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?
I’ve heard McIntosh tube amps powering Klipsch khorns that reproduced my favorite albums as if I were in the room during the recording. There was this suspension of disbelief because I couldn’t believe the singer WASN’T in the room with me. When I closed my eyes, they were standing eight feet out in front of me, singing to just me. They were right there. A 50-year-old recording sounding like it was right now. The acoustics of the room I was in seemed to disappear; I was no longer in a large living room, I was in an intimate little recording studio booth; I could hear the guitar and vocals bounce around in that little room – I couldn’t explain it, but the acoustics of the room completely changed to the acoustic of the recording studio. It was a religious experience. It’s just as memorable as my first blow job or my vacation to Greece.
My goal, my quest, is to achieve that sound in my own home.
I could not have said this better, you hit the nail on the head, bravo!!!
I read McIntosh tube amps and klipschorns and my mind immediately went to can you hear me knocking And that song has been playing all night long.