The interaction of the amp with speakers is the critical issue IMHO. My experience is that multi way speakers with complex x overs that are not well designed will harsh out the sound. Probably due to inductance reaction in the amp. Again , an amp that is sensitive to load due to it's design will impart harshness or brittleness. Whether a sensitive amp with easy load speakers or a tolerant amp with speakers having a compromised x over is worse is another question. Then of course there is the prickly issue of dirty digital sound from CD , all jittery and fragmented from rubbish clocks and DAC's , that will defo sound harsh. What I do know is the Tannoys I'm using now with their simple 2 way configuration and very carefully designed x over , driven by my Crown DC300A is one of the smoothest , most detailed and ambient sounding systems I've ever heard. Thats before I've upgraded the clock and DAC in my Denon CD too !!
agree with you, that s why i suggested that the amps under
comparison must be matched for the load they are driving..
indeed, the load will shape the harmonics response curve of
the amps...must say that i also adopted two way speakers,
i.e QUESTED H108...i let a separate "boombox" reproduce the
extreme low, using a three channel amp..
And Gyprock or Plasterboard in Australia. Gyprock : Products . Very commonly used for interior wall lining in houses.
I used to think so too. However, every bad sounding MOSFET amp I heard used that same OTP, complimentary finals, Class AB topology originated for BJTs. The Big Box manufacturers like that since no OPT is cheaper than the cheapest OPT. (And they have the marketing budget to convince you that that "MOSFET sound" is something "cool", and not what it is: a sonic compromise of towering porportions.)
If you're going to use MOSFETs, then stick with one type or the other, N-Channel or P-Channel, but not both in the same circuit. Keep them out of Class AB since the x-over behaviour is a good deal nastier than that of BJTs. Do that and they'll sound good.
"Which component, components, or circuits make an amplifier "bright", "warm", or "neutral"?"
That's a big "that depends". However:
h2 -- makes for a "warm" sound in moderation. Excessive tends to a "dark" sound. h2 and even harmonic distortion is a property of unbalanced topologies. Even order harmonics lead to asymmetric distortion of waveforms.
h3 -- makes for a "bright" sound. Excessive tends to be overly "aggressive", or "shrill". Balanced topologies largely null out h2 and higher even order harmonics. Odd order harmonics lead to symmetric waveform distortion.
Last edited:
As always, if the component is used in a correct way it shouldnt be a much of a problem. It's no coincidence I use bipolar junction transistors as voltage amplification stage and hex-field effect transistor as output. A very good designer could probably make it sound as he want through construction. Imho you cant just say mosfets sound metallic. And furthermore about 50% of the people that hear the "metallic" or "bright" amp might like it.. So yes, just keep on searching for the sound you like. .
I walked into a bar with my newly designed super-cables and put them on the bar top while surveying the drinks on offer…
“They look like really nice cables, I bet they sound great”, someone said.
I looked around but I was alone.
Then the bar tender came in. I told him that someone had mentioned how nice my cables are, and he said…
“Sir, that’ll be the complimentary nuts!!!”
…………………………………………………………………………………..
(Sorry. Gordy hangs his head in shame and slinks off back to the shadows… )
None in particular, but I can suggest
"Bright" = rising frequency response at top end
"warm" = falling frequency response
"neutral" = flat frequency response (ahhhhhhhh, just right)
Well JohnS, your question was posed many years back (...when even Gordy felt reasonably young, and still on the best side of 40...), so I don't know if you are still around to hear the answers or not. Anyway here it is:
"bright": it actually depends on the overall system, the local listening environment, the input, and the listener's psychoacoustic system, bias, and intellect.
"warm": it actually depends on the overall system, the local listening environment, the input, and the listener's psychoacoustic system, bias, and intellect.
"neutral": it actually depends on the overall system, the local listening environment, the input, and the listener's psychoacoustic system, bias, and intellect.
...OK, OK, it's just an opinion.
(Or is it?)
(Maybe it really is the cables?)
Glenn,
Falling frequency response does not give a warm sound. Many amplifiers have flat measured frequency response still producing a harsh sound. Things are more complicated than that.
The typical "bright" solid state sound is caused by a large variety of high frequency distortions, feedback effects, low bandwidth, device inferiorities, missing low / even order harmonics, and so on.
Falling frequency response does not give a warm sound. Many amplifiers have flat measured frequency response still producing a harsh sound. Things are more complicated than that.
Bright, Warm or Neutral usually depends on one's ears and ability to process the information from one's brain. One man's gold is one man's trash!
Nonetheless, there are imperfections and all different factors in any amplifiers design that can be said to attribute the sound quality to make it bright, shrill, warm, dark, forward, neutral, etc.
If you think you are missing something, look at the big picture and not just the amplifier! The problem can be from source, amp, preamp, speakers, room acoustics and even some cables and wires. A good sound comes from a good system that has good Synergy between all components and not from a single component.
Nonetheless, there are imperfections and all different factors in any amplifiers design that can be said to attribute the sound quality to make it bright, shrill, warm, dark, forward, neutral, etc.
If you think you are missing something, look at the big picture and not just the amplifier! The problem can be from source, amp, preamp, speakers, room acoustics and even some cables and wires. A good sound comes from a good system that has good Synergy between all components and not from a single component.
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.