I’ve seen people state both that they so not influence the tuning as long as they deliver the same power and others stating that they can make headphones “sound warmer” or “brighter”. I don’t see how that would happen though and a lot of audiophiles just hear things that I feel aren’t there, like some noise difference between the Apple DAC Dongle and a 500 EUR DAC using an off the rack chip.
Take this comment from ASR:
Amps are more likely to make an audible difference than most DACs, but that certainly doesn’t mean there are audible differences between most amps
I’m talking purely about AMPs here, not a DAC combination.
Tube amps will definitely have a noticeable difference than solid state amps due to much higher output impedance and the very high 2nd order harmonic resonance (depending on tubes and tube circuit)
Yeah, and that’s why it’s so fun to tube roll. Buy a bunch of different tubes and they will all sound noticeably different.
Technically they all vary, but in the (probably vast) majority of the cases it’s inaudible.
They can make a difference, but as long as you have enough power you really shouldn’t notice it. Make sure it meets the specifications you need at the price you want and eq for everything else.
Tube amps are different for sure, I run a tube for my verite, but it’s for a particular sound.
Most amplifiers over $20 have a noise floor lower than 80 decibels and a distortion level lower than zero and are measured flat from 20 Hz to 20 thousand Hz
thats cap af
amps do make a difference and do add their own “flavor” to it. its processing the signal after all.
even while staying on the same type of amp. (Tube Amps drastically alter the sound)
its usually minimal tho.
i recently switches my Schiit Asgard 3 for a Topping A70 Pro and noticed my music sounding different. Friends confirmed it too.
The Asgard did make it sound a bit warmer while also seemingly making low end a bit more powerful.
The Topping sounded much more “reserved” and analytical. I could hear things I didnt notice before. So I traded fun sound for super clean analytical sound in my case.
And yes. using the same DAC (schiit bifrost 2), same cables (pyst rca) and headphone (Hifiman Edition XS)
Most amps today have a ruler flat frequency response and distortion products at vanishing low levels. So as long as you don’t drive them into clipping, they will sound the same or better formulated: they don’t have a sound of their own so nothing audible that set them apart.
However, the interaction between the impedance of the amp and the impedance headphone might make an audible difference. If the amp has a impedance of 10 Ohm and you combine it with a headphone having a impedance of 30, you have a damping ration of 3. Way to low and will result in a bloated bass.
Combine at with a 300 Ohm headphone and you have a damping ration of 10, a value considered sufficient.
However the biggest difference is simply us. Most of the time we don’t test properly. We simply listen with our eyes. We see that impressive piece of audio gear, we have read raving reviews, it has a eyewatering price tag so it must be good. And indeed, what we believe, we will hear. Most of these perceived differences are a product of our perception. Not to be mistaken for properties of a product.
Amps have different sound signatures. DACs too, but they are a little less noticeable
Yes.
There shouldn’t be any audible difference in timbre/tone between competently made solid state amps running within spec
Humans are very sensitive to small changes in volume but often mistakenly attribute this change to other nebulous sound qualities that they might be seeking such as “clarity” “dynamics” “punch” or negative ones such as “veiled” “muffled” “dull” etc.
When people “test” amps in store or at home, they always just use their ears to approximate a consistent listening volume and they will mostly get it wrong.
I have yet to see any compelling double-blind, volume-matched tests where people have been able to consistently distinguish between different models and tiers of competently made solid state amps. If the differences are so pronounced, then it should be trivial to conclusively prove this once and for all and end the debate (ditto cables, power conditioners, DACs etc)
I agree that when you introduce tubes into the mix, they indeed can audibly colour the sound and if you like that colour/distortion, then fair enough!
At the end of the day, amplifiers should *amplify* and not change the tone or dynamics of the signal it is being fed.
Anyone who says amps sound the same has probably only tried the same 2 brands of Asian made hyper transparent delta Sigma’s.
It’s patently false.
amps can vary in sound
that variation can be both positive or negative, or give benefits with tradeoffs in other areas
This depends a lot on the headphones and the amps.
I’ve heard IEMs and headphones (HD650, HD800, ZMF, ect) that can sound VERY different out of amps depending on the headphone impedance, ect.
Other headphones (like Hifiman Ananda) barely sound different on different SS Amps. Ananda didn’t sound all that different going from a Jotunheim 2 to a BHA-1, where as something like a Focal Clear (or Arya, to a smaller extent) did sound different.
I’ve also heard amps that were touted as “neutral” sound a lot brighter/metallic than was described. Something like the Schiit Hel 2E had an amp.in it that had very obvious upper-mid glare/coloration that made hifiman headphones annoying to listen to.
At the end of the day, it was all very minor differences (with some exceptions) and there’s not a need to spend huge dollars on an amp.
Oamp’s can but usually they can also be changed quite cheap.
When people switch between solid state amps and they say “oh it sounds xyz” it’s not the amp, it’s the output impedance and the gain most likely. (Which is the amp but you get what I mean)
My old amp had 5 gain (no gain switch). My new one 0 gain. Sooooo much better like damn. (Which is why I got a new amp. Anyone want a magni 1st gen? I spent like 200 bucks on my new amp tho, no need for ultra fancy gear)
If you’re talking solid-state amps, it’s mostly snake oil.