Does "Fast" = "Detailed"?


I've noticed a few people discussing "fast" as an adjective for systems and components. A couple friends of mine use fast as an adjective they look for in amps and speakers (and other components including wire). I've noticed in my limited experience that those who like fast systems also tend to own/favor highly detailed systems. Recently, I looked at a member's system, which includes speakers built with ribbon tweeters used in conjunction with NuForce amps. He mentions liking a fast sounding system. Having heard both ribbon speakers and NuForce amps, I have an idea that this system is quite detailed.

Does "fast" equate to "detailed"?
128x128tvad

Showing 1 response by stehno

Tvad makes some very good points about the potential for a fast system to become overly cold, clinical, and/or otherwise fatiguing.

Injecting fast into a system that is seriously lacking in one or more other categories can easily lead to an unbalanced or fatiguing presentation.

Therefore, careful attention (as always) must be placed on the synergy of the entire system to strike the least uncompromising balance for hours of enjoyment.

In other words, if you have a 'fast' system, then you'd better make sure that your mid-range is full and blooming and your bass is deep, tight, and well-defined, you are using proper line conditioning, and on it goes....

Here's a thread about fast amps that may be of interest including my post where I quote Peter Moncrief in his reviewing the top 25 solid state and top 25 tube amps back in 1998.

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1051879884&openflup&33&4#33

Moncrief describes his encounter with the McCormack DNA-2 LAE (Limited Anniversary Edition) amp and went on and on about its tremendous speed and labeled it the best solid state amp.

I owned the DNA-2 LAE amp but the DNA-2 Rev A amp was, among other things, faster. The Nuforce Ref 9 amps are, among other things, faster still. And the new Nuforce Ref 9 SE Special Edition amps are, among other things, significantly faster than the Ref 9s. The dynamics and level of detail is amazing with the SEs.

The SEs are by far the fastest amp I've yet encountered and by a pretty good margin. 6moons just released a review on the Nuforce SEs. It may interest you to see what they have to say about the level of detail, nuances, and dynamics of this amp. In fact, I'm starting to think that all of these other attributes has almost everything to do with speed.

-IMO
BTW, I ceased being just an enthusiast and became a dealer as a direct result of my first encounter with the Nuforce amps.