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What differences do you hear when changing amplifiers?

What sounds different to you when changing amplifiers?

Some things that I notice are:

Listener fatigue:- With some amplifiers I can happily listen all day. Others I want to turn off immediately and some seem OK at first but I find myself leaving the room after 10 minutes or feeling a great sense of relaxation when I turn them off.

Balance:- I hear significant differences in tonal balance.

Dynamics:- The difference in loudness between loud notes and quiet notes seems to be far greater with some amplifiers than others.

Bass Extension:- Some amplifiers seem to capture much deeper bass (as distinct from louder)

Detail:- I find it far easier to distinguish detail in the music with some amplifiers than others. With some amplifiers, a bright tonal balance and listener fatigue seem to be associated with the greater detail but not always.

I notice these things even at very low sound levels (presumably far below clipping level.

My perceptions are often not the result I expect or hope for and they appear to be fairly consistent from day to day and amplifier to amplifier.

I presume that we all hear a little differently and like, or are bothered by, different things. I presume that most people who participate in this forum also believe that different amplifiers can sound different and I would be interested to know what differences they hear that are most important to them.

David


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Topic - What differences do you hear when changing amplifiers? - energyandair 12:43:28 01/8/05 (8)


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