2. amps-preamps
  3. 181516-144057

Do Amps matter.. in an Amp?

I have Magnepan speakers, and have tried dozens of amplifiers. I do find they sound quite different with different amplifiers. Tubes, class D, and A/B may be where to see some trend but lately I’m stuck on amperage. Most product tout wattage, which I find misleading since the highest wattage amp I own has the least satisfying sound. My favorite amplifier claims >60 amps of current, and a few manufacturers state this measurement. But most don’t. Is it significant? What does max amperage mean compared to the damping factor or the wattage change into different loads? Seems like an easy engineering question but I don’t see it discussed very often. 

dain

Showing 1 response by snapsc

snapsc
686 posts
 

I have a buddy with the Maggie 3.7i. We tried three amps one day, level matched. The Magtech… stereo version, The Parasound A21 and the Orchard Audio GanF class d Stereo Ultra. The Magtech at 900 watts into 4 ohms, the Halo and Orchard at 400 watts into 4 ohms. 
 

All three amps handled the Maggie’s with no problem playing loud…. and they sounded more similar than different in most areas. Listed in order of warmth.. Halo, Magtech, Orchard… but the difference was slight and without hearing the others, any of the three would be good choices. 

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