What makes one amp more musical than another?
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- Опубліковано 23 тра 2018
- We can't really tell how an amplifier will sound simply by its measurements, so how can we determine which to purchase? CEO Paul walks us through the difficulties and processes needed. Have a question you want to ask paul? www.psaudio.com/ask-paul/
I am getting close to publishing my memoir! It's called 99% True and it is chock full of adventures, debauchery, struggles, heartwarming stories, triumphs and failures, great belly laughs, and a peek inside the high-end audio industry you've never known before.
I plan a few surprises for early adopters, so go to www.paulmcgowan.com and add your name to the list of interested readers. There's an entire gallery of never before seen photos too. - Наука та технологія
You go Paul! Be as feisty as you want, this IS the internet after all
One obvious answer to this question is that better dynamic performance can easily be what makes one amp sound more musical. Especially, having soft clipping of the peaks rather than hard clipping makes a huge difference in terms of avoiding harshness when playing loud. Tube amps often get recommended for that advantage but really, it’s easy to achieve with transistor amps. Also, it’s very measurable! Another important topic is how well an amplifier can drive difficult speaker impedances. Some speakers are hard to drive. A square wave on the input might end up looking quite different on the output and can be the best evidence for an amplifier not being true to the intent of simply amplifying the signal. Often what makes an amp more musical is measurable but you need more special measurements to find out what is going on. Rest assured it’s not magic what your ears are hearing.
Nothing wrong with being feisty once and a while... ;) Your honesty is what keeps me watching! great video!
I own the Pathos TT and that is a very nice and above all very musical amplifier. I like always youre comments, thanks Paul
Great! just great and I had to laugh at your presentation. Agree with all of it of course.
Feisty and passionate. I love these vids 😀👍
"Bite me." said the CEO. LMAO. A day doesn't pass at work when I don't want to say that to somebody. You sir, have earned the right.
thanx for the share , pliz upload more videos about more electronics info
I have three Rotel amps, each rated at 50 watts/channel, of the same basic design (BJT's) from different model years, and they sound very different from one another. One has better bass response, one has better high end response, and one has the best of both of these.
Ha ha love your attitude Paul. "Bite me" sounds like something I would say. lol
I think it would be really helpful if you talked about some of the SPECIFIC things measurements miss (or overstate). Another video specifically on this subject compared distortion of a wave when it switches from + to - (crossover distortion) vs distortion from clipping. Clipping distortion might measure the same or higher but would be less audible (or more pleasant). Even more helpful would be if you discussed how different electronics fix some of these problems which aren't often measured - or are mis-measured. For example, I remember in one of your class D amp explanations you mentioned a difference vs regular A-B transistor amps that would tend to make Class D subjectively sound more like tubes.
Paul, great video. When comparing power amplifiers what type/s of speakers are being used? 2 way, 3 Way, full range floor standers, ribbons, electrostatics? Then again you have the different types of tweeters... Soft dome, metal or AMT. I'm thinking maybe a neutral and linear studio monitor? Kind of hard to tell as each have their own tone and characteristics.
Amazing! What an educating and informative explanation based on solid science.
Hey I'm currently creating my own business and you've really sparked my interest in quality sound.
People just get pissed because they are having conflicts in their hearts.
I for myself come from an engineering standpoint. You know I'm german ;D
The company I'm creating is called ganzheitlich Audio.
I dont believe that cables make such a difference but maybe it does marginally. I could found a difference from going from flexibles mains wiring to 4mm flexible copper cable, so I've kinda disproven my point. In my defense, I've only went from improper cabling to proper cabling but thats just my 2 cents.
Have a nice evening or day or whereever you are. peace.
Tell me more about your audio compagny I find it very interresting as I want to start some build too!
The parable about the old man the boy and the donkey holds true with all things.
