2. tech-talk
  3. 126864-1129

Class "A" sound, as related to Stereophile.


It's all about the sound.

It's all about sound, not how much it cost; when I got into "high end", I knew right off the bat I couldn't afford it, but I had to find one thing for sure; how do the various components sound in regard to Stereophile's classes, or ratings? In order to know this; I had to acquire the ability to identify "Stereophile's" class "A" class "B" and class "C" sounds, and the only way to do that was: first, subscribe to Stereophile, and next was to go to every high end audio salon within driving distance; there were 5 well stocked "high end" salons within driving distance. (Since I didn't take my wife, that created some problems)

After a few years of subscribing to Stereophile, plus auditioning equipment that Stereophile recommended, I knew the sound of those recommendations, and I absolutely concurred with them; "If you want to hear the music, you got to pay the piper". While that's true, it's possible to get class "A" sound with class "B" bucks or less.

At this moment, I am looking at 8 capacitors that cost $25 dollars each, plus 2 mono blocks with an instant resale value of 6K. Once I take the covers off and go in with my soldering iron, these mono blocks are worth a resell of O; my mission must be a success. After a successful mission, the resell is still 0; but those mono blocks will deliver class "A" or "A"+ sound, and that's some sweet music.

I have to visualize and hear music in my head before I can modify a component to deliver class "A" sound; but that's the only way for me to get what has become a necessity.

The pressure someone is under when they modify, is great, but the rewards are glorious. On these mono blocks, they are too small for the huge capacitors, therefore I have to figure a way to make the case larger. My reward is "sound" with absolutely no relation to money. I often wander if someone with a fat bankroll can identify the sound, or only how much they paid for each piece.


Happy listening.

orpheus10

Showing 4 responses by almarg

almarg's avatar
almarg
9,670 posts
 
...there is no doubt about source first; I’m an electronics tech, that’s what I did until I retired. Source first is a fact from a "scientific" point of view. The preamp takes what you give it, makes it bigger, passes that to the amp, which gives it to the speaker. If you gave the pre "crap" it’s going to give bigger "crap" to the amp which gives fat "crap" to the speaker; some people claim that fat crap sounds good if it comes out of the right speaker.
A lot of people feel that way, but I for one disagree. And regardless of what part of a system one considers to be most important, I would emphatically disagree that "source first is a fact from a ’scientific’ point of view."

What matters is not whether the crap is bigger or smaller. What matters is the ratio of signal-to-crap. And also, of course, the specific characteristics of the crap.

Also, the preamp doesn’t necessarily make anything bigger, as in many cases, especially if digital sources are being used, the volume control will be set such that the amplitude of what comes out of the preamp is less than the amplitude of what goes into it.

Also, while source first advocates frequently point out that downstream components cannot correct for the shortcomings of the source, they almost invariably fail to point out that it is also true that the source cannot correct for the shortcomings of the downstream components.

As I see it, a chain is no stronger than its weakest link, regardless of where in the chain that link may be located.

Regards,
-- Al

almarg's avatar
almarg
9,670 posts
 
O-10, I said nothing about a digital preamp. I referred to digital sources (as opposed to vinyl sources). Examples being CD players, digital files being played from computers, network audio players, etc. Obviously a DAC would be utilized in conjunction with such a source, unless the source component or the preamp itself incorporates a DAC. My point was that the amplitude of the resulting analog signal, that is provided to the preamp, will often be a good deal greater than the output of a phono stage/cartridge combination, and will often result in the preamp’s volume control being set such that the preamp’s analog output is smaller than its analog input.

Regards,
-- Al
almarg's avatar
almarg
9,670 posts
 
Dave (Dlcockrum), your post that appears just above my previous post makes an excellent point IMO.  Well said!

Best regards,
-- Al

almarg's avatar
almarg
9,670 posts
 
Koestner 11-13-2016
You are missing Al's point. With a CD player the preamp will most likely be reducing the signal to the amp, not amplifying it. Without some way to reduce the source signal everything would be one volume level, and very loud!

Orpheus10 11-13-2016
Koestner, take me to your source; the source of what ever made you say that. That thing called a volume control on the preamp that you turn up or down sets the level to the amp. But I know you knew that. If you turn it up, the speakers get loud, and down, they get quiet.
The "full scale" (maximum) output of the great majority of D/A converters (whether they are stand-alone DACs or are contained within a CD player or other component) falls between 2 and 3 volts for unbalanced outputs, and twice that for balanced outputs.

The majority of power amplifiers will be driven to their maximum power capability by an input somewhere between 0.5 and 2 volts for unbalanced inputs, and twice that for balanced inputs.

Most digital recordings are engineered such that musical peaks come close to digital "full scale" (the maximum possible digital value).

Therefore in most cases involving a digital source the preamp's volume control will be set such that the preamp's output voltage at any instant of time is less than its input voltage.  And even more so considering that many and probably most users can be presumed to utilize the maximum power capability of their amplifiers rarely if ever.

That is the basis of my simple statement that:
... the preamp doesn’t necessarily make anything bigger, as in many cases, especially if digital sources are being used, the volume control will be set such that the amplitude of what comes out of the preamp is less than the amplitude of what goes into it.
Regards,
-- Al
 
More to discover