is McIntosh known for good dynamics?

@faustuss Of course we are off topic. None of this has anything to do with the opening post. 

WRT ’dynamic range’ (I’m speaking from the perspective of a mastering engineer) the actual dynamic range depends on the producer and how much compression they want. FWIW most releases these days are compressed and do not express the full range of either a CD or LP.  

@atmasphere 

Call it transparency or high-fidelity, but amps can be high fidelity in different ways. Some may be faithful to the timbre, others may also be faithful to the musical impact of the dynamics. The latter is what I call a dynamic amp (or speakers, or DAC, etc.) 

I call B.S. on the idea that good dynamics is a matter of distortion. Good dynamics is a form of accuracy (in acoustic classical recordings) as acoustic classical music has the best dynamics of all. A dynamic amp sounds more like live music. I call B.S. on the idea that a distortion would give the impression I'm listening live.

@ghdprentice - dang, you’ve talked me into trying a WA5.  I’ll likely get the WA5-integrated as I’m also investigating tube sonics starting with flea watt amps on my 100db speakers.  

I call B.S. on the idea that good dynamics is a matter of distortion.

@magon I didn't say that! What I said was in 90% of audiophile conversation where the word 'dynamics' is used, you can safely replace that word with 'distortion' without changing the meaning of the conversation.

How this works is the ear uses higher ordered harmonics to tell how loud a sound actually is. This is very easy to demonstrate with simple test equipment. Ask and I'll explain how.

So if the system for whatever reason (in this case, amplifier 'X') adds higher ordered harmonics to the sound, it will be perceived as louder even though a sound level pressure meter (available as an app for your phone) will show that it is not.

If the higher ordered harmonics are a function of power, as they are in SETs, they will be showing up more on transients. Since the ear is hearing the 'loudness cues' on the transients, the result is a more 'dynamic' sound. You can read about this quite a lot with SET amplifiers, where people often comment about how dynamic they are for their apparently low power. Its simply distortion masquerading as 'dynamics'.

Good dynamics (note the emphasis; the kind that apparently both you and I like) comes from the signal and the amp will not contribute more of its own. This requires the amp to be low distortion (or at least higher ordered harmonics are masked by lower orders). A side benefit is the system will also seem more relaxed and effortless.

@atmasphere I've never encountered a discussion about dynamics that was "really" about distortion. Certainly my discussion here is not. So I have no idea what your point of posting on their thread was.

What I am discussing, and you haven't responded to my prior post on this topic, is that by good dynamics I'm referring to an accurate/transparent presentation or subjective effect of dynamics. Sudden louds should have startle factor, sudden quiets should have a compelling quality and not lose focus, and small dynamic changes should be evident and have musical impact. (By the way my reference is classical, acoustic music. Subjectively good dynamics may be described differently in rock or other kinds of music.)

Yes, the amp can affect the subjective presentation of dynamics. The signal can be getting louder and softer, of course, but that doesn't mean it will have the proper musical impact. What's going on inside the amp? I don't know. I suspect that the ability of the power supply to supply instantaneous current spikes has something to do with it.