Absolutely
And there are so many people out there trying to measure differences in Sound to see it on a display, or on an out print, to see how it sounds - sometimes they forgot to listen to it, what its made for... I beleave
You can not listen to an amplifier. You listen to a speaker (set) and the environment in which it is working, with all its reflection and absorption. Building and adjusting an amplifier is done with instruments that are very much more sensible than any human ear. I can invoke seriously bad behaviour in an amp that you will never be able to hear, but that I can very clearly see on my analyser.
I would agree Paul you really didn’t answer the question. Circuit design and parts quality is a big factor on sound quality, but ultimately you just have to listen . I’m pretty confident that is the point Paul is making
If you have less than 1% "dislikes" you're in good shape, no need to worry about the negativity. :)
If you can find one, check out the Mattes SSP200 amp, with the Sharma Circuit!
Thank you for the educations, and thank you even more for your sense of humor!
I agree with you totally.
I like emotiva for my home theater but not for music. And emotiva are great but for my music I use a Treshold amplifier. It makes a lot a difference
One of the main reasons an amplifier can sound different from others is if or when a DC offset occurs at the output terminals ... I'm obviously not talking about rail latch up but a small 1 or 2 volts .... this occurs due to the design of the amplifier . Normal differential pair input stages with a simple ac feedback loop to the base of the second transistor are highly susceptible to this offset problem ... a high end amplifier would have a DC offset servo circuit which keeps the output + terminal at 0 volts plus or minus the signal swing .
mosfet/bpt/tube amps will all have measurable frequency response differences and different harmonic distortion figures especially close to power breakup . especially the tube amp
I have a 1990's Harman/Kardon (when with Levinson) that has outrageous specs in frequency response (3Hz - 200kHz ±3dB) and able to operate 2ohm loads. It sounds fantastic . . . but the designer, while ordered to produce these unbelievable specs, decided to use BJT transistors. The MOSFET crowd looks down their nose at this design. Why he chose BJT over MOSFET? . . .
So feisty!😎
I have a question, if every spec was given (dB deviation in frequency response, low impedance handling, THD, SNR, IMD, slew rate, channel separation, etc.), is it at all possible for an amp with worse specs to sound more “musical”, and by musical I mean no-colorization and faithful to the recording?
It can sound different, but I fail to see how it can sound more musical.
It is well known that early generation CD masters were garbage, so it’s kind of an unfair comparison.
Take a DAC for instance, which I see a lot of your DACs in high end systems. Is it possible for a DAC which measures slightly worse in every thinkable category (frequency response deviation, THD, IMD, SNR, impulse response, channel separation, harmonic distortion, etc.) to sound more “musical”?
A worse frequency response but better THD/IMD/SNR will likely sound better than the opposite, so that makes sense.
Hey Paul, what is the limit on wattage for a ch. for a pure class A amp..?
Interesting question, as the wattage and voltage output will be limited by your 115 volt mains, and how the power line is fused at the box. If your 115 volt main is fused to 20 amps, well, that is a start to getting your answer.
Howdy. With all due respect.
The clip mainly states that they do. Little was said about why they do.
I would say that a good slew rate is mandatory. That will define how well the instrument harmonics can ride upon the base note. Another must is the burst capability. Burst compression and burst distortion fatigues the ear quickly.
In high regards.
If you want to hear what tubes sound like, see this: ua-cam.com/video/qcKSFEtwyLw/v-deo.html
When can we expect to hear more about the psaudio speakers ???
I agree. How about an update, even if vague, on how things are going for the folks that might be placing things on hold for their development.
Get Andrew Jones in to finish the job!
Ignore the negative comments Paul, I think its great you take the time to share information
aww, a nice outlook to have, if I lived in the states I`d be knocking on your door for a role at PS, looks a great company. Erm… could you tell Scott to hurry up with that second vid on the dedicated mains spur please :o)
It used to be that I could look inside a component at the parts used and tell you how it was going to sound. I once got a company upset with me by saying wimas wimas wimas because their component was full of wima caps.
ii am thinking there is not enough specs, there is most likely something you can measure that shows a difference. or the measurement is not dont in the same way or uses different numbers so its cant be directly compared.
Great vid Paul! Continue keeping them honest.
