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Different amplifier class for different music genres?

I was reading a review of the Gryphon Antileon Evo in another forum and one user was saying that in the High bias mode the amplifier was excellent for classical music but not so good for metal or hard rock, perhaps softening the transients. For metal or hard rock he preferred the Low bias mode and he suggested that the Gryphon Diablo will be more suitable for this type of music (of course one is a final amp, the other an integrated one).

So the question is: does the class of the amplifier matter or better suit the type of music you are listening to? 

I have never owned a class A amplifier and I am itching to try some. I am currently using Hypex based diy monos driving Vienna Acoustics Mahler speakers.

greg_f

Showing 2 responses by georgehifi

georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
greg_f OP1 Of course it could be that he was talking lots of rubbish...

No I believe something else was going on.
My friend has that same amp, top Total Dac feeding it direct and it’s more magnificent the more the Class-A is switched up, into his Wilson Alexia’s with all genre’s of music.
The only way the Antillion amp in high Class-A could sound too laid back with rock, is if the speakers were very laid back like I've heard with Sonus Faber Amati, they could be a problem with rock.

Cheers George
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 


High bias mode the amplifier was excellent for classical music but not so good for metal or hard rock, perhaps softening the transients.


If that were the case, then the amp or it’s power supply is not up to scratch for the current draw of the high Class-A bias mode, and is being starved/overloaded somewhere.
As more Class-A in my experience should if done right, only makes everything even bigger, more transparent, less hard and 3D, as well as the bass not being 2 dimensional. And the sound should sound like it’s coming from everywhere in the image but not from the speaker drivers themselves.

Cheers George
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