Amp/Preamp Asylum

Lack of dynamic sparkle pretty much defines boring

99.242.30.86

Feanor

In Reply to: RE: What makes an amp sound "boring" ? posted by AbeCollins on November 26, 2024 at 19:46:50

... all basically equal. It's the basic fault of passive preamps. And with also speakers come to that.

Dmitri Shostakovich

Edits: 11/27/24

Follow Ups:

RE: Lack of dynamic sparkle pretty much defines boring - dgaapc7 04:03:39 12/01/24 (0)
I totally agree, but I call it dynamic jump. An amp can be smooth sounding without being boring so long as it doesn't smother the dynamic range or response. Example: I generally like the sound of McIntosh stuff, but not all of it. An MA6900 I had, amp section only, was similar to what some don't like in Macs, smooth but heavy and slow, but the 452 and 462 have tremendous dynamic range and are anything but heavy and slow, reflecting the new revision of the company's house sound which started about 10 years ago.
A good test for dynamics is the opening chord of Debussy's "Images for Orchestra" Iberia section. It makes me jump every time, and makes a good test of an amp's jump factor. Some amps can handle this and sound powerful , clear, and detailed, others can't, even though they come from the same manufacturer.
I've never kept components that don't have a dynamic sound. Not for very long, anyway.
LowIQ
To build on what you said..... - AbeCollins 07:19:07 11/27/24 (0)
I don't think the ML 383 had a passive preamp section but I can't be sure. On the other hand my Pass Labs INT-150 did. According to Pass it was basically their X150.5 amp with a passive preamp section. It wasn't dead sounding but it lacked the more energetic nature of my X2.5 pre and X150.5 power amp separates that it replaced.
The newer Pass integrated amps use an an active preamp section with gain. They must have learned from their first integrated amp product which was the INT-150 that I owned.

Edits: 11/27/24 11/27/24

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