If NAD amps are supposed to be reasonably good (and low distortion) how come they have a characteristic "wire-y" sound in the top-end?
So this leads me to my “Ask Paul” Question: Do you hear like I hear? I think cilantro tastes like soap but lots of people think it tastes great. My wife and I have very different ideas about what the color red looks like. So Paul, do we perceive the same note and tone in the same manner?
Please discuss.
Cilantro tastes like soap because your mom made you use soap that smells fresh before you ever had cilantro. And we all know that cilantro is the epitome of freshness and that is why chefs use it to garnish their preparations with it.
@@Enemji So only Pigpen likes cilantro?
InsideOfMyOwnMind -?? Who/what pigpen? The freshness of cilantro is incorporated in Soap to feel fresh. That does not mean cilantro tastes like soap.
Cilantro doesn't taste like soap at all. You're crazy!
It tastes like medicine. 😁
Cilantro does taste like soap,I can't say why I know this but I do.My mom used both sides of her hand to keep us in line,not soap.That all being said, I love the flavor of cilantro.
For whatever reason, to my ears, I find that British components sound the best, musically.
Hi Paul, Make 3 amps (identical except for MOSFET, BJT and tubes) -all else the same so we can put this to bed finally!
Then give them all to Bob C. and see if he can sort them out so they sound the same. He might just say "Bite me."
I have an Electrocompaniet power amp that is low wattage and gets hot as a stove and sounds warm and sweet but only after it warms up.
Specification are only good as a tool to see if the designed piece of equipment has any major issues or concerns, BUT specifications tell you just about nothing about how something will sound and the sound quality. So anyone buying equipment based on specifications is clueless about audio. Use your ears ! Also it’s important to understand the overall sound of a system is based on the interaction and sound of each and every part of a system. So you cannot assume one piece of equipment is going to sound great in the very system. And vice versa cannot assume a piece of equipment is bad as it may simply be a poor or bad match with everything in a system or just one part of. It’s all about synergy and listening to different pieces of a audio system and seeing if its a good match. It is simply trial and error.
3:00 yeah but then they have some of the same specs and not all the same specs
but i get what you mean
but its from my understanding impossible to get the same specs on different technologies
Nice job again today Paul as always... ( And Paul DON"T ever stop being feisty).. Just maybe try not to swear there maybe young Audiophiles watching your "Ask Paul" video blogs...
I think there must be a few attributes that contribute to a sound that some people describe as musical. I think it might include some combination of:
1. more 2nd harmonic distortion than odd number harmonic distortion
2. accurate reproduction of low level information so it sounds natural. As a result, your mind responds to the emotion of the music and not have work hard to fill in the bits between the high points of the sound wave
3. In a digital system this means a very low jitter clock signal
When its musical, you relax, feel the emotion and your toe taps without you thinking about it.
When its not musical, it may be shockingly accurate and have dramatic dynamics and thumping bass, but be uninteresting and tedious over time.
2nd harmonic distortion just means that signal (sine wave) is not symmetrical above and below cross with 0 amplitude mark. For class A tube amp this is usual case.
HORRY SHET LOOK AT THAT TRANSFORMER!
Love it when you tell it like it is!!!!!!! Tons of know it all idiots out there that nned ti get educated by a true legend of your caliber!!! Thanks you sir
Thanks for watching!
@Paul McGowan - Love the videos! Can you please go a little further into what makes amplifiers pleasing to the ear? That is, toss a little tech speak in there. If I were to make an amp in your facility from scratch, what would I do and why? Also, assuming perfect execution (obv hypothetical), how much of the sound difference would fall to the wayside with a good tune on a computer-based DSP with all the bells and whistles you’d want?
mattalones93 I would say there isn't a formula as such, I would say it is more of a method for attaining balance in the design. It's a bit like preparing good food. You can't just follow a recipe you must taste and adjust as you go along. Experience can guide you to get the right result. Maybe all of this is possible with a DSP but it wouldn't solve the problem it would just add a lot more adjustment parameters.
