We know what he means, surely.
The statement has to be qualified in advance to stop people from simply saying "Well obviously this Sanyo music centre doesn't sound the same as this Krell." How could Peter Walker have worded it to get any closer to a real, practical "All amps sound the same"?
The list of amps that meets this criteria -
"high input impedance, low output impedance, flat response, low distortion, and low noise"
would include just about every inexpensive receiver or integrated, basic amp made and sold in big electronics stores from maybe 1975 on to present day.
So if someone is a purveyor of this philosophy that states all amps that meet these qualifications, when used within limits, all sound the same...
They are very close to, in essence, saying "all amps sound the same". If you like numbers, it would probably mean 99.99% of the amplifiers made and sold for the last 35 years meet the above criteria. This logic would extend to 99.99% of all amps sound the same.
...why am I even typing this? it is so obviously silly.
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I've used B&Ks for live recording- I really don't think they're particularly special or uncolored. They're very good, but no "better" than many other condensers.
This is why I prefer to hear classical music in an anechoic chamber. I don't won't any of those hall colorations or acoustics getting between me and the musicians. Keep it pure!
Better to suspend the musicians in free space. Saves money on foam wedges.
In 1975 I suspect that crossover distortion was still a problem in some commercial designs, so the requirement of "low distortion" might not have been satisfied.
In 1975 I suspect that crossover distortion was still a problem in some commercial designs, so the requirement of "low distortion" might not have been satisfied.
BF, the problems come elsewhere- for example the "no clipping" requirement. Stability into loads. Power supply sag and modulation. Source impedance over the audible range. Current capability in situations where speakers demand it. That said, these are not hard requirements to fulfill.
Then it was surely the last year that saw this distorsion being
still alive , in very few designs , though....
I'm actually surprised how simplistically silly it is... i'm taken aback.
We know how good an amp needs to be to be acceptable for specific purposes, boom box amp vs pro-sound amp. I suppose that the search for the "better" amp is really the search for the amp that incorporates the effects that evoke an emotional response, for example 'warm' sound could be relaxing. This could be found by letting a test group have some effects equipment and see what they come up with. Then quantify that sound profile and integrate into an amp.
They were measured on full power, so were satisfied. Crossover distortions resulted in higher S/N level. 😀
That's only one dimension, and an overused one, at that. There are many other qualities that are sought after and heard in amp - real or imagined. The old "effects box" and "tube warmth" clichés are pretty tired. Not to say they don't exist, but they are far from a complete picture.
Bill Whitlock has written about a test he came up with, injecting a 60Hz current between an input's ground connection and the chassis, and measuring how much of it appears on the output. This was specifically to measure ability to reject ground loop currents, but no doubt the idea can be expanded to RF susceptibility as well.
I've seen it all (or so it seems, and heard a lot) on rec.audio.pro. Market it as having the "SY signature sound." If someone finds the sound too boring or whatever, say it also works well with a transformer on the input and/or output.
And something that most people know, different pre input impedances change the sound of dynamic micrphones. Add an input impedance switch and label it "tone" or "coloration select."
I take that back. Make two models, one with higher input impedance than the other. Sell them as two different "flavors."
Absolutely right. I can argue here among DIYers, but I stopped arguing on gearslutz.com about this matter: if people want to believe that my amps and microphones "add warmth and transparency", so mote it be. 😀
'Adding transparency' - that one I like. Perhaps we could though say it adds 'negative opacity'? 😀
Does it matter? 😀
When people getting rid of some nasty distortions as if hear some nice coloration added, it is their right to believe. They need to call the sound somehow. 🙂
Why? I expected Scott to ask, it is a song about Boston. 🙂
Don't you like it? They did. 😛
I did that back in 1979 when played with thick film 50W amp ICs designed in our laboratory, when tried to make a bridged amp without frying them.
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