Ia a good amp more important than a good DAC?

Markwatkiss,

What's the difference between Tiger and Santa?:

Santa only had three Ho's.

I have to say that the Leach Superamps I just acquired confirm my position all along that the amp is in fact the most important component.

I have to say that the Leach Superamps I just acquired confirm my position all along that the amp is in fact the most important component.

So you're saying you could hot-wire one of these (using some Purist cable, of course) into your system graced by those wonderful amps and they will make up for any shortcomings of the source!? Plus you'll have a visual option so it can double as HT!!! Or you can Show'N'Tell to all of your friends.

Sorry to make fun at your expense, but it's all important. If you feed any amp garbage as the source it will not be able to compensate for those shortcomings. Period. End of story. Granted, poor amplification ain't going to help anything sound better either, but if it's not there at the source there's nothing you can do (except enjoy the Show'N'Tell feature).

I love the quote Trelja shared: "Nothing is unimportant."

If you feed any amp garbage as the source it will not be able to compensate for those shortcomings. Period. End of story.

Marco, along the lines of my earlier comments, I respectfully disagree with that contention. Yes, garbage in = garbage out. But as Unsound aptly put it, garbage out also = garbage out.

The question is which garbage is worse. And the answer will obviously not be the same for all system configurations and all listeners. But regardless of what the answer may be in any particular case, as I stated earlier it is flawed logic to contend that what is at the beginning of the chain is most important simply by virtue of being at the beginning of the chain. The degree to which each component introduces garbage has to be taken into account, not just its position in the chain.

On another note, happy 2010!

Regards,
-- Al

Thanks, Al. I think we're basically in agreement, which is why I followed up with the statement that it's all important (and the appreciation for Trelja's quote). In my earlier post I also gave a nod to Newbee's POV. Your own point (garbage out = garbage out) is well taken. In the grand scheme of the type of components we're talking about, I'd personally make sure my source was where I wanted it to be before investing in a great amp (vs. a just OK amp). Amp/speaker interface problems notwithstanding. Actually purchasing a product in these realms (I'm just going by the level of products the OP has mentioned) it would actually be difficult to find a product that actually qualified as "garbage", whereas it certainly would easily be demonstrable to create a combination or synergy that qualifies as "garbage," especially between amp and speakers. Hell, yeah, if your using Maggies and are underpowering them that'd qualify as "garbage" in my book. Likewise amping Khorns with a pair of Krells. (Now someone's bound to chime in and tell us how nothing could possibly sound better than Krell-amped Khorns...except perhaps underamped Maggies). A poor acoustic environment (room) could ruin an otherwise entirely brilliant system. It is all important.

For me the source is the foundation - if you build on a weak foundation, like Harry Belafonte sings, it won't stand, oh no, oh no. Is it the "most important" part? Well, if you haven't got that right nothing further on down the line is going to make it better. Screw up any other part from there on in, and again, the bandaids you apply further down the line are probably not going stand comparison to a system that did not require a similar bandaid. So yes, "garbage" could conceivably be introduced anywhere in the chain. Garbage in the form of a poor IC choice, or a factory power cord vs a well designed/constructed one, is not going to have as profound an effect as a crap source, or worse yet, a really poorly recorded/mixed piece of music (even more to the core of "source"). At least that's been my experience. I completely agree that another huge potential for really ruining a good system is the interface between amp and speakers. Screwing that up may also result in no means of correcting it short of replacing one of the components. Chicken? Egg? I'm starting to repeat myself so probably I digress. The thread represents an eternal argument that has representation in the archives under many different titles. Happy searching!

Happy 2010 back at'cha'all!