Unfortunately some individuals do not obtain the trained hearing or physically don’t have the ability to hear the difference in amplifiers whether it’s MOSFETs or tubes they Can’t! hear it, it’s not their fault they don’t know any better. Therefore anybody who tells them different they don’t believe them or tell them they’re lying because of their inability to hear these nuances. All men are NOT created equal some are gifted with a higher perception of the senses and some are not.
Any examples of people actually hearing differences (blind)?
Kacper Uminski yes you can say they’re colored blind but in the hearing spectrum the human brain neural system develops differently in different people just as they discovered not every human being sees the color blue or red or other color the same as the person standing next to them.
Exactly my point in another posts here.
Thats why some people where better suited to operate the sonars on the submarines in the old days, not everybody has this trained hearing, or is able to hear the buzzing from the 60hz sine from a switch mode powersupply, or the buzzing/humming noise that a winding transformer produces when in use if you are able to hear this, then you have no problem in detecting the small nuances and hear that the difference in soundpicture becomes more full and rounder, and that background noises become more crisp and clear, and that you suddenly takes note of an gitar/singer/soundeffect that you haven't been able to hear before.. but this is possible to train your ears
bjornahh87
You say gitar, I say guitar...
Even the players can't agree on the best sound.
It's a taste thing. Each to his own. No need to argue. ENJOY YOUR MUSIC ;-)
Let's call the whole thing off?
Feisty is good sometimes, adds character to grey polite world.
What theyre essentially asking is what defines the timbre of an amp
After a 7minute video... Still no answer to the original question!
He did answer it, your listening skills need work.
@@justthebeginning1448 that components merely sound different doesn't let you know any of the how and why.
@@bertram49 of course he doesn't,
Every company keeps their components secret
@G Guest Yes, he could at least given us a direct answer in a few sentences. Instead of 7 minutes of filler
he does this all the time
Love your comment “bite me”! Hilarious
The different amplifier types sounds different, but who can judge what is more musical? Two persons can have different opinions on what type of amplifier that sounds best.
Its been said that the only specification that matters is the shipping weight.
They do all sound different, but the differences are So Slight that unless you were able to A/B them next to each other only a "bat eared audiophile" could tell the difference. Nothing a little EQ ing couldn't handle to make them all sound exactly the same by the time sound comes out of the speaker.
I’m a Grado fan and on some amps my GS3000x outright make my ears bleed with sibilance & brightness no matter how much EQ you apply and on others like a warm tube amp it’s one of the sweetest most euphoric sounds there is. Likewise changing out DACs influences the character and it’s taken me awhile to figure out synergy between my equipment for different headphones. I had an argument with a guy on ASR who says it’s all in my mind and all amps are the same, I just don’t buy it. Hell I’ve noticed even on EDM songs the rhythm/timing of the beats will differ by amp. I’m not a science guy and I can’t explain it other than perhaps some human ears are more aware of subtle harmonic changes than others.
@@mikeg2491 Correct, you have a great pair of ears! Protect them.
I like feisty Paul 👍
Maybe we must stop to say which amp sounds better and say we like the way a given amplifier distorts in comparison with others.
That's the reason why people are still building 300B amps and paying a pile of money for them...
That's being feisty!... ;-)))))
Can you Review The Cerwin Vega XLS-215 Dual 3way?
When buying equipment mainly for speakers, I look at the spec, then select a few within budgets and based on reviews like what hifi and stereophile. Finally, doing the audition at the seller place. Most of the times, I decided to wait for the next opportunity as not happy with the sound quality.
Sound wave is complex and hearing is very sensitive. Spec and numbers are only telling a small picture.
Cant buy speakers or anything for that matter based on specification. They tell you absolutely nothing about something und quality or how it will sound with other parts of a system.
looks okay, but harman/kardon looks better. If the board or parts are brown it means it got too hot, so not enough cooling, bad design or bad quality.
