When I first got into this hobby 20 years ago The Audio Critic had a bunch of guides/courses teaching you the hobby, how to select equipment and so on. The theme was - all amplifiers sound the same, choose your speakers via measurement graphs not listening e.t.c Total nonsense IMO, but if you are into that go ahead. |
You may be right or you may be wrong. However when such respected figures as Peter Walker, Siegfried Linkwitz, Peter Aczel, Alan Shaw and many others all allude to the same opinion regarding amplification, then perhaps we ought to respect that opinion at least?
In my experience with amps ranging from the NAD 3020 to the Naim 32/110 the amps I have owned have made insignificant sonic difference. In fact my last 2 amps, a Magnum IA 170 and a Creek integrated sounded uncannily similar when I was able to swap one for the other. This was a disappointment as I was labouring under the illusion that the far more expensive Creek was a vastly superior amp. I had previously read that it had a more sumptuous, warm and rich sound.
As we know the human perception system is subject to all kinds of illusions, yet it's still a disconcerting feeling when it's demonstrated in such a direct fashion.
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I have every copy of Audio Critic. Peter was right on although I still like tube sound. Those comments with personal insults are from people who cannot win a rational argument and do the obvious-they respond with personal insults. "a quack! a joke!" Now that settles the issue! I do lust over the beautifully designed expensive audio gear but will never buy it. I do not understand reviewers who resort to the other senses when describing the sound they hear-how it tastes for instance. Can a graph describe sound? No but it will be useful for comparison between audio gear. A-B testing is the only way to prove you can hear the difference.
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I have every copy of Audio Critic.
Wow, that’s impressive! A complete set must be quite rare these days I can’t think of any other magazine that I’d want to keep as a reference. The few that I do still have are there mainly for nostalgia and entertainment. Thankfully copies of The Audio Critic are still available online. http://www.biline.ca/audio_critic/audio_critic_down.htm It's posssiby the only audio magazine where the copy still rings true years later. There’s a good write up of the audio press, including The Audio Critic, from a few years back here. http://high-endaudio.com/magaz.html
Here’s a few choice quotes:
Stereophile is now basically a commercial marketing engine for established brands, and those rare new brands which can afford an extravagant marketing (advertising) budget, meaning hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The Absolute Sound has also seriously deteriorated. Here’s one simple example: In issue # 114, they ’reviewed’ the VPI Aries Turntable with the JMW tonearm, with a total cost of $ 4,995, and the Jadis 845 triode amplifiers. What did they compare the VPI Aries with? The Rega Planar 3 at $ 695. (Yes, I’m serious.) Guess which was better? It’s safe to say that no one (in the audio business) was upset at the result of such a comparison. More important, no prospective purchaser, of either turntable/arm combination, was enlightened about its relative audio performance and value.
"Magazines---all magazines--exist on the basis of advertising. That’s all that counts. Magazines are "sold" simply to have circulation which can then be used to sell advertising at prices commensurate with the circulation. IN FACT most magazines LOSE money on circulation. It doesn’t matter since they make their money on advertising." - Michael Fremer of Stereophile
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If nothing else he opened my eyes to several truths, a coat hanger is just as good in delivering soon (properly shielded) as any $500 cable. The electrons or wave energy do not differentiate. Good connections only part to be concerned with. Also its the speakers and recording quality that matter the most.
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