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2000-2500 USD budget for an integrated amplifier. Do amplifiers sound the same? :)

Hey guys!

My first post here! Great community here!

I recently bought a pair of Klipsch Forte III and I’m thinking about upgrading my current budget amplifier Cambridge CXA60. My budget is around 2500 USD. I hope you guys can give me a few insights. Cheers!


Current setup:

  • Macbook Pro
  • Network streamer + DAC: Chord Mojo + Poly
  • Amplifier: Cambridge CXA60 (60 watt)
  • Speakers: Klipsch Forte III, 99db sensitivity
  • Subwoofer: Klipsch R-115SW
  • The room is pretty small: 4*6 meters (roughly 13*19 ft) but very well acoustically treated (I covered all the power corners with GIK acoustics bass Tritraps and Soffit + complete acoustic treatment on early reflection points

The Cambridge amp sounds nice with the Fortes but I feel like I’m missing out on something. I don’t know what "something" actually, since I haven’t paired the Fortes with anything yet but the Cambridge.

So the crucial question is: should I upgrade?

I’ve been considering integrated amps like the Rotel RA 1592 and the Peachtree nova300.

I know that it’s kind of an overkill to drive the Forte III with respectively 200 watts (Rotel) and 300 watts (Peachtree).

However knowing myself, I might upgrade the whole system (speakers included) in like 4-5 years or so. And it might be nice to have a capable high powered amp around (with lots of power headroom) so I won’t need to spend further capital again on a new amplifier in a few years.

On the other hand, I feel like I’m wasting quite a bit of money buying a powerful integrated amplifier right now. At the end of the day the Cambridge CXA60’s got 60 watt and it is more than sufficient to drive the Forte III.

This leads to another thing that’s bugging me… The sound quality of an amplifier! People like Ethan Wiener argue in a very convincing way that when compared evenly, the sonic differences between amplifiers operated below clipping are below the audible threshold of human hearing.

This guy summarized this view here:

https://jakekuyser.wordpress.com/2016/05/23/do-hi-fi-amplifiers-sound-alike/


Furthermore I’ll most probably have Sonarworks room digital EQ correction toggled on all the time to remove all the equipment unwanted colorations. These colorations might sound nice, but I’m more of a "I want to hear what the artist intended" type of a listener.

(((To me Sonarworks was an eye opener when I first used it to calibrate my Sennheiser HD800.

https://www.pro-tools-expert.com/home-page/2017/8/24/headphone-shootout-sennheiser-hd800-vs-hd800s

It made me think about the extreme amount of the self delusion nature in the audiophile community. Many audiophiles rave about the alleged flat response of the HD800 when there are indisputable peaks at 5,5kHz and 11kHz, plus very very weak bass. Without correction they’re almost annoying to me and they definitely do not deliver what the artist/sound engineers intended. However, these cans are very often just described as extremely revealing, clinical, unforgiving… which eventually led to the claim that the HD800 is picky regarding the amp…)))

Questions:

  1. So considering that I’ll most probably have Sonarworks room digital EQ correction toggled on all the time to remove all the equipment unwanted colorations, do you guys still think that I might be able to get a "better" sound by upgrading the Cambridge to a more powerful amp, like the the Rotel RA 1592 and the Peachtree nova300?
  2. Is it worth to spend 2000-2500 USD more for this? Or should I use this money for a better DAC or a network streamer?

Sorry guys for this long post!

Cheers,

Egoq


egoquaero

Showing 2 responses by egoquaero

egoquaero OP
7 posts
 

Thanks to everybody for your insights!!

One clarification: I'm not claiming that all the amps sound the same. From my understanding, amps do sound different. However different doesn't mean better. Given certain circumstances (for instance, a sufficient wattage, no distortion, flat response, etc.) many many amps sound RIGHT/CORRECT for a certain set of speakers. And furthermore we need to consider my intention of using digital EQ room correction which will probably reduce the difference between amps even more. So here's the heart of my concern:

  1. Does it make sense to spend 2500 USD for a sound that's slightly different (and not necessarily better) switching from a "right/correct" Cambridge CXA60 sound to another "right/correct" Rotel RA 1592 or Hegel H160 sound? I honestly think that might not be totally worth it. And hence my decisional process of getting an overkill amplifier for my current Forte III, so that this amp will be futureproof as well. Does this thinking make sense to you?
  2. I noticed that many of you suggested me to get a tube amplifier. I'm not sure if this would be what I need most. I don't doubt that tube amplifiers might be more ear pleasing. But… Me and my brother produce music. He's got a set of studio monitors but often we need to check our work on this Klipsch Forte III hifi system. So it'd be good for us to have a system with the lowest distortion and flattest response possible. So considering this, should I still keep tube amplifiers in my evaluation?

Ethan Wiener claims tube amplifiers have higher distortions:

"Myth: Amplifiers based on vacuum tubes sound better than solid state designs, and a good tube preamp can even restore clarity and warmth that has been lost in the digital recording process.

Fact: Both types of amplifiers can have a frequency response flat enough for audio reproduction. But modern solid state amplifiers have measurably lower distortion than any tube-based design. Most tube-based power amplifiers also require an output transformer, which increases distortion - especially at the frequency extremes. Further, solid state power amps always have a better damping factor"

 

 


egoquaero OP
7 posts
 

Guys, thank you so much again for your help!!!

The audiophile community is really something.... you guys are so supportive and helpful! :D

Well yesterday afternoon I managed to cruise on ebay for a while and there was a new Hegel H190 at 2600 Eur which is quite a steal here in Italy. (in Italy, hifi prices are absurdly high compared to the ones in the US for instance..)

And so… I bought it! :D It was a rushed decision (last piece), but I think it'll keep my upgradetis under check for a while. It's one of the few integrated amps with Airplay and that comes really handy to me. And it should be able to drive with authority most speakers I might buy in the "near" future.

Is anyone familiar with this Hegel H190?

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