Could you give an example of something you could do to your powerplant that would measure worse, but output a more pure sine wave? Could you give an example of something you could do that would measure better, but not output a more pure sine wave? Is either actually possible?
Have you ever got a better sine wave with something that measured worse, or got a worse sine wave with something that measured better?
We know exactly what a perfect sine wave looks like. Is it possible to deviate from that in a way that doesn't register in any of the measurements available?
Why don't the audio manufacturers categories their amps, speakers etc, like giving them a grade or something similar to wine tasting so when try to buy a certain sounding machine at least you know closely of what they sounded liked (from the classification of the sound characteristic) to help you in finding a match or paired up components.
Stereophile tries to do this with their classes of components. They can't review everything, and a lot of stuff gets left out. It would need to be done by a third party, and any third party would be very biased.
Like wine tasting, it gets muddled too often. Not everybody has the same taste buds, or preference for that matter. You drink what you like, and hear what you like. Nothing beats that.
At 2:53... 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Musical is the musician’s job. If bad source material doesn’t sound bad you do not have hi fi, You have my fi. That’s OK so long as you are honest.
Uh oh Paul's getting fysty
I think the question was:
What makes one amp more Musical than another?
And: WHY ?
You did a good job of tap dancing around it without answering the question :-D
You did however light the fuse for others to rant about their beliefs!
Looking forward to that whiteboard discussion.....?
I asked a person what he thought of my current system and the answer I got was your components were not musical. He is also a vendor for high end equipment. So I started to wonder what Musical really means and I still don't understand the term. I had a listen to some high end components he is selling, I listened for an hour or more and his system didn't sound much different than my system, in some ways my system sounded better, but that may be because I'm used to mine. At the end of the day I still don't understand what the term "Musical" means.
Kris Gudmundsson Its like porn, you recongnize it when come across it. Why some have two systems, one for audio and one for home theater.
Oh, one amp not 1A, confused for a bit. (Many Amps make light work)
Its only about the right pairing
what was the answer
The answer was "Bite me."
It's incredible how Paul realized a while back on which side his bread is buttered. The greatest move in audio marketing was to go full subjective. Talk to me about tone colours...
I agree with you: a while back it became obvious that so-called "objective audio" was waning and that Harry Pearson had won and that from that moment on "subjective audio" and willy-nilly commenting ruled and generated better sales at much higher prices for the manufacturers and dealers. Not a knock on you or your products, I like both. The question you answered would have been better put as: "should the end user of a sound system base a purchase on standardized measurements?"
The answer is then a no.
The way these discussions always go though is that numbers are irrelevant since all that matters is what the listener subjectively comes up with while listening to music.
The problem has to do with the correlation between objective measurements and verisimilitude.
And I am quite sure that you are not actually saying, I think, that quantifiable data is no longer required in the design and manufacturing process of audio equipment.
Say it ain't so Paul!
Reality is experienced subjectively, the idea of something being subjective isn't an insult as you militant skeptics (who don't actually understand what subjectivity means in philosophy of science) like to imply
Patrick Baillargeon Audio is indeed very subjective but I don't think making intentionally coloured amplifiers, cables etc is the best way to go about getting the perfect sound for you.
One should start with a system that is as transparent as possible (flat frequency response, good impulse response, low THD & noise etc) and use EQ, DSP and more to tweak it to your liking.
Paul McGowan I totaly agree with you that different amplifiers makes the same song/audio or other audio source sound different, even when the only difference is the amplifier itself, I've experienced this for myself, but, the real difference I discovered, lies in how they make the center channel blend with the left and right channel, because when i make an analogue center channel, the only difference I can hear is in which range of frequency your speakers are produced for.
Vlad, Vlad, Vlad, audio is not a faith based practice. The only reason you can reply in such a way is that electronic equipment was made possible by science. I agree that the end user can ignore that entirely and find great satisfaction in the wonderful intersection of science and whimsy.
Unlike you Mr. McGowan is responsible for the design, manufacturing and marketing of high quality audio products so he needs more than philosophy, although I am sure he appreciates that also.
