Amp/Preamp Asylum

I wonder how much of the "boring" sound has to do with speaker load ?

143.109.148.201

peppy m.

In Reply to: RE: What makes an amp sound "boring" ? posted by erik on November 26, 2024 at 17:14:17

If "others swear by" what some others call "boring or unmusical", could those differences be as much about speaker/amp interaction(s) as anything else ?

Follow Ups:

A LOT! - Wojciech 10:25:46 12/15/24 (0)
I have Bel Canto 845 tube based SET .- 40W. It sounds thick and slow like molasses on regular monkey coffin (supposedly tube friendly) direct radiating speakers. I thought, well it is what it is. Then I had a chance to hook it up to pretty decent true 100dB horn system and it was a transformation. A lightning fast, energetic sound Naim can only dream of.
Most boring equipment is made by great engineers with boring character and one dimensional personality no woman would fck if not for the "secure future" promise
Both - AbeCollins 07:50:43 11/27/24 (1)
I've had many amps over the years and mostly two very different speakers. There were some amps that were just boring whether driving my Tannoys or my Thiels.
But I will admit that the Thiels require much more power. Some amps that were marginally powerful enough for the Thiels really 'lit up' the Tannoys. On the other hand, and as already mentioned above, I've had amps that were anemic and boring with either speaker.
In the case of the ML 383 -AND- the Pass Aleph 3 -AND- some CJ, even reviewers have commented that these were nice but somewhat on the 'polite' side. To me 'polite' is a polite way of saying dynamically challenged which I confirmed for myself in my own listening room.

Edits: 11/27/24
- "Polite" - cawson@onetel.com 05:54:56 11/28/24 (0)
  You mentioned "polite" and I think that's a good word for some amps that are not actually dull. I owned a lovely Accuphase A-36 for a while and it certainly wasn't dull, but I moved on because it was a little too polite.
  
  "Dull" conjures up my dull Benchmark AHB2 that some people like, possibly for its "accuracy", but give me a little "sparkle" over accuracy any day.
Or - E-Stat 06:31:26 11/27/24 (3)
lack of a live reference to the sound of unamplified instruments. With rock/pop, who cares?
- That's just your biased B.S. coming thru again..... - AbeCollins 07:55:04 11/27/24 (2)
  One doesn't need to first hear a live reference to hear the difference between a good dynamic amp and one that is 'dynamically challenged'.
  
  I've had many amps over the decades and some handle Rock/Pop with incredible dynamics and clarity while other fall apart sounding congested and flat. I didn't have to first hear a live reference to hear the difference.... and it does matter even for Rock/Pop.
  - Not talking about dynamics -nt - E-Stat 09:41:12 11/27/24 (1)
    - Then what are you talking about.... - AbeCollins 10:02:23 11/27/24 (0)
      ...in the context of this thread about boring amps ?

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