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Agree or disagree with the following statement.

Trying to get some input on an issue that a few of us are debating.

Statement:

If you have never listened to any particular component, you can't have an opinion on how it sounds.

Answer:

I don't agree with that. Measurements provide a fairly good indication of how something will sound. That's the beauty of science -- it's not necessary to have first hand experience to make reasonable judgments. You likely disagree and that could be a difference in our background and education."

So, the issue at hand is, can tell how a component sounds without listening to it, and just go on specs? Or, do you have to listen to it, as well, because the specs don't tell the whole story?
zd542

Showing 1 response by kijanki

kijanki's avatar
kijanki
4,397 posts
 
Al, absolutely agree but I would even question power specifications. Assuming that they follow any standard (like FCC power) it is only useful if one listens to sinewaves. Average music power is only few percent of maximum power. It is possible that one amp will have 200W rated FCC power but small headroom while the other listed at 100W average has huge headroom allowing to play music much louder. Load characteristic is also important. How particular amp behaves with given speaker (complex load). How much current it can deliver etc.
Is it soft clipping amplifier or the one producing tons of nasty higher order odd harmonics. If sound is related to specifications at all it would be inversely proportional.
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