Basically a question without any answer...
Gotta love the "I can hear measurements" people
Perspective determines what's good or not. It's all in the mind. We hear what we expect.
I like single ended triodes with output transformers, no feedback and lousy specs, seriously. Not that I'm in favor of 5% THD (yes, it is that high) and high output impedance, a transistor amp with those specs would burn your ears off. But S.E.T.s sound fantastic!
John LeBeau I agree, they can be very pleasing indeed with some genres of music.
It took me 20 years, and I had to build them myself, but I finally have a speaker that plays flat from 30hz to 20khz (probably 40khz, but my ears stop at 15khz) and 20-20 if I add the subwoofer. It is triamped with 3, 45 SETs. A grand total of 12 watts, 2 watts per driver. They will play anything, rock to Rachmaninoff. It's like audio crack, I can't stop listening.
Cerwin Vega CV5000 1100wpc 8ohms £900.. Mcintosh MC452 450wpc 8ohms.. £12,000... I saved £11,100! They will sound exactly the same.
Did you DBT that claim? Expectation bias perhaps? LOL
If there are people watching this channel who refuse to believe that amplifiers sound different, they are only here to argue. And that is not worth our time or theirs.
Those people usually have been working in the audio industry as an engineer for many years, with tons of experience, so they know exactly what they are talking about. Amplifiers do not sound, speakers do. You want better sound, buy better speakers.
1959Berre Please don't be offended if I don't swap my first hand opinion of 30 years working on high end amplifiers for your second hand opinion.
amplifiers do sound. GOOD amplifiers don't. and like 1959Berre said, speaker is the eventual judge of what that system's going to sound like. it's the most influential part that the sound of your whole system before the speakers put together is not even comparable to how much personality a pair of speaker can express.
I’m gonna piss some body off. Bite me! 😂🤭🤗🤐😇
''What makes one amp more musical than another?'' Laconic response: the one we listen more... (The answer that fit into discussion?)
Dragan Antonijević - I always listened to Yamaha amp. Then I heard a Harman Kardon and I felt I had wasted my time with the Yamaha amp I had. So no. That is not always true.
May response was ''laconic'' and a jock...
Isnt "musicality" a very very subjective term?
The question is not well posed
Mum makes a cake
Grandma makes the same cake
...and her granddaughter does the same
3 identical cakes..... which one tasted best ?
So if I get this right, the 3 criteria named originally, THD, IM, and frequency response of an amp are inadequate in and of themselves, i.e. they tell you something but not everything. Of course. There is slew rate, amount of feedback, amp class, etc. However, Bob Carver always claimed he could duplicate the sound of any amp by manipulating filters within his own design. What bothers me about this whole discussion is that in my own purist view, an amp shouldn't "sound" like anything. It should duplicate exactly at its output what is put into it. Do you disagree? If so, then at that point you're pandering, giving people what you think they want to hear. You know, like Bose.
Makes sense to me. How negative, in your mind is negative feedback on a design? I see there are some preamps now that have none. And that beast power amp that costs a quarter of a million. I was under the delusion for years that this couldn't be achieved, and that negative feedback was beneficial. Not so? Very much appreciate your channel by the way.
Go to Stereophile May 2009 and read “ The Carver Challenge “ by the late J. Gordon Holt. Decide whether it’s a jaw dropper, a veil lifter, an eye opener or a knee slapper!
One day in the past, a great (maybe the greatest) Italian audio designer (Bartolomeo Aloia) said: if the perfect amplifier has to perform with less distortion, greatest bandwidth, greatest slow rate, and neutrality, ok let's try to play music through an oscilloscope. Its circuitry definitely has all of these characteristics. But he realize that this oscilloscope sounded awful. So you have the answer: you don't just need a technically perfect circuit and this is not a warranty for good audio reproduction. A good audio amplifier HAS to have a characteristic sound. It is ok every amp sounds different. This means they are made to reproduce recorded music. Ciao. Best from NE Italy
Just to be contrarian, I would like to see these differences confirmed by blind trials. When doing comparisons, you have to be careful not to fool yourself, and you are the easiest one to fool. Just look at the "New Coke" vs the "Classic Coke " debacle.
