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In Reply to: RE: "On the other hand, they will not "improve" source material" posted by ejman on December 22, 2024 at 10:41:40
I get that and understand its use. However, if you use an amp that hides the faults of poor source materials, it will also apply the same distortion filter to good source material corrupting it to, perhaps, sounding as bad as the unfiltered poor sources.IMHO, a better option is an accurate amp with an accessory switched filter/eq.
Edits: 12/22/24Follow Ups:
Perhaps so but my experience (of course, very limited compared to yours) is that an amp that makes relatively poor source material sound "better" as in hiding some of its flaws will not necessarily make good quality source material sound bad - it just wont reveal all the "goodness" and detail the superior source material has. I am not really arguing against great, revealing amplification which with the right source can be amazing. I'm just saying that with some (many?) less than perfect sources an amp with some flaws in its distortion and frequency response characteristics can be preferable and that those same amp characteristics won't necessarily detract from the listener's enjoyment of better source material.
I seem to remember a number of reviews over the years where the reviewer enjoyed the amp and praised its musicality highly while the technical testing showed a deeply flawed performance. I seem to recall one in particular where the amp was "essentially broken" per its performance on the bench yet it sounded wonderful according to the reviewer (Mr. Fremer if memory serves)
I for one would never want to give up the magic of a great system playing great source material. And I personally know that the same was true for Gordon Holt who was not happy with the direction audio was going in.
[quote]....will not necessarily make good quality source material sound bad - it just wont reveal all the "goodness" and detail the superior source material has.[/quote]
Sure but whether it is regarded as bad or just less good is both subjective and situational. I can understand that having a large library that is heavy on poor, old and/or compromised recordings would give you a different perspective than I have.
Seem to recall that you had bought a pair of the NAD C298s which, in the original review, you compared to the Benchmark.
Would you consider the C298 comparable to the Buckeye?
I do consider that they are "comparable." The differences I strain to hear are trivial.
I owned the Benchmark AHB-2 and now the NAD C298. In my setup they are very comparable but I seem to get a little better bass out of the C298. If I recall, Kal heard the opposite in his system but I might be wrong.
Neither amp 'colors' the sound so if there is such a thing a 'neutral' I would claim that to be the case for the AHB-2 and my C298.
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