How is this possible? (A hi fi review. Review)

[terry j]

Just browsing a bit tonight, and came across an amplifier review that was rather ecstatic in it's fulsome praise. And that is fair enough.

http://www.stereotimes.com/amp052008.shtml ''The simple truth is that the better the speaker (and of course, the source) the better the Lavardin IT sounds, taking on near-magical neutrality, subtlety, resolution, and clarity. ''

His approach on the correct way to build a sound system '''over the years varieties of system-building strategies have been advocated. The dumbest of these was the advice to spend most of one’s money on the loudspeaker''' does not coincide with mine, but that's another discussion for another place.

However, just how good is this amp??

""The old Linn approach – buy the best front-end you can – proved far more practically successful, even if one used a $200 amp and $200 a pair speakers. After listening to the Lavardin IT integrated amp, however, I’m convinced that the most rational, logical, and effective approach is to build one’s system around this superb amplifier. ""

Ok leaving aside whether or not I'd follow his system building approach, we are getting a picture of how good this amp is (and for all I know it may be the best amp ever built).

But what puzzles me, and led to my question, is the following exposition.

Mating a $7500 integrated amplifier to $289 or $400 a pair loudspeakers might seem insane, but there was method in my madness. Take for example the Celestion F30 loudspeakers (photo left). Part of the new Celestion “design-it-in England, manufacture-it-in-China” regime, the $400 F30, when coupled with conventional amplifiers, sounds like a sorry ghost of the grand old Celestion tradition. An upper-midrange/low-treble peak, which I had assumed was a sonic result of the metal tweeter resonance point, ruined an otherwise fairly decent speaker

To say that its performance with the Lavardin IT was transmogrified is a supreme understatement. The peaky treble was gone, transformed into an extended and artful accuracy and delicacy. The bass articulation and bandwidth flowered, the speaker took on an articulate rhythmic suavity that it had never showed signs of previously. The resolution increased to where a casual listener actually thought the speaker cost $10,000.

Just how can an accurate amp with near-magical neutrality, subtlety, resolution, and clarity alter and correct a poor speaker response?

surely rather than being an accurate amp it is instead a powered tone control?

[sdclc126]

Pure subjective hogwash. What he is stating is essentially impossible, and without any measurements or real scientific inquiry to support what he's saying I reject it completely.

[terry j]

of course, I agree. But it's a sad state of affairs when the poor old consumer (who knows no better and treats audio reviews as gospel) comes across something like this.

He establishes his credentials and auditory prowess by showing his ears are sufficiently good to pick the anomalies in the FR (as if that is the only outpoint in the FR of a $400 pair of speakers!) (the reader goes WOW he must know what he's saying) and then he comes up with a statement like that?

[sreten]

Hi,

It contains more magic and less artistic distortion than lesser amplifiers
so of course it can do things lesser amplifiers cannot. If you have not
got one, of course you are wasting your time. Just do not ruin it with
any old cables, of course they must have some magic too.

/sreten.

[gary f]

Typicaly bad hi-fi review, crazy language, impossible affirmations, NO hard facts, only rubbish and subjective appreciation.

These types of reviews are almost worthless.

[Robh3606]

"He establishes his credentials and auditory prowess by showing his ears are sufficiently good to pick the anomalies in the FR (as if that is the only outpoint in the FR of a $400 pair of speakers!) (the reader goes WOW he must know what he's saying) and then he comes up with a statement like that?"

What credentials?? What makes you think his ears are any better than yours?? If you think a $400 pair of speakers sounds good you should hear what it does for my free computer speakers that came with my Dell.

Rob

[sdclc126]

Originally posted by sreten
Hi,

It contains more magic and less artistic distortion than lesser amplifiers
so of course it can do things lesser amplifiers cannot. If you have not
got one, of course you are wasting your time. Just do not ruin it with
any old cables, of course they must have some magic too.

/sreten.

[sdclc126]

"These types of reviews are almost worthless."

I completely disagree - they are TOTALLY worthless!

[myhrrhleine]

There is some potential merit to this.
Loudspeakers, and associated technology have improved over the years.
A modest loudspeaker can do wonders these days.

[sdclc126]

True - however the post really addressed the amplifier, specifically the amplifier making a loudspeaker significantly audibly better, which means the amplifier itself has to be significantly audibly better - it cannot have some "active" effect on a loudspeaker that somehow changes its performance characteristics.

Sheer and utter nonsense.