Over the 30 + years that Hi-Fi has been my enduring hobby i have heard /owned many amps including classics from Nad - Cyrus - Creek - Arcam - Musical Fidelity - Naim etc etc .
Yet even with a stock of a dozen or so good amps available in my " stockroom " available at any time every once in a while i slot the little Lapai 2024 A+ i bought on a whim a couple of years ago into my system .
It looks c*** it measures appallingly it uses parts of the lowest quality and most audiophiles laugh uncontrollably at the mere mention of Tripath.
Strange thing is though whenever its in use it's probably the only time i stop listening to the equipment and just kick back and enjoy the music.
Don't get me wrong i'm not saying " best amp ever " but in terms of cost and enjoyment provided for me personally it has " legendary " status.
As for " best amps ever produced ?" an impossible question to answer.
I kinda feel sorry for you, mate.
I never listen to my equipment once I've used it for 30 minutes after purchase.
Seems pointless listening to equipment when there is music.
I agree with the post, there is no "best" amp, it simply does not exist. Its like picking a favorite. Difficult when so many variables and compromises are in play and people like a variety of music genres. Its like trying to label the best speakers or song or best anything for that matter. If it were that cut and dry a lot of people would have much fatter wallets.
Don't feel sorry for me Charles... i derive a great deal of enjoyment out of " listening to equipment ".
I love exploring the interaction between different components and how much synergy plays a huge part in the final sound . I 've kinda gone full circle after spending years and thousands on upgrades and building systems many times that i was happy with i now enjoy experimenting with components at the bottom end of the market and creating musical sounding set ups for peanuts.
When it comes to just enjoying the music though i fire up my favourite " kit of the month " and forget the pros and cons of the equipment producing the sound . My days of owning the " perfect " set up to play my carefully chosen dozen or so top quality test cds AT my friends are long gone .
30 years in this hobby i still dont understand the exact meaning of listening to equipment.
I think there exist a best amp. The one that hast the least compromises. For me its just too expensive... matched paralleled output transistors, matched jfets, huge heatsink, highest quality capacitors, high precission measurement tools...
I understand your pov. But i have my own pov. Imagine amps A having 3% thd (solid state) and 70dB snr, amp B having 0.01% and 110dB, everything else are good or normal. Can we agree on the better amp? Assume we can. Now get 5 monkeys to decide which one is the better one. Do you think they will come up with an agreement? No they wont and thats the point. Two amps cannot be compared not because they are incomparable but because the respondents dont have a clue...
To compare amps, criteria (subjective by ears or objective by numbers) are mandatory. Respondents should have a clue about these criteria... if respondents dont have a clue regarding measurements or numbers, then ask them which one is better between amp C and D. If they think amp C is better then close their eyes and ask again. If now they cannot answer, they are as clueless as the monkeys... And this is not the situation im referring to.
Yeah, they got it sorted. Marginal PSU diodes from a big supplier. Test fine on a quick check, but in real-world use, quickly failed. IIRC, it was the NU6000s that were affected, and Behringer were pretty good at sorting it (going against previous trends).
Chris
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