How important is S/N Ratio....?


Over the years I have owned many amps....rated at different S/N ratios. As a example 80,90,100 or 120 db down....but some sound more transparent than others regardless.Also the higher the rating theoreticly is should sound better....right? Does your amp sound better than the advertised rating? If it does.....tell me 3 things that stand out about your amp.

wavetrader
Keep in mind I didn't start the Jet takeoff thing.
I lived near El Toro MCAS and heard F-4 takeoffs which even with them being as easy as possible...no afterburners or aggressive climbouts, you could hear them for several minutes echoing thru the canyons. I was at an airshow and witnessed a flyby of a Concord! Man, that thing was LOUD.

This whole thing needs to be thought thru more thoroughly.
How quiet is your room? 40db at 0-dark-30? Let's say you can play it pretty much as loud as you'd like...not likely but we can dream! Subtract 40 from 120 and you've got 80db range. This is more than Vinyl is capable of and stretches the practical (NOTE: practical, not measureable) CD limits.

Sorry, this is a non-starter and a fine example of wishful thinking and specsmanship taking over!

There are great numbers of Credible Systems which use hi sensitivity speakers coupled to low power amps. These systems en toto draw less than my bedside reading lamp.
Just for those interested I found some info.....

"Ordinarily, when the electrons flow through common conductors such as an electrolyte, a manganese dioxide, an organic semiconductor and so on, non-linear distortions generate corresponding to each conductor (average -100db) as shown in Figure 1 which indicates distortion characteristics. However, in the case of Black Gate, the distortion showed such a surprising low value (-174db) as if no electrons flew. The distortion noise was almost zero. "

excerpt from this link

http://www.acoustic-dimension.com/blackgate/techEcap.htm
Wavetrader - as far as I know electrons don't flow. Electric current is an electromagnetic wave (while electrons move only about 1/2" per second) which is also difficult to explain using example od stacked balls since space between electrons is in order of 100000 time their size. One theory says that electrons emit photons but this doesn't add up if we assume that photons can move in any direction. It is probably better explained here:

http://www.geocities.com/natureoflight/pg4.html
I have had occasion to work with an F15 fighter in a flight testing project. Let me tell you, a full afterburner takeoff from a couple of hundred feet beside the runway is an awesome experience.

I didn't know there were some aeronuts here on A'gon. This is the World's best aerobatic pilot of all time - Jim Leroy.

BTW - Topgun is pretty awesome on HT with the volume cranked. However flying these things and cranking those g's is not all that pleasant - believe me I have first hand experience being up there...