I just watched a review posted about 9 months ago by Steve Guttengerg. He was reviewing the NAD M23 which is a class d amp based on the Purifi Eigentakt module. It caught my attention because a year or two ago I built an amp from a kit that uses the Purifi Eigentakt evaluation modules. My experience with my kit, compared to the McIntosh amp it replaced was very similar to what Steve found in his review - that it is very transparent and just passes the source through without alteration (other than making it larger) and with negligible regard for the load (speakers) being driven. Based on my own experience and Steve’s comments, I’m at a loss for what more to ask of an amplifier- other than more power, whether I need it or not.
According to Steve, the amp being reviewed exceeded the others he compared it to in clarity, transparency, detail, speaker control and probably some other things. This got me to wondering - is this what everyone wants?
My goal has always been to have a system that will reproduce what the microphone heard or what the producer intended me to hear when a recording was made. With such a system, I can use dsp, tone controls or an equalizer to color the sound any way I want but I always want to start from the baseline of being able to hear what was recorded.
Listening to some of Steve’s comments in his review, I’m led to think that some people are seeking a system that colors the original in a particular way suited to their taste so I thought I’d ask you guys. What are you looking for in a system?
My main goal is to make a system that I want to sit down and enjoy each night. I’m finding that vintage gets me there. Do I like listening to distortion? Maybe? I got the class D Aiyima A07 Max recently and I’m sure it measures incredible but I couldn’t get it out of my system fast enough. So boring and without life. I keep discovering this over and over with class T and then class D amps. I don’t know why I keep doing it to myself.
There’s no medal for having ultra low distortion amps that you never even want to turn on. I’m sure my AV receiver measures awesome too but it is almost unlistenable with music. Yet I go to the vintage store and the Marantz etc. just rolls out the beautiful sound I want to settle down, listen to and enjoy. My gf’s Pioneer SX-737 makes me want to sit there and listen.
I felt similarly about amps until I got a very special preamp. I had the Freya+ and tubes are fun, but I doubled down and everything changed. I don’t worry about the sound of amps, they just do what they are told, but amplifying tiny signals does seem to change things. Not to mention the volume knob!