but in the final analysis the best bang for the dollar comes from room treatment in my humble opinion. Then your front end. Then the speakers. Listening to the super Decware set-up made me realise that the infatuation with low cost alternative amplifiers is a dead end. It seems they can only go so far towards good sound, when I and others take a pair of Eiclones and they sound better than a fully tricked out Dec, I have to question where and how to proceed.
Now these chip amps come out and they sound damned good; almost as good and in some ways better than a pair of Bottlehead Paramours that run 600$ I now have to question the wisdom of spending on the amps when that extra 500$ could buy me a Audio Technika ML 150 cartridge that makes a huge difference in the ultimate musicality of the whole system. And still have 250$ left over.
Thats just me theorizing; the Banshee reference I used stems from the old Irish myth that says anytime the screams of the Banshee are heard in the village someone will die within a fortnight. The death knell for cheap tube amps in the form of a chip.