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 want music to sound as real as possible. The only coherent goal to that effect is a transparent window on recordings, with the ability to add flavor. I use a setup with L/R run on a minimalist signal chain (direct from digital source into digital crossover, or with an A/D for phono), and add in DSP heights and surrounds to taste. Since the surround is controlled separately, it’s just like having a volume control on an ambience channel. The mains are horns so with some recordings a little bit of extra room energy is welcome.