Tons of threads , hundreds of arguments and thousands of opinions................!
But nothing objective for those not in the know. Since all this is very individual and personal newcomers get lost in the mountain of info available here , and not only newcomers at times . So how to judge and choose the personal needle in this haystack ? Impossible ? I think not .
I think there might be a way to help a little . We all could establish a VOTING SYSTEM where to express ones personal choice , say like A is best , F is worst , and some way to accumulate results . on one side each voter could post the reasons for his/her choice and on the other the scores could be accumulated in a counter . AND : it would be a very democratic clear indication and summing up instead of thousands of opposing opinions.
At the very least it would show the popularity of each device at first glance then allow to investigate further if so desired , and act as a guide for those who happen not to be engineers .
Please let me know what you think . Thanks
But nothing objective for those not in the know. Since all this is very individual and personal newcomers get lost in the mountain of info available here , and not only newcomers at times . So how to judge and choose the personal needle in this haystack ? Impossible ? I think not .
I think there might be a way to help a little . We all could establish a VOTING SYSTEM where to express ones personal choice , say like A is best , F is worst , and some way to accumulate results . on one side each voter could post the reasons for his/her choice and on the other the scores could be accumulated in a counter . AND : it would be a very democratic clear indication and summing up instead of thousands of opposing opinions.
At the very least it would show the popularity of each device at first glance then allow to investigate further if so desired , and act as a guide for those who happen not to be engineers .
Please let me know what you think . Thanks
It invariably will got plagued of sterile discussions already debated: tubes vs SS, BJT vs MOSFET, discrete vs chip, class A vs AB vs D, .... Also add discussions about speaker cables, couplig caps, etc.
IMO it doesn't add new things.
IMO it doesn't add new things.
What do you want, objective or popularity??
If you don't already have personal prejudices, all the chip-amps are perfect-enough. Chip-makers put a LOT of development into a design before committing to the millions-dollars investment in producing it.
Considering these controversal debates here you will find that everyone here is convinced to be the keeper of the one and only truth - or at least pretends to do so. Me inclusive. See the dilemma? There is no Guru to tell you the truth, you have to find it yourself. And this can be a long road...
If I were to make an amplifier ASAP I'd vote for the one(s) in stock at Authorized Distributors today. Perhaps the one(s) being out of stock indicate it's/their popularity!
50s 60s Designers would have MURDERED to get the performance offered by chipamps, ALL of the ones you mentioned and then some.
Besides, Physics is not "democratic", Audio is a Physics branch, and as of opinion, "everybody has his own".
As mentioned above, best you could get is "popularity" and even so , voting is unnecessary: just counting Forum threads and posts, LM3886 AMPLY beats all other contenders.
Doe it mean it´s " better" than the others?
Nor really, at least not by ear ... no matter what some claim.
I said "ear", not "eye" 😉 (seeing what lies inside the chassis before forming an opinion 😉 )
Besides, Physics is not "democratic", Audio is a Physics branch, and as of opinion, "everybody has his own".
As mentioned above, best you could get is "popularity" and even so , voting is unnecessary: just counting Forum threads and posts, LM3886 AMPLY beats all other contenders.
Doe it mean it´s " better" than the others?
Nor really, at least not by ear ... no matter what some claim.
I said "ear", not "eye" 😉 (seeing what lies inside the chassis before forming an opinion 😉 )
Good point Bucks
Anyways while of course it is true that the most one would get with such a voting system is an indication of popularity said popularity in itself doe say something because if something is more popular that surely is for a reason ? !
🙂
Anyways while of course it is true that the most one would get with such a voting system is an indication of popularity said popularity in itself doe say something because if something is more popular that surely is for a reason ? !
🙂
I bet appearing 20 years before the others meanwhile being "the only horse in the race" certainly must help popularity.
Being simpler also helps.
But most people´s mental inertia is also a BIG factor.
Proof?: it´s quite unavailable in normal quantities and in 99% of shops for a couple years now, yet new projects are started around it every day (just check this very Forum), clearly "popularity" (also known as: "I can´t think anything different") beats anything else.
Do I say it´s "bad"?
Not at all, I love it, simply it´s very hard to get.
Being simpler also helps.
But most people´s mental inertia is also a BIG factor.
Proof?: it´s quite unavailable in normal quantities and in 99% of shops for a couple years now, yet new projects are started around it every day (just check this very Forum), clearly "popularity" (also known as: "I can´t think anything different") beats anything else.
Do I say it´s "bad"?
Not at all, I love it, simply it´s very hard to get.
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There ARE some objective means of choosing, depending on the application. If you want battery-powered and battery life (or power drain in general) is important, then Class D is almost certainly what you want.
Put in this way the subject does not make any sense. It won't help newcomers or non-engeniers, but most probably mislead them.
One should start from the design goal. The second is implementation. And after that is the result which you want to compare.
Such a comparison won't bring any help to newcomers to make a right choice.
I'm 58, so can't hear past 12000Hz, but music sounds good to me.
Remember old entry level K7 players wouldn't go past 13-14000Hz.
No point, choose as per your requirement and what is easily available to you.
If you are OCD about capacitors, resistors, connectors, wires and so on, then the fun starts.
You want to listen to music, or discuss parts, that is your choice.
I personally bought old amps, use them to listen to music, on speakers obtained locally, one set is made from scratch here, the rest are Philips from the local flea market. One set is Sony, the price was about $3.50.
So my vote is going to be for what is available locally, 3886 is scarce, 7293 is out of production, so it leaves one candidate for the election, which then becomes 'elected unopposed'.
No point in having an election, in that case.
If you are OCD about capacitors, resistors, connectors, wires and so on, then the fun starts.
You want to listen to music, or discuss parts, that is your choice.
I personally bought old amps, use them to listen to music, on speakers obtained locally, one set is made from scratch here, the rest are Philips from the local flea market. One set is Sony, the price was about $3.50.
So my vote is going to be for what is available locally, 3886 is scarce, 7293 is out of production, so it leaves one candidate for the election, which then becomes 'elected unopposed'.
No point in having an election, in that case.
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