Here are my thoughts on what is being suggested:
This is a "fun only affair". No clear information will be attained. Because:
1. You will have some modded gear and others not modded......If you are not hearing a component at its tweakiest best.....then you are not hearing it fully. Every amp that uses Purifi modules sounds different from every other amp with Purfi modules.....and then you add tweaking? Now you have a whole bunch of different sounds. If one person modified all of the amps the same way to the max then you would be at least hearing them all in a better way.
2. Every amp needs a different amount of burn in and especially WARM UP time. I will never listen to the modded GaN 1 here unless it has been playing music for at least 1.5 hours.....sounds like shite before then. This was the same with my modified IceEdge amps (what tweak 1 has).....they sounded thin and grainy for at least 2 hours. So, are you going to have all amps playing music for a long time and not turn them off before the testing? Hardly. As the amp here has been playing music it has gotten even better.......so, it is still burning in!!!
3. All amps need a MATCHING or at least GREAT footers underneath them.....and underneath the feet needs to be a Great platform. So, do you have super platforms and super feet for each component. Did you try different feet and platforms to see what sounds best with each amp? I have an air bladder (super deflated inner tube) on the bottom then a bamboo cutting board (Ikea) then a maple slab and then the best Mad Scientist footers (two balls up and one ball down)....Nice combo.....tweaked for years to get there. Also adding damped weight on top of a component can do wonders to the sound. Some amps will sound better without damped weight.
4. All amps need a Matching or at least Great power cord on them. Are you going to have the same exact power cord on all the amps.....and without shutting them off?
5. All amps (and all your equipment) will sound better run off a super Inverter (Giandel 5000) then through any other kind of line conditioner or dedicated line.....you will hear more differences and really hear the amp with the great Giandel Inverter. A Puritan line filter can be used after the Giandel for even better sound. Also your ground for the stereo should be a separate ground on its own Ground rod with a GROUND filter like the one Puritan sells.
6. System would need to be super tweaky and pure....no cables on floor.....speakers way away from the back wall and side walls. Room treatments. You would want to use recordings that showed everything....not just some rock music.....you would want Chesky type recordings......natural instruments in natural space.....so you can really tell what amp makes it sound REAL.
Since no one has the above.....then the best way to really find out what something sounds like is to get one amp at a time and A/B it with your reference amp on your own system......and tweak the power cord, footers, etc. over some time. Then get a second amp in and do the same and on and on. After you have spend a couple of months really finding out the differences then compare the best ones......that is the time to then have a get together with maybe 5 (at the most) other people......then you can do the shoot out over 6 or more hours so you can hear each amp properly warmed up and being fed by the best power cords....etc.
But, if you just want to have fun.....then mass shootouts are fun. Wine, beer, cool dudes, good music........However, if you really want to know something solid about the possibilities of things......then mass shootouts are NOT the way of knowledge.
No matter what you do.....you can enjoy it......enjoy and love the ride.....The ride goes on (forever)......We are the ones that decide whether we enjoy the ride.....or not. I pray you all choose love and joy.....in more and more moments of your day. Blessings.
