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Different amplifier class for different music genres?

I was reading a review of the Gryphon Antileon Evo in another forum and one user was saying that in the High bias mode the amplifier was excellent for classical music but not so good for metal or hard rock, perhaps softening the transients. For metal or hard rock he preferred the Low bias mode and he suggested that the Gryphon Diablo will be more suitable for this type of music (of course one is a final amp, the other an integrated one).

So the question is: does the class of the amplifier matter or better suit the type of music you are listening to? 

I have never owned a class A amplifier and I am itching to try some. I am currently using Hypex based diy monos driving Vienna Acoustics Mahler speakers.

greg_f
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 


High bias mode the amplifier was excellent for classical music but not so good for metal or hard rock, perhaps softening the transients.


If that were the case, then the amp or it’s power supply is not up to scratch for the current draw of the high Class-A bias mode, and is being starved/overloaded somewhere.
As more Class-A in my experience should if done right, only makes everything even bigger, more transparent, less hard and 3D, as well as the bass not being 2 dimensional. And the sound should sound like it’s coming from everywhere in the image but not from the speaker drivers themselves.

Cheers George
tatyana69
269 posts
 
Classical recordings generally disappoint me in terms of quality. In the same room I have 2 systems - one for digital and one for analogue - as the requirements sound wise are quite different
greg_f OP
121 posts
 
@georgehifi, I generally agree but the reviewer was talking about the Gryphon Antileon which has a massive PSU and provides tons of current. Of course it could be that he was talking lots of rubbish...
desferous
29 posts
 
I was wondering not about different amps for different styles of music, but different speakers? Maybe I should start a different thread but are different speakers for different genres something people do? 
sgreg1
612 posts
 
I remember reading a thread a while back where the person was trying to make an argument that Richard Vandersteen engineers his crossovers so hard rock guitar does not sound good on his speakers! I thought that was way out of line unless he had a statement from Richard to back up his claim. Yes all amps can have a different signature sound and that might sound different with the type of music being played. Note I said might and what might sound good to you might not for someone else. To me it is “kinda” like tube rolling. You can effect the sound profile where one will sound better but I don’t think any would sound bad. Enjoy the music.
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