What's good enough. Well for those seeking quality, luxury and hi end goods its a straight forward issue. For audiophiles that's another matter as what is being sough for is angelic reproduction, even this is never quite right. Insurance doesn't yet cover this condition. Here's some nice sound samples, unfortunately the samples will also interact with your system so a good set of headphones and quality DAC will come in handy. All these amplifiers are amazing. The tube bjt amp(pathos) sounds good. The class D amplifier sounds good too. The Pass labs is in the top four performers and sounds clean but is almost robbed off that musicality by the class A mosfet outputs and sounds slightly unhinged in the bass due to factors discussed here https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/chatgpt-ideas-about-amplifier-design.394541/post-7243081, you can actually pick out the other amplifier that sounds identical to the Pass labs. All these comments are tied to equipment such as dac/preamp and room treatment. So what's good enough for an audiophile?
While I am eating, washing dishes, cleaning house or my body, paying bills, figuring income tax, I can't play the piano. My piano sounds better than any reproduction system I've ever heard. There are many pieces I enjoy, want to listen to, that aren't piano, and many of those take 4 to 120 people playing at the same time on different instruments. There are many piano pieces I can't play yet, and may never as I am running out of time. My muscles are stiffening up age 72, and I broke or sprained a hand 6 weeks ago.
Good enough is Harmonic Distortion 25 db down from the signal. My SP2(2004) speakers specify that performance @ 5 watts, 50-8000 hz. Actually I enjoyed for 15 years an amp with 1% HD, a dynakit ST70, driving speakers where the HD was never measured. Now I can buy build or modify better. I find 1/2% HD totally okay, as long as there aren't many odd harmonics.
I won't listen to the videos, my computer + headphones sound much worse than my speaker system that plays CDs or LPs. I really don't respect MP3 format tracks even transported to the speakers. I don't have a $300 d/a, I use the Intel chipset in the PC. I don't know anybody that has a better speaker system than me in this flyover town; the Meyersounds down at the Brown Theater sound screechy on violins.
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"grace under pressure" . Many use amps that are underpowered. What does the amp do either close to or actual clip ? Harmonics right at rated
output can determine the "character" of the amp (and can be heard). Any with a decent dynamic source will flirt with clipping. A poorly designed amp
can take out a tweeter on overload and sound horrible with any overload condition.
output can determine the "character" of the amp (and can be heard). Any with a decent dynamic source will flirt with clipping. A poorly designed amp
can take out a tweeter on overload and sound horrible with any overload condition.
I'm glad the Wolverine/Badger builders usually overbuild and use 70V supplies. Even as that amp will do PPM , it does not soft clip like a hawksford VAS or
other differential designs. On my current sourced sub amp it does not matter , the woofer absorbs any bad harmonics. My high freq. setup is a LM3886 , very
"tubelike" at clipping. If I upgraded to a small 60W discrete (HF only) , it would be a Hawksford soft clip design. NO more full range amps .. split the job up (2.1 system).
PS - amps make little difference up to a point .... (quality) speakers and sources are the ticket. I moved my source out of my PC , external DAC's are cool.
Typical sound cards inside the PC are a joke. The ASUS internal PCI-E version of my U7 Xonar is in a Faraday cage ... why did they bother ?
other differential designs. On my current sourced sub amp it does not matter , the woofer absorbs any bad harmonics. My high freq. setup is a LM3886 , very
"tubelike" at clipping. If I upgraded to a small 60W discrete (HF only) , it would be a Hawksford soft clip design. NO more full range amps .. split the job up (2.1 system).
PS - amps make little difference up to a point .... (quality) speakers and sources are the ticket. I moved my source out of my PC , external DAC's are cool.
Typical sound cards inside the PC are a joke. The ASUS internal PCI-E version of my U7 Xonar is in a Faraday cage ... why did they bother ?
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"What's good enough ?"
My view is that you have to answer the question with another question: for how long?
IMO The "good enough" concept is a function of the variable time.
On the other hand the variable time has a double meaning: about "current times" and "how much longer".
Even the price of the goods has a relative value IMO, because it is obvious that anyone in their right mind adapt their choices to their economic opportunities, and his brain helps him to be satisfied for a certain period of time.
Then, sooner or later, it will change and one will continue to play in his own garden and within his own possibilities, switching up their cards.
In other words: nothing is ever good enough, at least for humans, or at "very" least for me.
My view is that you have to answer the question with another question: for how long?
IMO The "good enough" concept is a function of the variable time.
On the other hand the variable time has a double meaning: about "current times" and "how much longer".
Even the price of the goods has a relative value IMO, because it is obvious that anyone in their right mind adapt their choices to their economic opportunities, and his brain helps him to be satisfied for a certain period of time.
Then, sooner or later, it will change and one will continue to play in his own garden and within his own possibilities, switching up their cards.
In other words: nothing is ever good enough, at least for humans, or at "very" least for me.
Ya know, it's funny that you brought that up....
For years now, I've wondered why anyone would be able to judge, or even depend on, the sound quality of a youtube video, or for that matter, any "online" audio file.
What cracks me up is the various websites (incuding this one) that ask others "what they think" of a particular audio recording's quality.
When the listener's local system is naturally different from someone elses...
When you have no idea what produced the sound at the other end of the internet...
And since the differences, however small, in a person's hearing ability, are a part of the mix.
Add in the internet's abilities, the transmission ability...
When someone puts up an audio recording, and it's about wire quality, phono cartridge differences, speaker response, etc., it's not reasonable to judge through some "online" file or video.
Not even with the finest microphones, equipment, or bitrate in the world.
But for some idiotic reason, this has become an accepted procedure.
Sort of like a part of the Dumbing Down of the Masses?
Years ago, I posted a youtube video of my highly modified/restored/customized RCA Victor console stereo.
Sitting in its place in my dining room, playing a record.
The video/audio was recorded on a "at that time" new Iphone with stereo microphone ability, mounted on a tripod a few feet from the console, and of course the room's acoustics are part of the result.
And to my ears, the video doesn't do justice to the actual "personally being in the room" tonal quality.
Yet, people have given me, for whatever reason, high marks on the sound.
They don't really know, obviously.
Yes, it does have a nice sound, but only justified by being in my home to hear it.
The video is here, if anyone is interested:
The type of music, preamplifier characteristics, speakers, room and the human factors can affect ones preference. There are amplifiers that have good reverb for particular types of music especially if the preamplifier has particular characteristics.
"Why did the audiophile spend 10 times as much on his playback equipment as his recording equipment? To make sure he could hear every detail in the music, even the ones he never knew existed!"
"Why did the audiophile spend 10 times as much on his playback equipment as his recording equipment? To make sure he could hear every detail in the music, even the ones he never knew existed!"