It must be tough to live with such an inherent distrust of your own perceptions. As the saying goes, "who are you going to believe, me, or your lying eyes?"
I live in Denver and might just take you up on that. Do I need an appointment?
I always try to be aware of the possibility of confirmation bias.
u barely touched the question
I'll also piss somebody off here but here goes nothing!
All amplifiers which are flat between 20 and 20kHz and don't introduce too much distortion (tubes distort a lot) will sound exactly the same below the clipping point. That's what all the evidence points toward. (I can provide links to the blind tests.)
I also have to disagree with you on your reasoning. What you are saying is that amplifiers sound different because you hear differences which is actually not at all a convincing point. It's like saying "I can see a unicorn over there and therefore unicorns exist." The logical answer to that is asking for further proof and if you don't have it, it invalidates your point.
If you do have actual proof of any amplifier or other piece of equipment like a CDP, a DAC etc making a difference in sound (passing a DBT or an ABX test is acceptable evidence) then I would very much like to see it.
Thanks for your hard work. Now we can all just relax and buy the amplifier that looks the best.
Paul McGowan Were your tests blind or sighted? If they were sighted then that renders them completely invalid cause' visual bias is a thing. When a group of people was presented with two glasses of the same wine and told that one contained expensive wine and the other contained cheap wine the group overwhelmingly preferred the "expensive" glass even though they were the same wine.
I fear that that might be the reason for your subjects "well, duh"' response. (If the tests were sighted.)
As for the possibility that the system might not be revealing enough; that is certainly a possibility. Here's an example that:
matrixhifi.com/ENG_contenedor_ppec.htm
They come to the conclusion that the change should be instantaneous and you need a switchbox but I think that would be an issue for you since it would somehow colour the sound (even though it can't). (If it isn't a problem then I can provide a better example.) They also change all the electronics and cables instead of just the amp which should make even more of a difference than changing just the amplifier.
Paul McGowan Were your tests blind or sighted? If they were sighted then that renders them completely invalid cause' visual bias is a thing. When a group of people was presented with two glasses of the same wine and told that one contained expensive wine and the other contained cheap wine the group overwhelmingly preferred the "expensive" glass even though they were the same wine.
I fear that that might be the reason for your subjects "well, duh"' response. (If the tests were sighted.)
As for the possibility that the system might not be revealing enough; that is certainly a possibility. Here's an example that:
matrixhifi.com/ENG_contenedor_ppec.htm
They come to the conclusion that the change should be instantaneous and you need a switchbox but I think that would be an issue for you since it would somehow colour the sound (even though it can't). (If it isn't a problem then I can provide a better example.) They also change all the electronics and cables instead of just the amp which should make even more of a difference than changing just the amplifier.
I didn't do the test myself but it all looks valid.
I believe the slew rate is an indication of how rapidly the amplifier can respond to the rate of change of the input signal. If it's poor then transients will be poorly reproduced e.g. when a stick strikes a cymbal, a resolving system allows you to hear the contact followed by the cymbals ring response. A slow amp will lose it. Also, there was certainly and audible difference between germanium and silicon transistor amps 'back in the day'; and slew rate used to be quoted ( in the UK. anyway )
BS. An amp with a low tone is best.
First of all: amps do not sound, speakers do. Second: amps are never 'musical', musicians are. Third: an amp should reproduce a signal with a flat response from 20Hz to 20 Khz, without distortion. It makes a small signal large, without adding nor taking away anything. All the rest is BS and snake oil. I am a retired audio tech. I rely on my measuring instruments like my Tektronics scope and audio analyser, which are incredibly more sensible than any human ear. A well adjusted cheap amp will produce a fine signal, a non-adjusted expensive amp will perform poorly. These are the facts, deal with it.
I’ve got 3 amps and they all sound different. 🤷🏻♂️