oldius
Manchester City, dogs, family and food.
I understand that Audionet are no longer with us, which is a shame.
Interestingly, my Denon was very 'comparable' to an £11k Devialet too.
Watts aren’t all equal. How to measure an Amplifier’s “Grunt”?
- Thread starter strummer
- Start date
I understand that Audionet are no longer with us, which is a shame.
Interestingly, my Denon was very 'comparable' to an £11k Devialet too.
Cereal Killer
432
Yes it’s a shame as there amps are spectacular. Good thing is there is an official service centre setup by/for Audionet owners.
Jim Audiomisc
pfm Member
I'd agree insofar as you'd probably also need to add some other things like output inductance and a frequency-dependent soft clipping circuit. Possiblt also a mic to add some low level microphonics...
That said, I have in mind valve amps with low feedback, less-than-ideal output transformers, etc, etc. The reality, though, is that valve amps vary just as solid state ones do. So generalisations may fall down in specific cases.
Jim Audiomisc
pfm Member
Well, Ted Rule did release the Armstrong 600 amp which - in some versions - has a slightly negative output resistance over a part of the LF band. Fair number sold, although the earliest version needed tweaking later on. 8-]
linnfomaniac83
I bet you can’t wheelie a unicycle!
Indeed, a watt is a standard unit of measurement, it equates to one joule per second.
S-Man
StrivingON
Corrected:
If only all them world famous artist's knew there diode's from there rectifiers'
Arkless Electronics
Trade: Amp design and repairs.
A few valve amps at one time had a damping control which could give theoretically infinite damping or even negative output resistance!
cooky1257
pfm Member
Powersoft use a thing called ActiveDamping Control.
http://www.powersoft-audio.com/en/docman/806-damping-control/file
http://www.powersoft-audio.com/en/docman/806-damping-control/file
Cereal Killer
432
So valves are the logical solution to IBS?
Jim Audiomisc
pfm Member
On the individual level, that fine with me.
Bottom line as ever is choose what you prefer. However things get complicated when people try to decide *why* they prefer one kind/type of amp to another, and then unsorting the reasons can be difficult.For example, soft clipping may seem 'bad' but can make transients sound louder and carry more impact. In principle, a solid state amp could 'mimic' the effects which tend to arise in, say, a low-feedback, modest power, valve amp with limited o/p transformers. But then it's fair to ask, "why bother when you can buy a valve amp anyway"?
However if people are trying to sort out 'reasons' unscrambling the factors which affect each individual case can be difficult.
Joe P
Memory Alpha incarnate | mod; Shatner number = 2
Jim,
I doubt my 30-watt-per-channel Stingray is clipping — hard or soft — into the GRFs. I’m not a headbanger and the speakers are 8% efficient, so a watt is more than plenty for very loud room-filling sound.
At the levels I listen (65-75 dB) it’s likely the stingray’s THD figures are near what a decent solid state amp has.
I honestly would be happier with a solid state amp for all sorts of reasons, but with vintage speakers from the late 1950s valves are the way to go.
(That said, I’m withholding judgment on an Accuphase integrated until I try it, but my spider sense tells me toobs are the way to go with my speakers.)
By the way, I’m not making the argument that valve amps have better specs than solid state ones. But in my system I doubt even Keith or the most objective objectivista would find SS preferable
Joe
I doubt my 30-watt-per-channel Stingray is clipping — hard or soft — into the GRFs. I’m not a headbanger and the speakers are 8% efficient, so a watt is more than plenty for very loud room-filling sound.
At the levels I listen (65-75 dB) it’s likely the stingray’s THD figures are near what a decent solid state amp has.
I honestly would be happier with a solid state amp for all sorts of reasons, but with vintage speakers from the late 1950s valves are the way to go.
(That said, I’m withholding judgment on an Accuphase integrated until I try it, but my spider sense tells me toobs are the way to go with my speakers.)
By the way, I’m not making the argument that valve amps have better specs than solid state ones. But in my system I doubt even Keith or the most objective objectivista would find SS preferable
Joe
Purité Audio
Trade: Purite Audio
We would have to compare unsighted Joe!
Keith
Arkless Electronics
Trade: Amp design and repairs.
The more THC the better Joe...